Cichorium intybusvar.foliosum
More than once , I ’ve chatted with a admirer who has pick up a head of radicchio thinking it was a tiny red cabbage .
I do n’t blame my American pals . Radicchio has n’t gotten its due in the States . I mistrust that ’s because of its distinctly bitter flavor .
In Italy , agriculturist have mastered the art of breeding these works over decades . And the production of certain types is considered an art contour .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
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chef and household cooks use the leaves in everything from risotto to soup , or they might just drizzle them with high - character olive oil before serving overbold .
achiever growing radicchio is all about timing as these veggie are a bit fussy , but when you know what they require , you will do just ticket .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
Curious about what you ’re in for ? Here ’s what we ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
Quick Look
How to Sow
How to produce
Cultivars to Select
Pests and Disease
Harvesting
save
Cooking idea
Also known as Italian chicory , radicchio ( articulate rah - DEEK - ee - oh ) is a crop multifariousness of the wildchicory plant , Cichorium intybus .
In Italy , foragers search the countryside for tender untried chicory jet , while the cultivated smorgasbord are revered by chef .
The radicchio plant is in reality biennial , but it ’s often deal as an annual and harvested in its first year of growth . Left to its own devices , it will flower in its 2nd year , go to semen , and snuff it .
Common name(s):Radicchio , red endive
industrial plant eccentric : Leafy two-year vegetable
Hardiness ( USDA Zone):4 - 10
Native to : Eurasia
Bloom time / season : leaping and shine
Exposure : Full sun to part specter
Soil case : Organically - copious loam , well draining
Soil pH:6.5 - 7.5 , somewhat acidic to indifferent
Time to maturity:55 - 90 twenty-four hour period , calculate on variety
Spacing : 8 inches between plants , 12 column inch between rows
Planting depth:1/4 inch ( semen )
Mature size of it : Up to 12 inches wide-eyed x 12 inches high
Water need : restrained to high
Taxonomy
monastic order : Asterales
Family : Asteraceae
Genus : Cichorium
coinage : Intybus
variety show : var.foliosum
Many of the heirloom varieties are named after towns in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy where they were first school .
Chioggia is the most common type found in the United States , and is easy to identify because it looks like a small crimson cabbage , with a spherical form .
It ’s not clear when hazardous chicory was multiply to become the cultivated radicchio that we know today .
But the technique of blanch may have started in the fifteenth century in the Veneto region of Italy , and has since been refined and perfected in various regions of the country .
To produce radicchio rosso di Treviso IGP tardivo , the plants are harvest in autumn , root and all .
After clean off the soil and get rid of the knocked out leaves , the head are hold fast together and placed in vats of cold run water for a few weeks , in the darkness .
The independent ancestor spring up young , pinnace leaves in shades of white and ruby red .
The root is cleaned and shaved to be used separately , and the veg that remains is the world - famous treat that is prized in Italy .
If you ’re favorable , you may sometimes see this variety outside of Italy , but make certain it ’s the tangible affair by looking for the EU ’s IGP appellation .
Radicchio can be propagate by come or from transplants .
However you decide to grow yours , most diverseness will do well with eight inches of space between works , and 12 inches between rows .
From Seed
you could sow source in the ground in the bounce , three to four weeks before the average last frost escort in your area .
If you choose to sow in the fall , your goal is to inseminate the seeds so they will mature about four weeks after the first Robert Frost .
train the grunge in your chosen localisation and graze the airfoil so it is even .
disperse the seeded player on the surface of the soil then press them down so they are a quarter of an in deep – you may thin them after they sprout .
Seeds will typically burgeon forth in about a week .
If you wish tostart your seeds indoors , put a few seeds in each cell of a seed starting tray filled with a soilless seed starting metier , and inseminate about a stern of an inch deep .
Keep the planting medium moist until they sprout , and then cut them so the unattackable seedling in each cell continue .
Transplanting
Put transplant in the ground in the bounce right around the metre of the last average frost date in your realm .
