14-07-2004, 04:03 PM
|
|
|
Clay to good soil
(Al Dykes) wrote in message ...
I just looked for anything like "chicories" on the Burpee website
and don't see anything like it. WHat should I look for ?
For that experiment (planting chicories in solid clay to see if it
could break it) I used the seeds of a wild chicory selection from
Territorial. Big plants, agggressive growers, but viable as a veggie
only if you really like bitter greens (I do, but even for me they were
borderline). I let them go to seed originally because it was
discovered that my daughter's guinea pigs loved the leaves, so I
figured I needed seeds for the future.
The chicories in the clay fill survived several mowings before being
eventually overrun by grass. I saw how deep and thick their roots were
when I tried to clear chicories from their vegetable bed the first
time. Backbreaking work, even though I have light soil in the garden.
Otherwise, look for "radicchio" or "endive". Everyone sells those. The
"dandelions" sold as veggies are chicorium spp. too. They are, in
general, easy growing, extremely cold hardy, bitter greens with a
taproot.
|