Mix, Bitter Is Better (Organic)
Cichorium intybus and Cichorium endivia. 30-60 days.
Inspired by the delightful Sagra di Radicchio in Seattle, we bring you Bitter Is Better! This seed blend is a celebration of the Cichorium family of delicious, sweet, bitter greens and includes a diverse selection of chicory, radicchio, escarole, and endive. Leaf types vary from frisée to broad-leafed, heads range from rosettes, to open-headed, to tightly wrapped, with colors across the full spectrum from golden-green to deepest dark red. Suitable for either cut-and-come-again salad greens cultivation, or for a truly diverse assortment of head Cichorium. When these crops are young they are quite tender and mild — and almost entirely green! The red colors and robust flavors only develop as the plants mature and/or with cooler weather. Please have some patience with this mix and allow it to mature a bit prior to harvest. For best flavor, we recommend this mix for cool season production. #bitterisbetter
Sow indoors with good potting soil February through September. Transplant into the garden 3-4 weeks after sprouting. In our area, chicory can grow through the winter without protection but is best when sown in June or July for this purpose. Alternatively, direct sow March through August.
Seed Saving
Collect seeds from 10 or more plants in second year when seeds have dried down. Cut whole plants, place on tarp, then dance and stomp to free the seed. Or place dry plants on tarps and drive on them. Screen and winnow to clean. Isolate from other Cichorium sp. by ½ mile.
huntresscat (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Washington
Sowed in my kitchen garden late summer in the shady section of the garden and added the shelter of a cold frame glass in mid-winter. This yielded nice cutting greens and now, early spring, we have a few small heads of greens. I didn’t thin as much as I intended to and next time I’ll cover this mix earlier in the winter or in the late fall. I’ve sowed some of my 2019 seeds this spring, we shall see. I was hoping for a bit more red or blushing radicchios in the mix but it’s all delicious.
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Linda (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Northeastern US
It’s a nice mix of mild greens, but no chicory, radicchio, escarole, or endive. Nothing bitter or red. Adding arugula to add flavor. Too bad, I was looking forward to the flavorful mix as described.
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Sarah Kleeger (verified owner) –
Hi Linda, Thank you for taking the time to review our Bitter is Better seed mix! We were able to verify based on the date of your order that the seed you received was the product as described. This seed mix contains only chicory, radicchio, escarole, and endive. When these crops are young they are quite tender and mild — and almost entirely green! The red colors and robust flavors only develop as the plants mature and/or with cooler weather. Please have some patience with this mix and allow it to mature a bit more, or sow again for autumn harvests, and let us know how it goes! Thank you for calling attention to this detail – we have updated our product description to let people know ahead of time. Please email us if you have any further issues.
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