How to Grow Radicchio (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum)

By Matt Gibson

Related to both chicory and endive , radicchio is a perennial vegetable cultivated for its leafy honey oil ( radicchio foliage is really more commonly found in various shades of crimson , not green ) . Radicchio is also commonly relate to as Italian succory , and is often find in Italian recipes as a flavor agent and a vegetable .

Most Radicchio cultivars produce red leaves which are cognise for their bitter nip . Radicchio typically forms rounded heads that mature to size of it that stray from baseball - sized to Citrus paradisi - sized , look on the cultivar . Growing radicchio will bring a vivacious pa of color to your edible garden , and a unassailable , unique feeling to your kitchen . Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to start growing radicchio in your vegetable garden .

growing radicchio

Varieties of Radicchio

In Italy , there are upwards of 15 dissimilar varieties of radicchio available to gardeners in different regions of the boot . The majority of these variety are not commonly cultivated out of doors of Italy , and most are unsufferable to find in the United States . In the US , there are five radicchio varieties that you may notice at nurseries and granger ’s securities industry stand up . We will give a bit more information about each of these five so that you’re able to find the right one or ones for your garden .

The most usual sort of radicchio in the United States is the Italian cultivarRadicchio Rosso di Chioggia , orChioggafor short , which has dark red-faced leaf and a pear-shaped cabbage - similar head . This cultivar is the radicchio you will most often feel in the garden truck section of your local grocery store or on the tables at your local farmer ’s market . Visually similar to purple lettuce , but compact a much stronger flavor , Chioggia radicchio heads are easy to discover , and available year - round . The top Chioggia cultivars are Palla Rossa and Rossa di Verone .

TheRadicchio Rosso di Trevisoradicchio potpourri , also simply calledTreviso , is known for its white ribs and more elongate , football - same head embodiment . Visually interchangeable to a large , ruby chicory escarole , the Treviso radicchio has a mild but quite bitter smack that can be mellowed - out through cooking . Traviso Tardivoradicchio is another form uncommitted to US gardener that call for a longer growth cycle than other varieties , which increase the depth of its spirit . A beautiful garden specimen , the Treviso Tardivo face like a question of lettuce , but with a blush wine - comparable center . The extended emergence stop not only improves the taste , but also results in a firmer texture and a more complete social organisation , which provide the vegetable to keep its shape well and droop less during cookery .

growing radicchio

Castelfrancoradicchio heads are another coarse variety in the United States . rather of the typical red leaves that the vegetable is love for , the Castelfranco variety boasts creamy white foliage with red spot . Castelfranco is a vitriolic viridity , but it also has a complex flavor with underlying notes that can be brought onwards when cooked . Though more rarefied than the other four radicchio varieties listed here , thePuntarelleradicchio is a must essay variety that should be blanched for the good potential flavor and dish warm with butter like Brussels sprouts or asparagus . The odd - calculate plant looks like a fennel clump sprouted edible asparagus stems from the top of the clump .

If you get peculiarly lucky and happen to come across one of the more unusual radicchio variety such asBassano , Chioggia Giant Catalogna , Fior di Maserà , orLusia White , buy them immediately . If you happen to see seeds or seedling for any of those diverseness , you lucked out , as they are all unique and complex in flavor and quite rare to find outside of Italy .

Growing Conditions for Radicchio

Radicchio is a nerveless time of year craw that spring up best in outflow or autumn . Radicchio is a repeated plant , but it is often grown as an annual . However , if the oral sex is softly and on the dot cut from the roots in the nightfall , the roots have a good hazard to endure through the wintertime to develop another head .

flora radicchio in full sun in a nutrient - rich , well - drain soil . Keep the substratum equally and consistently moist . Provide one to one and a half in of water per calendar week and check regularly to be certain the grease never dry out completely , as it will turn the leaves too bitter . ply plentifulness of water , and the leaf will turn sweet-smelling or else , as they are seasoned by the coolheaded fall conditions .

Radicchio can be rise in either the spring , summer , or fall depending on the region you experience in . The uncouth Chioggia form , however , is best suit for nerveless weather climates . Though technically ice tolerant for short period of time of time , any amount of exposure to gamey heat will burn radicchio ’s foliage . It will survive in a very versatile temperature stove , between 30 and 90 degree Fahrenheit , but its leaves will suffer in high temporary .

radicchio salad

Radicchio plant love getting flock of sunlight but it can stand some subtlety as well , especially during very warm summertime . Radicchio adapt well to a wide range of soils , from sand , to loam , or even clay , but it especially wish wet , very good drainage , and a pH between 7.5 and 8.0 .

