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Planting endive. An agreeable addition to
a salad. It is similar to lettuce in its soil and temperature requirements
and its habits of growth but is less sensitive to heat and may be used
in its place when the weather has become too warm for good lettuce development.
In the South it is grown chiefly as a winter crop and in the North during
the spring, summer and fall, and also is forced in the winter.
Most popular varieties are Green Curled,
a narrow, cut-leaved variety, and Broad Leaved Batavian and Full Heart
Batavian, broad-leaved types often known as escarole. Sow the seeds 1/2
inch deep and 10 inches apart in rows 20 inches apart. Tie the leaves
of well-formed plants together in cool weather to blanch the heart and
eliminate some of the bitterness. Do not tie up in warm weather; it may
cause the inner leaves to decay. For winter use, lift out the plants with
a ball of earth attached and place them in a cellar or cool frame but
do not let them freeze.
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