Belgian endive

Belgian endive: plant 15 cm (6 in) apart in the row and 30 cm (12 in) between rows, 4 per square. Good neighbours: Carrot, Beetroot, Radish.

Key facts

Spacing in the row	15 cm (6 in)
Between rows	30 cm (12 in)
In a 30 cm (1 ft) square	4 per square
Sun	Part sun, 4–6 hours a day
Root depth	25 cm (10 in)
Height when grown	30 cm (12 in)
Crop rotation group	Anywhere in the rotation
Support	None needed

Sowing and germination

How it is started	Sown straight into the bed
Seeds per hole	3
Plants kept after thinning	1
Seeds per metre of row	20
Sowing depth	1 cm (0.4 in)
Soil temperature	from 8 °C, best 18–24 °C
Days to emerge	7–14 days
Light while germinating	Needs light, barely cover
Before sowing	nothing needed
When to sow	Outdoors before the last frost; soil at least 8 °C

From seedling to plant

Pricking out	sown where it grows
Takes transplanting	Badly, sow where it grows
Hardening off	5–7 days
Life cycle	Biennial, harvested in its first year
Cold tolerance	Takes a light frost → hardy, takes hard frost
Soil	Rich, with compost, stays moist, pH 6–7
In a pot	6 L, 20 cm (7.9 in)
Watering	Water when the soil is dry two fingers down; while roots swell
Feeding	Little; at planting
Support and training	None needed; blanch by covering

Harvest and planning

Days to first harvest	150–210 days, from sowing
Ready when	The head feels firm
Harvest window	Picked again and again, 8–16 weeks
Sow again every	14 days
Typical yield	2–3.5 kg per m²
Botanical family	Asteraceae
Watch out for	Slugs and snails, root rot in wet soil

Good neighbours

Why, with the sources →

Plan Belgian endive in your garden

Open the free planner, drop Belgian endive onto a bed and see how many plants fit.

Start Planning Your Garden

Sowing and harvest

Sow outdoors	May–Jun
Harvest	Nov–Mar

My dates for this crop

My country Last spring frost where I live

Give the date once and this page, the sowing calendar and the planner all follow it.

Months for a temperate climate: about a month later in the north and a month earlier in the south. Give your own last frost date for exact dates.

What to plant next to Belgian endive →

From the same family

Plants of the Asteraceae family share diseases and pests, so they follow each other in the rotation only after a break.

Grown much the same way

Crops that need about the same room and care, from another family.

What to plant after Belgian endive

Crops that still have time to grow on the same spot once it is lifted, from another rotation group.

Sources

The values on this page marked as checked come from these sources: spacing, sowing depth, germination, soil, timing and safety notes, each against the source named here.

How to grow chicory — Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for: sowing depth, between rows; checked 2026-10-31

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