Leafy vegetables are quite popular and are used to make salads and various dishes. They attract the attention of a rich set of vitamins and low calorie. In our article, we will describe what endive looks like and how it is grown from seeds.
Description
Endive belongs to the Astrovye family. More often you can hear his popular name - salad chicory. The plant has a light green head and green foliage. Due to heavy curliness, some people confuse the plant with a regular salad.
Important! In order for the vegetable did not have a bitter taste, it is imperative to carry out its bleaching. The endive green color indicates that the procedure was not performed.
The lettuce vegetable has a bitter aftertaste, which makes it extremely popular, unlike other varieties. On sale are presented cabbages of cream color, the length of which is about 12 cm. 
It is believed that Asia Minor is the birthplace of endive, but it can be found in almost all markets in America and Europe.
Place to grow
If you decide to plant endive salad on your plot, cultivation should be carried out according to some recommendations.
The Astrovye family also includes rudbeckia, mordovnik sharogolovy, zinia.
Location and lighting
It is best for crops to choose such areas on which potatoes or cabbage were previously growing. Landing is recommended in a sunny, well-lit place. 
In springtime, it is necessary to create artificial shading of the plant. You should not plant endive near the poplars, as they have a common pest - root louse.
Preferred soil
Spring endive needs fertile crumbly soil. Approximately one week prior to the landing, it is necessary to carry out deep digging and fertilize the soil with ammonium nitrate or potassium sulfate.
Planting endive
Before planting a vegetable, you should familiarize yourself with some tips on this procedure. 
Soil preparation
For planting endive need to allocate a separate bed.
Did you know? Endive in its composition as similar to dandelion.
In the autumn, it is recommended to feed in the form of potash and phosphate fertilizers, and in the spring - to dig up the ground.
Sowing seeds
Planting seed is recommended from the second decade of June until mid-July. If you plant a plant earlier, it will begin to grow, but it will not form heads. 
When sowing in later periods, cabbages will grow very small. Seeds must be laid out in beds to a depth of approximately 1-1.5 cm. The distance between the beds should be approximately 30 cm.
How to care for the culture?
Chicory endive, like any plant, needs care. Consider how to properly implement it.
Watering
This salad is a moisture-loving plant. When the vegetable is actively growing, you need to make abundant watering: 1.5 buckets of water per 1 square. m 
However, this should be done carefully, we can not allow the water to be inside the outlet - this will lead to the formation of rot.
We advise you to read about the beneficial properties of cress, lettuce and iceberg salads.
Top dressing
Plant feeding should be carried out 1 time in 7-10 days by applying lightly saturated fertilizers.
Important! Salad can absorb odors very quickly, so you should not store fruit and other products near it.
You can scatter the ashes on the bed - this will prevent the appearance of slugs.
Whitening
If you are cultivating chicory, you need to know that whitening must be given special importance when caring for your crop. To do this, the rosette of leaves is gathered together and tied with a cord is not very tight, enough so that the light does not reach the inner leaves. 
This procedure is carried out 14-21 days before the harvest begins, when the leaves are fully grown. Bleaching gives the inner leaves a light yellowish-green tint, they become fragile and have a delicate flavor.
You can also cover the landing with endive film. - this will not only lighten the cabbages, but also protect them from moisture on the leaves, because during the bleaching procedure the leaves must be dry, since the slightest dew drops can lead to rotting.
Harvesting and storage
Harvesting lettuce, which was planted in the spring, takes place in the middle of summer. Later, the plant is often dug along with the rhizome and together with the earth is moved to the moistened sand. 
Capacity is stored in a cellar or a greenhouse, a little sprinkled with wet earth. In this form, plants can survive until the onset of winter.
Did you know? Due to the high content of vitamin B, the use of this plant in a short period of time will help to cope with stress and neurosis.
After reading the article, you learned what endive salad looks like and what it is. Growing vegetables is not difficult, and you can get a full set of vitamins by eating leafy lettuce as food.
