Planting and growing chicory from seeds in the garden, outdoor care and reproduction

Chicory is a plant with pale blue flowers that grows along roadsides, in fields. The culture is known for several reasons at once. Someone is familiar with the plant, like a beautifully flowering herb, others like a spicy coffee substitute, and still others drew attention to the medicinal properties of chicory. At the same time, chicory can not only be purchased at a pharmacy or store, but also without much effort to start growing it in the garden.

Characteristics

The biennial culture is widespread in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and Western Siberia. In the first year, a root system is formed with a root crop weighing up to 400 grams. In the second year, chicory gives leaves, seeds.

Massive root, long stem, up to 100-170 centimeters, with small villi, leaves, blue flowers with a diameter of 3-5 centimeters distinguish the plant from others from the Astrov family. The oblong light brown fruit reaches 3 millimeters.

The culture blooms from July to late autumn. Delicate flowers fade quickly and are replaced by new ones. The harvest can reach 20 thousand seeds.

Cultivars

According to various sources, there are 8 to 12 chicory varieties. But only two types of plants are cultivated, such as:

Salad. Young fresh leaves are used for the preparation of both salads and side dishes, meat treats. There are 3 popular varieties:

Escariol, Vitluf - they have juicy heads with wide leaves;
Endive - outwardly similar to an ordinary salad with curly carved leaves.

Common variety. The culture is suitable for the preparation of medicinal drinks. The plant is planted as a decorative flower.

If growing the plant as an alternative to coffee, pick chicory root. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the Yaroslavsky variety is popular, which got its name for the name of the region-producer of useful grains for more than two hundred years. The plant, which actually came from southern Europe, should be sown annually for higher yields.

Why is chicory useful?

Despite the powerful aerial part, seeds and roots are used for medicinal, food purposes. The substance intibin gives the roots a specific bitter taste. Inulin makes the plant essential for diabetics' diet.In addition, the root system is rich in fructose, carotene, vitamins C, group B, trace elements: calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium. Healing decoctions are made from the bottom of the plant.

Chicory is used in medicine as a means of treating diseases of the skin, kidneys, spleen, kidneys, and eye inflammation.

The great value of the beans, like a substitute for a coffee drink. The infusion promotes the elimination of gallstones, improves blood circulation, and has a tonic effect. During the day, chicory invigorates, toning, calming the nervous system, and at night it relieves insomnia.

In Ancient Egypt, a document was found dating back to the 4th millennium BC, confirming information about chicory as a remedy for diseases of the stomach, liver, and intestines.

Plant propagation methods

The plant propagates in two ways at once: seed, root. The roots are divided into parts, each of which is the basis of a new shrub.

Chicory is referred to as a clock plant. On a bright morning, the flower opens, but with the onset of cloudy weather or evening, the flowers close instantly. The culture is a good honey plant, blooms up to 3 months, giving a lot of pollen and nectar.

To prepare the seeds, you need to "pack" the peduncles with gauze caps, paper envelopes or bags for 21 days after flowering. With the beginning of the collection period, cut off the inflorescences with a stem, hang in a warm ventilated room for ripening. As a result, the seeds will fall into the prepared containers.

Planting dates for chicory

Medicinal species are planted in early spring, as soon as the soil thaws. It is better to plant salad varieties no earlier than mid-May. It is not worth sowing seeds before winter, as many flowering plants will appear.

Low air temperature will provoke early flowering of the culture, and the root system will not form.

Growing chicory seeds outdoors

Even a novice gardener will grow chicory in the country, because the process is similar to the cultivation of any vegetable crop. The plant tolerates temperature changes, hot days in the garden, short-term frosts, cold up to 10 degrees below zero.

Seed preparation

Before planting, germinate the seeds of a lettuce culture in a damp cotton material or napkin. To speed up the process, put the bundle on a warm battery, leave for 2-3 days. Check constantly that the fabric is warm, damp. Sprinkle lukewarm water over the seed sac if necessary.

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You can soak chicory in a special stimulant for 5-6 hours to increase yields.

Plant seeds of an ordinary variety immediately, without preliminary soaking.

Preparing the landing site

Before planting, you need to prepare both the seeds and the soil itself:

The site is dug up in advance, leveled, moistened abundantly. If necessary, the territory is fertilized.
The soil for the plant is not acidic, loamy. Sour soil is lime in advance.
The site should be lighted, not cluttered with trees. The flower loves direct sunlight, the most light places.
It is advisable to prepare a place for sowing in bulk using humus fertilizers and peat. The dug place is fertilized with a mineral agent at the rate of 3 tablespoons per 1 meter of area. Peat fertilizers with humus, nitrophos are mixed with the soil and leveled, making the soil loose.
After that, fill the area with water.
Next, grooves are made at a distance of 30-35 centimeters from each other, where varieties of chicory are planted - both salad and ordinary.

Also, when planting, it is important to take into account that a strong coffee aroma attracts pests. Therefore, the place should be chosen as far as possible from valuable crops.

It is ideal to grow chicory on the back of combined flower beds, multi-row flower beds - mixborders.It is better to combine flowers with annual crops, since when the root is removed, the overall picture is not lost. Delicate blue flowers with violets, cornflowers, chamomiles look beautiful. Herbs such as basil, dill, or parsley are the most suitable neighbors.

In ancient Egypt, chicory was used as an antidote for the bite of poisonous snakes and insects. On the basis of chicory, people prepared healing infusions for indigestion, for inflammation of the eyes.

