Endives are sown quite late in the year and can therefore be used to replace early vegetables. Find out below what to consider when sowing.

Endives get along well with most plant neighbors

Prepare the soil properly

Endive is a fairly frugal lettuce, but needs sufficient nutrients for healthy, vigorous growth. Therefore, a few months before sowing, the soil should be enriched with compost. To do this, dig the earth about 30 cm deep and put a good portion of compost or manure in the hole. Mix the soil and compost with a hoe or shovel. This can also happen in the late autumn of the previous year.

prefer endive

Endive can be grown in seed trays, but it doesn't really make sense, since they are only planted out very late in the year and can therefore be sown directly into the bed without any problems. From June you can grow the endives in seed trays at temperatures around 20 degrees and then plant them outdoors from July.

Sow endives directly outdoors

It makes more sense to sow the endives directly into the bed. Endives prefer a sunny site. The sunnier the location, the less bitter the endives become, because the sun lowers the nitrate content.
Here are the most important key data for successful endive sowing:

  • Sowing date: between mid-June and mid-July
  • Sowing depth: 1cm
  • Planting distance: at least 30cm
  • Development time: 3 months
  • Care: water a lot at first, reduce later
  • Fertilization: before sowing, then mulch at most once
  • Harvest: August to November

The best plant neighbors

Endives get along very well with most plants. There isn't a plant that they can't handle at all. But perfect plant neighbors are:

  • fennel
  • carrots
  • cabbages
  • leek
  • leek
  • pole beans

Care after sowing

Immediately after sowing, endives should be kept evenly moist and must not dry out under any circumstances! As soon as the plantlets have reached a size of 10cm, you can reduce the water supply to avoid rot.

Harvest endives properly

Endives are often quite bitter. To reduce the bitterness, you can tie the leaves together a few days before harvest. These then fade, which lowers the nitrate content, but the vitamin content also decreases. It is harvested from August to November.

Category:

Vegetable garden