For a fall planting , determine the time to matureness for your chosen cultivar , and aim for a crop date that is about a monthafterthe first frost date .
If you started your own seedling indoors , be certain to harden them off for a calendar week or so before planting them out in the garden .
When you ’re ready to put them in the ground , dig a hole slightly larger than the container each seedling was growing in . Unpot the plant and set it in the hole .
Then , gently fill in around the root ball and water well .
permit ’s take a look at the ethnic demand of these plants :
Light
Radicchio needs full sun or fond shade to grow substantially . If you live in a fond climate , ensure the plants have partial shade during the hottest part of the day .
As they grow , some radicchio case turn from unripe to red , while others start out red , and some rest green . This may be impact by the amount of sun they are exposed to .
Temperature
Heat is radicchio ’s forged opposition . When air temperature rise above 75 ° F , chances are mellow that your plant will run off or ontogeny will be stunted .
Conversely , temperature all the way down to 20 ° F wo n’t hurt them .
Water
Radicchio plant demand moist soil . If you let the dirt dry out , the leaves will become bitter , the works may decamp , and growing could be slowed .
conceive of a well - gouge out poriferan . That ’s how squiffy the grease should be at all multiplication .
This more often than not translates to an inch or two of piddle each calendar week , depending on how much pelting you experience . Not sure?A rain standard of measurement can help oneself !
ensure you water at the ground level alternatively of drenching the foliage to avoid encouraging fungous issues .
Soil
Radicchio can tolerate a scope of soil types , but organically - rich loam , with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.5 is best .
Water retention and good drain are key . If you do n’t have the correct kind of grease naturally , amend it with compost or sand as needed .
Mulching and Weeding
Weed control condition is an important element of growing radicchio , as these plant ca n’t contend with weeds .
After you ’ve put them in the priming coat , total a two - inchlayer of constitutional mulchsuch asleavesor grass to help keep back piddle and to crush weeds .
Fertilizing
Side dress industrial plant with a nitrogen - ample plant food a month after planting .
Down to Earth Blood Meal
descent repast is a true option , and you’re able to find it from Down to Earthat Arbico Organics . Do n’t fecundate at all after the head start to form .
Forcing
Whether you call it forcing , blanch , bleaching , or lightening , some radicchio case do good from this extra footmark if your aim is to bring about a harvest with the most crisp texture and complex flavor .
Similar to the waycelery is often produced , orwhite asparagus , foreclose your plants from producing chlorophyll prior to harvest is primal .
The tightly packed inner leave that result when produce red mixture of radicchio in this way are typically more vibrant in color as well .
To force radicchio , you could leave the plant in land after a toilsome freeze and either marry up the outer leaves or overlay the plants with a pot or some other type of opaque container .
You could alsocover the radicchio with strawfor a few weeks towards the end of the uprise season , to block sun prior to harvest .
After harvest , just pull aside the dead out leaves to find the supply ship nerve at heart .
Another choice is to abbreviate away the initial growth that each headway has produced about one inch above the summit , shaping it carefully .
Then dig up each works , roots and all , and wrap it in burlap or paper .
position the bundle in a coolheaded , black fleck with a temperature that is above freezing but below 50 ° fluorine . These will form raw , tighter heads with sweeter leaf within a few weeks .
you could generally aggroup radicchio into two case : red bearing and green heading . Some reds only turn that colouring material in coolheaded conditions .
They can be further divided by shape , with chioggia character being orotund , like a lowly foreland of lolly .
Treviso is elongated , and looks kind of like a Belgian Cichorium endivia that has been dye blood-red . It is sometimes concern to as red Cichorium endivia .
Radichetta is a loose leafage type , and it ’s sometimes categorise severally from head - forming varieties .
There are also forcing and non - forcing cultivars available .
Here are a few to get started :
Palla Rossa
This is a non - forcing type with glowering green exterior farewell , and scarlet leaves with white ribs on the interior .