How to Plant Radicchio

part your radicchio seed indoors between 12 and eight weeks prior to the last full Robert Lee Frost . If you ’re starting with seedling , transfer them into your garden bed two weeks before last frost . For an autumn or wintertime harvest , engraft your radicchio seed in the late summer . Plant seeds one - fourth of an column inch cryptical and two inches aside . Once seedling start to mature , thin back to eight to ten inches between each sprout to ascertain right circulation .

Radicchio plants will survive in temperature between 30 and 90 degrees F , but opt temps between 45 and 65 degrees F for most fecund growth . They favour full sun but will turn well in light shade locations also . Radicchio seeds should sprout around five to seven days after sowing if soil temperature are around 60 degrees , but might take as farsighted as two week to sprout in colder soils .

Irrigate regularly , keeping the grime moist until seedling mature . Amend the grime with plenty of compost prior to planting . drill crop rotation , making sure not to plant radicchio where witloof , radicchio , chicory , or escarole have been grow in the past few growing season . To unfold your harvest , plant new seeds every few weeks for longer harvest time period . offer one-half strength servings of an organic provender like fish emulsion to fertilise your radicchio during the mature time of year . provender once in the spring once plants are established and once around mid - summertime .

sliced and harvested Radicchio with text overlay vegetable gardening complete guide to growing Radicchio

Care for Radicchio

Radicchio care is fairly simple . Pull up weeds around radicchio plants regularly or mulch to preclude weeds from taking root . Mulching is proficient , as radicchio plants have shallow roots , which can well be upset unnecessarily while pulling up weeds .

Keep your radicchio water well , irrigate manually during dry spells . Consistent moisture will conduct to lots of growth . Supply at least one in of urine per week via rainwater or irrigation or a combining of both . Keep up waterings throughout the growing season . A rain calibre may be helpful in determine whether or not to add water near the end of each week . A drip irrigation arrangement is prefer to help keep the leaf dry to avoid disease issuing . If dribble irrigation is not an option , water at the base of your radicchio plant and pat dry the leaves afterwards . Do not let the dirt get over - saturate or piddle - log for any stop of prison term .

How to Propagate Radicchio

Radicchio can be propagated by seeds or transplant . Seeds stay active for five years . To check more about growing radicchio from seeded player , confer with the , “ How to Plant Radicchio , ” surgical incision above .

Garden Pests and Diseases of Radicchio

Alternaria Leaf Spot : Alternaria manifest as small rust-brown browned lesions with white or grey middles that appear on the top side of leaves . The lesion can go all the way around the stem of the plant , make the sham branch to wilt . Alternaria is at its bad when the atmospheric condition is warm , bed wetter , or more humid than usual .

Prevent alternaria leafage spot by watering industrial plant from the cornerstone alternatively of using a sprinkler scheme or permit the foliage to be splashed by watering from above . Avoid overwatering your plants , and do not work around them when foliage is wet from rainfall , morning dew , or irrigation , as crocked conditions encourage the spread of alternaria leafage spot . Spacing out your plant at the appropriate length and keeping them pruned , as well as any other mensuration that help tune circulation , can also facilitate stave in off alternaria leaf spot .

If you see alternaria folio spot on a industrial plant in your garden , use clean , sterilized shear to snip away the philia percentage of the works as quickly as possible to avoid tolerate the disease to propagate . Do not use diseased works textile in your compost . For more information , you could say our articleDealing With Alternaria Blight .

Aphids : Aphids are tiny dirt ball that tend to come along in groups on the undersides of plant provide when the works is infested . Aphids can be many colour , including sinister , green , flushed , or peach , but all aphids are very small and can be differentiated from other dirt ball by the way their damage calculate and their vernacular concealing stain on leafage undersides .

Because aphids suck the juice from privileged plant cells , symptom of their feeding let in distort , misshapen , loop , twisted , or wizened foliage . The insects and discredited foliage may be accompanied by a unenviable clear substance called “ honeydew ” that will attract ants .

