Chicory 'Grumolo Verde' 5g

The smooth, dark green rosettes have a piquant taste with the familiar bitterness of radicchio and endive, and the tenderness of escarole.
This chicory is a widely used vegetable from bygone times in both Italy and France. Like many forgotten vegetables, this variety is enjoying a well-deserved comeback!
The deep green, loose heads are sown in rows, preferably directly at their final location or in soil blocks. Harvesting can be done from a very young age as spinach, even as a microgreen. For blanched cultivation, the plants need more space so that a good root can develop. You harvest the roots in stages in autumn and winter, cut off the green leaves (delicious in a mash), and place the root in the dark in a bucket or pot with some garden soil. The blanched loose leaves can be harvested for a long time and are wonderfully tender!

The chicory family includes escarole, monk's beard, and various types of endive. Characteristic is the more or less present "bitterness," formerly disliked and nowadays highly appreciated. Let a plant "bolt" sometime: chicory flowers are usually beautifully blue and smell of vanilla!

Names:
Latin: Cichorium intybus
Dutch: Groenlof
Also known as: Suikerbrood or Groenlof Pikantjes
English: Chicory Sugar Loaf