‘ Palla Rossa ’
It has a rounded shape , with somewhat stretch leaves , sort of like an egg . This cultivar matures in 90 days .
you’re able to retrieve seedsavailable from lawful Leaf Market .
Red Verona
Also known as ‘ Rouge de Verona ’ or ‘ Rossa di Verona , ’ this variety has a circular , cabbage - like chassis and is quick for harvesting in 90 days .
‘ Red Verona ’
remark that this is a type that needs forcing , so you ’ll involve to do a little extra study for your harvest .
you’re able to find packets of 500 seedsavailable at Burpee .
Red Treviso
‘ Red Treviso ’ is an heirloom variety , closely related to ‘ Early Treviso . ’
Opting for this variety is the close you ’ll be able to get to growing the illustrious ‘ Rosso di Treviso ’ at home .
Forcing is require to accomplish the slender Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and vibrant crimson color , and the leave-taking are loosely less acerbic than those of other cultivars .
‘ Red Treviso ’
quick to glean in 60 to 80 days , you canpick up a parcel of seeds at Burpee .
Managing Pests and Disease
As much as I ’d screw to say that you’re able to just jell and draw a blank radicchio , you ’ll probably end up face some variety of pest or disease issue at some percentage point .
Keep an eye out for these coarse issues .
Herbivores
Radicchio is delicious , and we are n’t the only ones that think so . You ’re going to have to fight off some mammalian , as well .
Deer like to eat radicchio and all type of chicory , but it might not be the nip that they ’re after .
Astudy by N. M. Schreurset et alof the Institute of Veterinary , Animal , and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University in Palmerston North , New Zealand found that chicories could abbreviate populations of intimate parasites in hoofed mammal .
You ’ll demand toprotect your garden with fencing , course covers , or other deterrents if deer are a problem in your area .
Rabbits will take a nybble of your radicchio if they get the chance .
Useraised beds , fencing , or any of the other technique we commend in ourguide to hold back rabbit out of the garden .
Voles love radicchio .
They dig small throughway systems just under the control surface of the soil that they use to travel to nutrient source . Unlike breakwater , they do n’t leave behind mounds of soil as they dig .
Controlling voles usually takes a multi - pronged approach , including good garden hygienics and not planting crops too close together .
tote up to that fencing , repellants , or live traps and you’re able to likely lay aside your harvesting .
Insects
Insects not only fire plants , but they can spread out disease as well . Here are the most common ones to ascertain for :
aphid suck the life out of your plants , plus they can spread bacteria and appeal mold too .
Chicories are usually attack by green peach aphids ( Myzus perisicae ) , lettuce aphids ( Nasonovia ribisnigri ) , and plum aphids ( Brachycaudus helichrysi ) .
Blast them off your plants with a spray of waterfrom the hoseand prune away the outer leaves . Applying reflective silver mulch can facilitate to dissuade these sapsucker .
Insecticides are n’t unremarkably necessary , but you might need to resort to an applications programme of neem oil if the infestation is tough .
Bonide Neem Oil
integrate it with piss and spray it on any infested plant . you could detect Bonide neem oilat Arbico Organics .
show our full guidebook to aphid designation and ascendancy .
Cabbage loopers ( Trichoplusia ni ) are green caterpillars that column inch along leaves , nibbling as they go . Look for ragged holes in the leaves of your plants .
The easiest path to deal with them is to hand pick them off the leaf . you could also useBacillus thuringiensis , a natural form of pest dominance .
Read more about cabbage looper control here .
folio miners ( Liriomyzaspp . ) chew zig - zagging , maze - like tunnels into the foliation of plant life .
you’re able to go alfresco and press along any tunnel that you find to smash the foliage miners to death . But that ’s not going to be feasible if you have a lot of plants .
Regular software of neem oil is generally effectual .
Read more about folio miner control here .
slug are never idealistic garden visitant , but when they ’re attacking eatable plants that you prize only for their foliage , they ’re really the worst .
Handpick them off plants in the eventide and put slug traps out in your garden .
Learn more about how to manage escargot and slugs .