Natural predatory germ such as lady beetle or braconid WASP can be infix to the garden to keep aphid populations down . you could also blast them off with repeated rounds of water from a high - pressure water hosiery nozzle or fight them with insecticidal soap . For more info , you may read our articleAll About Aphids , And How to Kill Them . You may also be concerned in our articleHow to Spot and Get Rid of Aphids with Organic Methods .

Bacterial Leaf Spot : Bacterial leaf berth infection result in water - soaked lesion that seem on the foliage of touch plants . The foliage spots start off a brown coloration , but their bearing eventually causes the leaves to exchange color to yellow . Bacterial leaf spot is more likely when the weather condition is cool . If you see sign of bacterial leaf spot in your garden , remove the affected plants and dispose of them immediately to keep ranch of the disease . Do not include diseased plant in your compost sight .

utilise craw rotation with plant that are from a different kin and not susceptible to bacterial leafage blot to help keep the disease at a lower limit in your garden . Do not work in the garden around plants that are vulnerable to bacterial leafage smudge when the plants or the ground are besotted from pelting , dawn dew , or irrigation , as pixilated conditions contribute to spread of the disease . For more information , you’re able to say the University of Maryland Extension profile onbacterial leaf spotlight .

Black Rot : Not to be confound with black root rot ( normally denote to just as “ etymon putrefaction ” ) , black rot is a bacterial plant disease that is at its regretful when the atmospheric condition is specially warm or humid . The leave-taking of taint plant life offend out into 5 - shaped wound in shades of yellow and orange that appear on the edge of the leaves . Where the lesions appear , the leaf withers until it dry out completely and strike from the plant .

Prevent black putrefaction from becoming a job in your garden by go around crops with a different eccentric of plant completely that are not susceptible to black rot . pee plant no more than is needed , and take the moisture at the al-Qa’ida instead of using overhead irrigation or watering from above and permit the moisture splash the plant allow . Do not work around plants susceptible to disastrous rot when it is pixilated in the garden due to rain , dew , or irrigation , as wet allows black bunk to go around .

Any measure that increases air circulation around your plant , such as space them out sufficiently or rationalize them well , will help keep black rot at bay . Black guff can find a home for the winter in encroaching widow’s weeds , so verify to keep your garden and the area around the edge of your garden cleared of weed plants . For more information , you may record The University of Wisconsin - Madison Horticulture Division of Extension ’s profile onblack rot of crucifers .

Cabbage Looper : Cabbage loopers are immature caterpillars with white stripes along their side that measure an inch to an inch and a half long . you could tell them asunder from other green caterpillar by the iteration , inchworm - like pace for which they are name . After the cabbage looper have matured and translate , you may see snowy moth flit around the Brassica in your garden . These moths can lie eggs on your plants that will hatch to produce more cabbage inchworm . Cabbage inchworm will fertilise on radicchio and any flora that is a relative of the cabbage and can allow for holes , missing section of foliation , or burrow in their aftermath .

you’re able to protect your flora from ever having cabbage looper nut laid on them by coiffure up floating row deal as soon as your radicchio and any other vulnerable plants are introduced to the garden . If you see one of the green cat in your garden , pick it off the plant and drown it in a bowl of oily water . Parasitic wasp can also be deployed to keep lucre looper population down . Botanical Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis)is a natural insect powder that will work against dinero measuring worm without dealing too much scathe to your well-disposed neighborhood pollinators and other beneficial worm . For more data , you could read our articleHow to Control Cabbage Looper .

Damping Off : Damping off is a fungous disease that tends to strike when plants are at the ejaculate or seedling stage , and it can write calamity for intact harvest of many plant types . semen may fail to spud or untested works may wilt and collapse for no evident cause . The disease happens most when conditions are squiffy and the temperature is above 68 degree Fahrenheit ( 20 degrees Anders Celsius ) . It can also be a problem when the soil is too heavy in N , often due to too much nitrogen - base fertiliser .

Consider keep your babe works hydrated by haze over them with a spray bottle to avoid excess wet and overwatering . Use fertiliser as directed to void end up with too much atomic number 7 , which can encourage muffle off . Do n’t permit seedling crowd one another too much , and do n’t be afraid to reduce them out so the strongest have a good guesswork at survival . In addition to thin out seedling , any strategy that improves air circulation will help foreclose damping off ( such as finding a spot that is not shelter against pushover or removing objects that forget the confidential information ) . If you use containers more than once , sterilize them before reuse by scrub up them in soapy water and then rinsing them in a solution of one part bleaching agent to nine parts water . For more information , you’re able to read our articleHow to Prevent Damping Off .

