scrummy-looking salad there Max! Which reminds me I haven't tried that Red Treviso stuff yet. It was looking fine the last time I went to the plot - 20th January! Tsk.
Thanks Wardy. Please give me a shout in late August and remind me to sow 100 Treviso radiccios - not just half a dozen. Also 100 more winter lettuces, 50 wild rockets and 50 American cresses too...
Why have empty or weedy soil when you can have salad in Jan through March??
...but now you've got a greenhouse so you can grow yer winter lettuces in there this year? I've heard some people just sow them into grow bags when their toms are finished..
Failing that, you could try the other radicchios:
Castelfranco (stolen from the web: Castelfranco has a yellowish-cream leaf with red-speckles. This beautiful, tender, lettuce-like ball unfolds like a rose. It is also known as the Edible Flower.)
or;
Tardivo (Tardivo grows into a uniquely shaped strong plant. It has elongated leaves with pronounced white ribs tinged with red.Tardivo comes from the more common variety, Radicchio di Treviso that, after the first frost, is cultivated with a complicated growing-forcing-blanching-sprouting technique similar to the method that yields Belgium Endive. After the first frost, the radicchio is harvested leaving substantial taproot. Each plant is carefully freed of its outer frost-damaged leaves. These plants are then preserved in protected furrows where the taproot is immersed in spring water. It then forms new leaves in the absence of light. Tardivo is known as a Fiori d'Inverno or winter flower because it is only available from November to March.)
There's a radicchio from Verona and Chioggia too...kind of makes the back end of winter more bearable somehow, don't it?
I've got about 30 plants of the Red Treviso which is probably too many all at once. I should have gone for succession I suppose. Mind you didn't expect such a good germination rate
I wish I had 30 plants - I think they're delicious with a vinaigrette type dressing. Radicchio in March - we eat pretty posh up North these days eh? Apparently you can braise and char grill the things too - although I've never tried...
One thing I discovered last year about the Orientals in the greenhouse thing: if you let a few flower you attract loads of beneficial insects into the greenhouse dead early.
Definitely going to chargrill some a la that recipe in the Franchi catalogue. They look just beautiful, they were gleaming in the sunshine today. Shame to pick em!
The pak choi gets beautiful yellow flowers on it so that would be one to let run to seed in the greenhouse. Not that difficult is it !
9 comments:
scrummy-looking salad there Max! Which reminds me I haven't tried that Red Treviso stuff yet. It was looking fine the last time I went to the plot - 20th January! Tsk.
Thanks Wardy. Please give me a shout in late August and remind me to sow 100 Treviso radiccios - not just half a dozen. Also 100 more winter lettuces, 50 wild rockets and 50 American cresses too...
Why have empty or weedy soil when you can have salad in Jan through March??
I was a bit miffed though when me salad defences were blown to buggery! Rather knocks yer duck off!! Still the Treviso looked positively radiant.
...but now you've got a greenhouse so you can grow yer winter lettuces in there this year? I've heard some people just sow them into grow bags when their toms are finished..
Failing that, you could try the other radicchios:
Castelfranco (stolen from the web: Castelfranco has a yellowish-cream leaf with red-speckles. This beautiful, tender, lettuce-like ball unfolds like a rose. It is also known as the Edible Flower.)
or;
Tardivo (Tardivo grows into a uniquely shaped strong plant. It has elongated leaves with pronounced white ribs tinged with red.Tardivo comes from the more common variety, Radicchio di Treviso that, after the first frost, is cultivated with a complicated growing-forcing-blanching-sprouting technique similar to the method that yields Belgium Endive. After the first frost, the radicchio is harvested leaving substantial taproot. Each plant is carefully freed of its outer frost-damaged leaves. These plants are then preserved in protected furrows where the taproot is immersed in spring water. It then forms new leaves in the absence of light. Tardivo is known as a Fiori d'Inverno or winter flower because it is only available from November to March.)
There's a radicchio from Verona and Chioggia too...kind of makes the back end of winter more bearable somehow, don't it?
I've got about 30 plants of the Red Treviso which is probably too many all at once. I should have gone for succession I suppose. Mind you didn't expect such a good germination rate
oh ta for the chicory info! I'm going to use the greenhouse for winter salads. Might have a go with the oriental veg too
I wish I had 30 plants - I think they're delicious with a vinaigrette type dressing. Radicchio in March - we eat pretty posh up North these days eh? Apparently you can braise and char grill the things too - although I've never tried...
One thing I discovered last year about the Orientals in the greenhouse thing: if you let a few flower you attract loads of beneficial insects into the greenhouse dead early.
Definitely going to chargrill some a la that recipe in the Franchi catalogue. They look just beautiful, they were gleaming in the sunshine today. Shame to pick em!
The pak choi gets beautiful yellow flowers on it so that would be one to let run to seed in the greenhouse. Not that difficult is it !
I think all the brassicas have yellow flowers...? It's suprising how nice they smell!
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