Summer is almost over, but there is still a lot to do in the kitchen garden. The program includes harvesting and planting. Vegetables that are grown in late summer and early fall include lettuce. We will explain to you how you can plant endive lettuce so that you can have fresh, home-grown greens on your table even in the cold season.
Planting endive salad: Late summer cultivation is still possible
Endive is an easy-care plant that can be planted even in cool weather. The first harvest takes place in mid-August, after which the new ones are allowedYoung plants in the raised bedor prefer to grow in the container garden in the greenhouse. The right time is crucial. Basically you have two planting dates in late summer and autumn:
- You can plant the endive outdoors at the end of August or the beginning of September at the latest. The endives tolerate low temperatures and can also spend the winter in the garden. However, at temperatures below 7 degrees Celsius you should cover the plants with frost protection. If it rains a lot in autumn, the endive needs rain protection. Because it can't tolerate waterlogging well. The wet leaves also begin to wilt quickly.
- In early autumn, i.e. early to mid-September at the latest, you can plant the lettuce in an unheated greenhouse.
- Plant the endive when temperatures vary between 17 and 25 degrees.
- It is now too late to sow: So that you can harvest the endive salad in October/November, you should plant young plants in the ground now.
- Choose the right young plants: they should not be too small and not too big. Plants that have just formed two pairs of leaves adapt quickest.
The right location for an autumn harvest
Choose a sunny spot in the garden that is protected from wind and rain. The endive will grow easily even in shady locations, but it needs at least 3 hours a daydirect sunlight(preferably morning or midday sun).
The salad is the perfect successor to heavy eaters such as various cabbage plants. The salad vegetables also go well with celery, radishes, beans, carrots, peas and dill.
Preparing the soil: This is what you should keep in mind when growing
Endive prefers nutrient-rich, moist and well-drained soil.
1. If you have clayey soil, you should loosen it first. Then you can incorporate organic compost into the soil. As a rule, the compost is completely sufficient and can provide the endive with all the important nutrients.
2. It is better to avoid additional fertilizer in the fall. These promote growth; the plants do not develop foliage, but rather sprout upwards. However, they remain spindly and are not stable enough. If the lettuce receives too much nitrogen in autumn, it reacts more sensitively to cold and frost.
3. If necessary, you can incorporate sand into the soil to improve its permeability. Good drainage is very important to prevent the roots from rotting.
4. After fertilizing the soil with compost, you can water it thoroughly.
Planting endive salad: Useful tips
There are a few things you should keep in mind when planting salad vegetables in the fall:
Choose a sunny day. Water the soil the day before if it hasn't rained that week. Pull weeds and loosen the soil.
The minimum distance between rows is 45 cm and between plants in a row – 15 cm to 25 cm.
Water the plants thoroughly an hour before planting. Then dig them out of the potting soil and lightly pat the roots around
Do not plant the plants too deep in the soil. The leaves should not touch the soil. Otherwise they can quickly wither or be attacked by pests. Fungal diseases in particular spread through spores in the soil. So it is very important that the leaves stay dry when watering.
Continue to water the plants and never allow the soil to dry out. This allows them to develop their roots and leaves more quickly.
Harvesting endive lettuce in autumn: That's why you should tie the leaves together
When is the right time to harvest if you planted the young plants in August? Basically, the endive salad has time to ripen until mid-November. It takes an average of 45 days to harvest the endives. However, this period should only serve as a guide, as the ripening time depends primarily on the weather.
The leaves are ready to harvest when they become lighter. Green leaves taste bitter, so they should not be harvested. A trick that can shorten the ripening time is to tie the leaves together. This usually takes place 14 days before harvest. The outer leaves lighten the fastest because they get a lot of direct sunlight. Most smooth-leaved endive varieties are self-bleaching. This means that the light leaves brighten the green leaves when tied together. The freshly harvested endives will last longer if you wrap them in cling film and keep them cold.
The endive salad deliversFreshness kick in summerand in autumn. With proper care and a little patience, the salad vegetables can be harvested until November.