Sowing seeds

Seeds should be planted to a depth of no more than 1-1.5 centimeters. The distance between seedlings is at least 8 centimeters. It is important to respect the proportions of the row spacing, leaving a distance of up to 40-60 centimeters per adult plant.

Planting seeds deeply will reduce both the germination of the plant and the germination time.

The first shoots will be visible on days 7-14. As it grows and develops, you need to thin out the harvest. Otherwise, young plants will destroy each other (the minimum distance between adult specimens is 30 centimeters).

Features of growing chicory at home

You can grow a salad variety both in a summer cottage, in a vegetable garden, and on the windowsill of an apartment. For home cultivation:

At the end of September, lettuce leaves along with the roots are removed from the beds. The crop is folded, left for several days to dry and wither.
Then the greens are cut off, and the root system, without clearing from the ground, is removed for storage (at a temperature of + 1 * + 2 degrees).
Rhizomes with an uncut head and buds, cut at a height of 10 millimeters, are planted in a box for the winter period.
The soil is chosen from sandy loam or from a mixture of peat and sand. The soil layer should be 40 centimeters high.
Root crops are planted 25-30 days before harvest. Place the roots at a depth of at least 15-20 centimeters.
For greater productivity, the substrate is constantly moistened with water at room temperature. Maintain air temperature - 16-18 degrees.
Cut off the heads of cabbage with a part of the rhizome so that the leaves do not crumble. The fruits are stored for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, using in salads and for decorating dishes.

You can grow a salad look in plastic pots:

Root crops are placed so that the heads are 1-1.5 centimeters above the ground level.
The soil is abundantly moisturized.
Cover the pot with black polyethylene, remove it for 10-12 days in a room with a temperature of 13-14 degrees.
The plant spends the next 12-24 days in a room with a higher temperature - 16-18 degrees. The entire growing period will take 22-24 days. During this time, the heads of cabbage will grow to 150-180 grams each. Since the roots are deprived of light, the heads of cabbage will have a white color.

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How to transplant chicory

When chicory has 3 leaves, it is advisable to thin out the crop, throwing out excess copies. The plant cannot be transplanted.

Crop care rules

It is very simple to care for chicory, as for any other plant of the Astrov family. All care comes down to thinning the plants (with an interval of 8-15 centimeters), weeding, loosening, proper moderate watering, fertilizing the soil, protecting the plant from pests.

Fertilizers

Chicory is fed with mineral fertilizers at the rate of 1 gram per 1 meter. For feeding, both wood ash and compost, humus are used. In moderation, the soil is flavored with superphosphate, potassium salt and ammonium nitrate solution.

The culture is fed at intervals of 14-21 days, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers.

Watering

Despite the fact that chicory tolerates both heat and cold well, proper moderate watering must be carried out for a sufficient yield:

Do not flood the plant, otherwise the leaves will rot.
You can save moisture by mulching.
On hot days, it is permissible to spray the leaves.
Do not moisturize the plant in winter.

Ideal soil moisture - 75%, air - 80%.

The watering regime also depends on the amount of precipitation, air temperature and plant variety. The lettuce species does not tolerate long droughts, and needs constant soil moisture. The medicinal variety is more resistant to heat, and requires watering only in the absence of rain for a long time.

Protection against diseases and pests

Common chicory is resistant to various diseases and pests. Chicory salad varieties are more susceptible to diseases such as leaf blight and rot.

Pests are slugs, leaf aphids, root mites and wireworms. The slugs are removed by hand, the ground around the chicory is sprinkled with crushed egg shells or sand.

For prevention, it is necessary to remove weeds in a timely manner, destroy plants with rot, water the crop moderately. All these activities contribute to the growth, flowering of chicory.

Weeding and loosening

Also, the plant needs to be protected from weeds, supply a constant access of oxygen to the roots. For this purpose, the soil is constantly weeded and loosened.

Harvesting

Medicinal chicory blooms only in the second year after planting, as it is a two-year-old plant. In the first year, the roots are collected. Leaves are cut in late autumn, leaving the crop in a "naked" form for wintering.

The chicory salad is harvested in October. Heads of cabbage are cut with a sharp knife. Store lettuce leaves in the refrigerator compartment or cellar.

How to prepare chicory flowers

Harvesting chicory flowers in the following way:

Flowers are harvested during their abundant flowering, from June to September.
Choose plants away from highways and roadways.
Collection weather should be dry and warm.
Do not pick flowers early in the morning, as the dew has not yet dried.
Cut for drying only delicate flowers without stems.

How to dry chicory herb

Dry the cut stems of the plant in the shade, under a canopy. Spread the raw materials in one layer on the fabric, dry in the attic.

Stir the drying periodically, ensuring uniform drying. As soon as the stems begin to break, the raw material is ready.

How to harvest plant roots

In early spring or late autumn, after the ground part dies off, roots begin to be harvested. The root system is saturated with minerals, as it prepares for wintering.

The roots are harvested as follows:

Dig up the roots of the plant.
They clean the rhizomes from the ground, wash. Thin side roots are removed.
Initially, the roots are dried.
Rhizomes are cut lengthwise into small plates, large ones are cut across.
The workpieces are dried using a dryer, oven, at a temperature of 60 degrees, ventilated room.

The crop is stored for no more than 3 years in cardboard boxes, wooden boxes or paper bags.