Disease
There are a handful of disease that you need to watch out for , but all of them can be avoided to some point if you practise crop rotation , water at the soil grade , and avoid overcrowding .
Alternaria folio spot is induce by kingdom Fungi in theAlternariagenus . It shows up as reddish - brown pip with gray centers . These place can form on the radical as well , and have the leafage to droop .
This type of fungi boom in wet , humid , spicy weather , so if you stick to produce your crop in the cool months as is recommended , you ’ll be less likely to add up across it .
you may treat an infection with a fuzz antifungal , which is worthy for use up until the twenty-four hour period of harvest .
Bonide Copper Fungicide
You coalesce it with water and spray it onto any part of the industrial plant that has been touch on .
Pick some up at Arbico Organics .
damp off triggered by various fungi and class Oomycetes , Pythiumspp . ,Rhizoctonia solani , andFusariumspp is highly usual .
Seedlings may fail to come forth , or once they do , they may become lean and yellow-bellied or look water - soaked at the al-Qaida , before give way .
These pathogens favour warmer temperature cheeseparing to 70 ° F , soil that is excessively moist , and over - fertilized soil .
notice more entropy about damp off here .
This disease is triggered by a H2O mold , Bremia lactucae .
It starts out as foggy patches on the underside of the foliage then moves to the upper sides of the leaves .
spread out your crop , water at the soil floor , keep weeds away , and be careful to maintain in force air circulation to help forbid infection .
you’re able to use a copper fungicide to control this disease .
It ’s time to reap when the heads have reached the size recommended on your seed packet and when you squeeze them gently , they should sense stiff .
It is always better to stray on the side of harvesting too early rather than too lately , because the leaves will become progressively bitter as long as the plant remain in the flat coat .
To glean , separate the head from the stem by cut the stem below the leafage with a clean tongue . The leave of the head should stay together .
you could put in your harvesting in the crisper drawer in the icebox in a perforate formative udder for two to three week , but the leaves will sour virulent as they get on .
Do n’t store radicchio near apples or pear as they release ethene , which can cause your harvest to develop an even more caustic relish .
Radicchio is one of those ingredient that can be prepared as plainly or as intricately as you want , and you could cut the bitterness down a bit with the right balance of other flavors .
If you do n’t desire to go to too much trouble , wash and tear the leave of absence and cut back them in a sheer and fruity olive oil , along with some salt and pepper . That ’s all you involve .
Here is my version of a delicious radicchio salad :
Combine one two - ounce tin of anchovy ( including the liquid state ) with three tablespoons of white wine-colored acetum , three poop of a cup fruity olive oil , one pocket-size garlic clove tree , and saucily ground fatal Piper nigrum to try .
Muddle it together in a roll or mash everything in a mortar and pestle . Then add two tablespoonful of trick with the saltwater . rig aside to allow the flavors meld for an hour at room temperature .
Chop up four cup of radicchio into small pieces . You desire tiny bite plow in a rich layer of dressing to equilibrate out the rancor .
sky the dressing and the leaves together , and top with piece of parmesan and crouton .
My advice when dreaming up ways to employ your harvest time is to flux the bitter leaf with ingredients that have rich , roly-poly , or salty flavors .
You could combine it with something odorous like dearest , which will mellow out the acrimonious bite , but I see that fat and salt really let the acerbity glow without being overpowering .
Ditch the Lettuce and Embrace Chicory
acid flavors do n’t always get their due , but once you love how to make the most out of radicchio it ’s easy to become a convert and start screw this unique veggie .
Avoid the heat , stay on top of the water , rotate your craw , and keep those weeds off the scene . If you make the effort , you ’ll be enjoying a delicious harvest in no time .
And for more information aboutgrowing chicory in your garden , check out these guide next :
Photos by Kristine Lofgren © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . Originally published February 15 , 2021 . Last update March 23 , 2025 . Product photos via Arbico Organics , Burpee , and True Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock . With additional committal to writing and redaction by Allison Sidhu and Clare Groom .
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