# The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Endive

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ENDIVE.
Chicòrium Endívia.—Chicorèe, Fr.—Endivie, Ger.
The Garden Endive is a native of northern China, and has been cultivated in Europe the past three centuries for a Winter salad. The French are particularly fond of it, using it raw, pickled, fried and boiled, esteeming it exceedingly wholesome in every form, and agreeing with every constitution. There are four varieties, which we will name in the order we esteem them.
Green Curled has beautiful curled or lancinated leaves. It ​is a fine stocky and hardy variety, is the principal sort for salads, and when well cultivated, is very beautiful.
Broad-Leaved has a plain, thick leaf, slightly wrinkled, and turning inwards; it is preferred for stews and soups.
White Curled is rather a delicate variety, and cannot well be carried through the Winter; its principal use is therefore for the early Autumn crop. It will blanch in a few days.
Batavian is a broad, plain-leaved sort, principally cultivated for cooking, and makes a fine head.
Culture.—For the early crop, sow about the first of July. It will do on the ground where early Cabbage or Peas have come off, by giving it a coat of manure. Draw drills the depth of the hoe, one foot apart, and sow therein; sprinkle a little earth in the bottom of the drill sufficient to cover the seed, which will be up in a few days. If dry weather ensue, water once or twice till the plants get hold. Thin them out when about two inches high to ten inches apart; hoe freely, and keep clear of weeds. Being grown in these shallow drills, they are more easily earthed up and grow better in warm, dry weather. When the leaves have attained about eight inches long they are fit for blanching; for this purpose a dry day must be chosen. Gather up the leaves in your hand, in a close and rounded form; see that there is no earth or litter in their centre; tie them up with a piece of cotton-twist or mating, which is to go several times round the plant, causing it to close at the top to prevent the rain from penetrating to and injuring its centre; then draw a little earth round its base for support. If the leaves are not perfectly dry when tied up, they will rot, or become so stained as to be unfit for the table. They will take about ten days in warm and twenty days in cool weather to blanch for use; a judgment may thus be formed of the quantity to be tied up at a time. For late crops, sow about the end of July. If the ground is not ready, they may be sown in a bed and transplanted during moist weather, giving a few ​waterings if the season be dry. To have it in perfection through Winter, it should be planted in frames in August, and allowed to grow there; or removed from the ground into the frames about the first of November, lifting a portion of soil with their roots. Keep them rather dry during Winter, as they are liable to damp off; cover with shutters or sash; sprinkle a few dry leaves among the plants and tie them up as demand requires. Give plenty of air in sunshine or mild weather; they require protection only from heavy rains and severe frosts. Observe, the leaves must not be tied up when they are in a frozen state. They may also be blanched by covering them with a pot of any description, which is often used as a precautionary method in Winter.