Downy Mildew : Downy mildew is a fungous disease that is easygoing to recognize because of the fuzzy white or grey piece it make on the underside of plant life farewell . After a while , the disease will move to occupy the top side of leaf as well .

Keep downy mildew at bay tree by rotating crop with a dissimilar family of industrial plant that is not susceptible to this disease . Do not use overhead irrigation or piddle plant from above . Instead , aim piddle at the base of your plants so their foliage is not splashed with moisture . Ensure estimable air circulation by spacing plants out fittingly and prune them as want . Do not act upon around plant vulnerable to downy mould when condition are wet ( after rain , irrigation , or when morning dew stands on the plants ) , as wet help downy mold to spread . For more information , you could read our articleIdentify , Prevent , and Treat Garden Problems : Downy Mildew .

Flea Beetles : Flea beetles are midget jumping insects that will consume your plant leaves and open disease at the same time . To keep their population at a lower limit , spread out susceptible crops out with plants from another family alone that do n’t run to sputter with flea beetles . you’re able to also instal floating course screening when plants are young to prevent flea beetles from damaging them when they would be off the hard . For more information , you could read our articleHow to Fight Flea Beetles .

Leafminers : Leafminers chew tunnels in the surface of your plants ’ farewell as they deplete , and you may even be able to see the lilliputian dismal dot of the insect ’s body at the last of the winding path leafminers leave behind . The larval maggot form is yellow and cylinder - shape , while adult leafminers are tiny fly - like bug in shades of grim and yellow .

While leafminers do lots of surly equipment casualty to foliage , they are not normally fatal to the plant . If you see signs of leafminers on one of your works , hit and dispose of it as quickly as possible to curtail feast of the plague . Do not admit plants infested with leafminers in your compost . For more information , you’re able to read our articleHow to Fight Leafminer Insects .

Slugs and Snails : Most gardener have seen what slugs and snails can do in their gardens more than they would care . They tend to chew expectant jagged areas out of plant leave , and if plants are particularly young , they may mow them down entirely . you’re able to tell that clout or snails have been at employment when the damage is done overnight and accompanied by a argent trail . slug and snails are more of a job when the conditions is wet .

A ring ofdiatomaceous eartharound your vulnerable works will keep slugs and snails away , as the DE is painful for them to cross with their soft bodies . Some nurseryman report they were successful using coffee grounds in the same means one would apply DE against slugs and snails . There are many different kinds of snare you may make with household items to catch slug or snails if they stay on to be a problem .

For more information , you’re able to read our articleHow to Protect Seedlings from Slugs and Snails , which has tips to fend for plant of all old age as well as instructions for establish an electrified roadblock against slugs and snails using copper tape recording . You may also be concerned in the articlesGardening Quick Tip : Use Rhubarb Leaves as Slug Traps , Slug and Snail Pest Control , andHow to Control Slugs and Snails in the Garden .

How to Harvest and Store Radicchio

Individual leaves can be taken at any time , or you could harvest the intact head when they become firm to the ghost , which usually takes just about 60 to 65 days after the initial planting . Use radicchio like lettuce in salads or wrapper . Cook radicchio by sautéing or steaming .

harvesting heads when they are young at any size of it you prefer . youthful head can be kiwi , baseball game or even Citrus paradisi - sized . The sure-enough the straits , the more bitter the flavor will be and the tougher the texture . The younger heads will be sweeter , cranky , and less bitter . Bitterness can be chasten to a academic degree by cooking . Radicchio grown in the gloaming will hold together comfortably and store longer than spring - grown radicchio .

depot principal in the electric refrigerator for three to four weeks in an uncertain and perforated plastic purse . Just after a frost , crop snow - covered heads and remove quick-frozen forbidden leaf , put in the remnant in a perforated unsealed pliant bag in the refrigerator . Frosted head will also keep for around three to four workweek .

Radicchio is a coarse ingredient in Italian cuisine , where it is often cook and pair with other vegetables to create tasty side dishes . Cooked radicchio is peculiarly awful when pair off with eggs or cooked into omelets . Find new and interesting way to habituate radicchio in your repast and enjoy this immensely flavourful and complex Italian vegetable grown fresh in your edible garden .