This is just a quick reminder that we are now in the short time window for sowing chicory and radicchio seeds.

They are best sown between mid-June and mid-July - the first week of July is considered optimal.

These wonderful and diverse crops have taken the American foody scene by storm and are now gaining popularity in the UK too.

Chicories and radicchios make some of the best autumn and winter eating, adding a whole new family of flavours into your dishes, with their characteristic bitter-sweetness so sought after by chefs.

Some are best eaten raw and others are best cooked.

You can find our fantastic varieties on our website by clicking the button below and you can read on to find out more about each one.

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1. Castelfranco - this queen of radicchios is one of the best autumn/winter salad leaves. Castelfranco is best eaten raw to preserve its beautiful delicate variegated appearance. Also known romantically as "Tulip of the Winter" due to how they are displayed on market stalls in Italy.

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2. Rosso di Treviso Precoce (Early) - Treviso is one of the epicentres of radicchio production Italy and this type is excellent both raw and cooked. The tight elongated heads form in late autumn and develop a striking deep red and white colouring bringing a flash of colour and bitter-sweetness to salads.

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3. Rosso di Treviso Tardivo (Late) - this is a forcing type of radicchio. Forcing is the process of digging up entire plants in the late autumn and winter and growing them indoors in complete darkness. What happens next is a kind of alchemy - as the outside leaves rot and turn into a ball of slime, new deliciously mild and crunchy leaves grow in the centre of the plant, which are elongated and curled.

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4. Puntarelle - unlike most other chicories puntarelle is grown for its flowering shoots rather than its leaves. The shoots are julienned into thin ribbons which are soaked in cold water to remove some of their bitterness. Generally served with a punchy dressing as a delicious winter salad.

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5. Catalogna Gigante - sometimes referred to as ‘Dandelion Greens’ this chicory is most similar to wild chicory with an open leafy growth habit. Blanched in salty water, drained and then chucked in a frying pan with plenty of olive oil chilli and garlic - it is truly delicious.

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6. Chioggia (506TT) is a classic Palla Rossa (red ball) type radicchio forming a dense round head of red and white leaves. Chioggia is the most common type of radicchio although developed fairly recently. It is just as at home on the grill covered in olive and balsamic as it is chopped raw into a winter salad. A firm favourite among gardeners and growers.

7. Radicchio Rosa ‘Jolanda’ - A beautiful and early salmon-pink radicchio variety forming loose heads from October. This one is a real show-stopper! A really unique radicchio making the most exquisitely pink leaves unlike no other leafy veg we have grown before. ‘Jolanda’ is an early selection of Rosa (which often tends to be a later-cropping type) so it’s much better suited to the UK climate

That's all for now...

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Happy chicory sowing and eating!

Fred, Ronja, and the rest of the team

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P.S. remember next time we'll be launching our Second Spring seed collection so keep an eye out for that one