Scientific Name: Cichorium endivia

Common Name: Endive 'Salad King'

Family: Asteraceae

Origin:

Salad King is a heirloom Endive variety grown for it's delicious large, frilly leaves.  Salad King is Italian in origin and was first bred in 1957.

Culinary Uses:

Endive can be eaten raw in salads, wraps or sandwiches or cooked like a leafy green.  Raw Endive leaves have a bold flavour but are somewhat bitter, with the central, youngest leaves being the mildest in taste.  Commercial Endive is often blanched while still in the ground for a few weeks prior to harvest to reduce its bitterness.  You can replicate this by tying the leaves loosely in a bunch and covering the plant with a large pot to reduce the amount of light reaching them.  Endive is highly nutritious possessing many vitamins and minerals, it's a particularly rich source of Folate, Vitamin K and Manganese. 

Companion Planting:

Endive grows well in vegetable beds containing beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, collards, carrots, chervil, cucumbers or sage.  Endive will not grow well alongside onions or other plants in the same family such as garlic, chives, leeks and shallots.

Growing Tips:

Endive grows best in full sun position but will also tolerate light shade.  Endive requires a relatively rich, free draining soil to grow well.  Grow Endive in raised beds if your soil is too compacted or heavy with clay.  Dig lots of organic material such as well-rotted animal manures, compost or worm castings through your vegetable beds prior to sowing Endive.  Doing this will help improve your soil structure and give your young Endive plants the food they need to grow.  Fertilise your Endive plants every few weeks with an organic liquid fertiliser, worm juice or compost tea every few weeks for optimal growth.  Ensure that you water your Endive plants often, if the soil dries fully the leaves will become excessively bitter.  Avoid wetting the leaves if possible as they may rot, a drip irrigation system is ideal for watering your Endive plants.  Spread a thick layer of sugar cane mulch around your Endive plants to keep their root systems cool, retain moisture and reduce competition from weeds.  Salad King Endive is frost hardy and more resistant to bolting than most other varieties of Endive.

When To Sow:

Sow Endive during March, September or October in cold and mountainous areas of Australia.  In temperate regions of Australia sow Endive from February to April or from September to October.  In the subtropics Endive will grow best if sown from March to July.  If you want to try growing Endive in the tropics it would be best to sow the seeds during the dry season from April to July, although success is not guaranteed.

How To Sow:

Sow Salad King Endive seeds 6mm deep spacing plantings about 20cm apart to give them room to grow.

Germination Time:

Most Endive seedlings will emerge 7 to 16 days after sowing the seeds.

Time To Harvest:

Under ideal growing conditions Salad King Endive takes between 11 and 12 weeks to reach a size big enough to harvest the entire plant, although individual leaves may be picked before this time as needed.