Green gardening: Growing endive

Endive grows like lettuce and looks like lettuce. Being more tolerant of hot weather, endive will flourish in temperatures too high for lettuce and because it’s more cold resistant, endive can be planted for later harvest than lettuce.

The two most popular types of endive are the slender, wavy-leafed curly endive and the flatter-leafed escarole. Both varieties have tougher leaves and a sharper flavour than lettuce and need to be shielded from sunlight when growing, so that their leaves will become milder and more tender.

• Green Curled is a popular curly endive variety.
• Full Heart Batavian is an escarole that is popular in salads.

• Endive grows best in soil that is rich in humus. To prepare the soil, dig in substantial amounts of organic matter, such as compost or rotted manure.
• You can plant endive directly into the garden. Or if space is a problem, you can sow seeds in a seedbed, and when seedlings are five to eight centimetres (two to three inches) high, transplant them into rows from which you have harvested an earlier crop.
• Endive grows best when the seeds are sown in midsummer for a fall harvest. Sow the seeds one centimetre (half an inch) deep, two centimetres (one inch) apart, in rows 60 centimetres (25 inches) apart.
• Thin, as with lettuce, until the plants stand 35 to 40 centimetres (14 to 15 inches) apart.
• Fertilize, weed, and water endive as you do lettuce. In addition, in the final two or three weeks of growth, shield the heads from sunto mellow the rather harsh natural flavour of the endive leaves. To blanch or shield from sun,  gather the long outer leaves together over the top of the plant and secure them with a rubber band. Or simply place a wide board directly on the tops of the plants. Because the foliage grows low to the ground, you will not crush it.

Endive suffers from a few predators.

• Slugs may be a problem in wet areas. Dispose of them by setting out sunken saucers of stale beer, in which these slimy creatures will drown themselves; or look for them at night with a flashlight, and pick them up by hand. Iron phosphate slug baits are also acceptable for organic gardens. Read and follow label directions.
• Aphids can be controlled by spraying the plants with insecticidal soap.
• Leafhoppers may feed on the undersides of leaves and can be controlled with neem. Always follow product labels exactly.