“ I ca n’t wait to have a big plate of radicchio , ” I have never said , ever . But that ’s because I ’ve never had homegrown radicchio — until now .
With vivacious fuchsia leave , radicchio face more like a congener of lettuce or cabbage than it does of its cheeseparing cousin , chicory . Its stout nature means it ’ll stand up to some winter conditions as well as to cook in a variety of ways .
This is my first year growing radicchio , and I ’m here for it .
How to Grow Radicchio
Like most blistering leafy vegetable , radicchio will take cold conditions over hot . you’re able to start seed indoors , though it ’ll belike be too ardent for them there . lineal semen into the garden about 1 foot asunder .
In my Central Kentucky garden , I found radicchio in mid - September with the Bob Hope of overwintering for former spring harvest . Had we come around to planting a month in the beginning , it ’s potential the plant life would have done poorly because of the heat .
It ’s also possible they would have done OK because the end of August was n’t so regretful this twelvemonth , and in that case we would be eat on radicchio before Halloween . Growing your own food is a gamble .
Mulch around the seedlings to keep the roots coolheaded and to keep back wet here in the last vestiges of summertime - like conditions .
Keep radicchio watered , particularly chair up to your harvest , for the most crisp leaves . This can be challenging if you seek to grow radicchio during freezing weather .
As we head into winter , radicchio will stand up to the cold and even become mellifluous because of it . The head ’s increase will in all likelihood decelerate as the weather set down to freezing . A low burrow or quarrel cover version may keep dull growth coming .
temperature have to souse into the mid-20s to freeze - kill a radicchio plant .
Radicchio Growing 201 involves dig it up , relocating it indoors andforcing its growth . I have no design for this at the moment but wo n’t reign it out as a winter experimentation .
How to Harvest Radicchio
Radicchio will shape tight , lucre - similar heads . Cut the mind just above the dirt control surface with a sharp-worded tongue . You may retrieve leaves resprouting from the gist leave in the garden bed a few weeks later .
Harvest a few loose leaf at a time if your plants are n’t shape up or if you favor a cut - and - issue forth - again crop .
Keep radicchio in your fridge in the crisper drawer . It ’ll keep for several weeks . After that , it ’ll recede its crush over fourth dimension , as leafy veggie do .
How to Eat Radicchio
This veg is high in Vitamin 100 and potassium , harmonise toTufts University , make it a worthwhile addition to your coolheaded - conditions diet .
Radicchio is a famously brilliant - colored salad accent . As noted above , this is a bitter vegetable , so it pairs well with sweet lolly . It has a stalwart leaf — think red cabbage — so also adds a nice compaction .
The leaves ’ cup - like figure and firmness make them a great vehicle for testis salad , tuna fish salad and the alike .
Cooked radicchio is sweeter than unsanded . Again , imagine cabbage : bestow it to soups , oven broil it with olive oil color and herbs , or sauté it in a fuss fry . sample exchange radicchio for witloof , if you have a favorite Cichorium endivia recipe .
In planting this year ’s radicchio , I have no idea how well it will grow or if anyone else in my house will want to eat it . Give me a plant that can add a daddy of color to otherwise gray - brown fall surroundings , and I cypher it ca n’t be so bad .
I ’m count forward to that first plate of radicchio , after all .
