Marzatica

Season Overview

Description

Late-maturing variety, plant with a large, compact head. The red-white leaves are crisp and tender. Very high resistance to low temperatures.

Growing tips

The chicory seeds are sown first. These are then used to produce the turnips that will eventually be used for forcing. The soil should not be too cold when sowing, otherwise they may start to bolt. Marker sowing can be helpful. After 3-4 weeks, the plants can be singled out to approx. 10 cm. Water (and rake) regularly. Chicory is a rather undemanding, weak to medium-grower and requires a sunny location with a deep, not too heavy soil. If possible, the soil should be low in nitrogen. When the leaves of the chicory turn yellow in October/November, dig up the roots (approx. 3-6 cm in diameter), carefully remove the leaves and leave the heart. Place in moist sand in a cool place at around 0-3°C for at least a week (dormant phase). Then place in a dark (important, otherwise the plants will develop bitter substances) and cool place to sprout, at around 10°C to max. 18°C. It is important to place the roots upright in the sand and to water regularly, but not wet. After 4-6 weeks, the cones (approx. 15cm) can be harvested. The roots will sprout again so that they can be harvested over the winter. (Note: there are also varieties that require other cultivation methods, e.g. where the turnips are covered with 10 cm of sand/soil into which the shoots grow). If the shoots are planted in the light again (2nd year in March), they also produce the bee-friendly blue flowers for seed (2nd year in fall) (caution: cross-pollination).

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Light (sandy)

Nutrient requirement

Low

Seeding distance

10 cm

Row spacing

30 cm

Seeding depth

1 cm