🥬 Witloof Zoom Chicory

What it looks like

Why this variety

Zoom is the F1 forcing variety recommended for early to midwinter forcing: uniform, vigorous roots that produce even chicons on a predictable schedule, which is exactly what you want when you are learning to force. Hybrid vigor shows up as roots that size up evenly and heads that come up together, instead of a staggered trickle.

The trade-off for that uniformity is seed saving: as an F1 hybrid, Zoom does not come true from saved seed, so buy fresh seed each time you grow it. For a first forcing attempt, that is a fair trade — predictable heads beat a seed-saving project.

How to grow

Sow in fall in Florida, thinning to 8–12 inches apart, and grow roots through winter. Lift the earliest, thickest roots first for the first forcing batch, and stagger later batches for a longer season.

In Florida, witloof is a winter project, not a summer crop: sow in fall, grow the roots through the cool months, lift them in late winter, and force the chicons indoors in a dark, cool spot. Witloof needs 110–130 cool days to make forcing-size roots, and it bolts if planted in warm weather — so the Florida window is fall-sown roots, winter forcing, and no summer attempts. If you cannot give the forcing roots a dark place at about 50–60°F, a cool garage or a spare fridge shelf for the forcing stage is the honest workaround.

Water & feeding

In the garden, witloof wants steady, moderate water while roots size up — about an inch a week, at the base, with mulch to hold it. Do not overfeed: rich, heavily fertilized soil makes forked, hairy roots that force poorly. In the forcing stage, keep the growing medium moist but not soggy, and keep it dark — light is the enemy of a pale, mild chicon.

Common problems

• Premature bolting — warm weather or a late planting sends plants to seed before roots size up. Sow in fall for winter roots, and do not sow witloof for summer harvest.
• Green, bitter chicons — light leaking into the forcing area. Check for light leaks, cover containers completely, and harvest promptly; even brief light exposure greens the heads and sharpens the bitterness.
• Rot in forcing — soggy medium or warm forcing temperatures. Keep the medium moist, not wet, and hold forcing at about 50–60°F with airflow.
• Small roots, small chicons — crowded plants or poor soil. Thin properly, give roots a full season, and lift only roots 1–2 inches thick at the crown.
• Aphids and slugs in the garden stage — blast aphids with water, use beer traps for slugs, and keep the bed weeded so roots grow straight.

Harvest

Force early roots first, 3–4 weeks in darkness, cutting chicons at 5–6 inches when firm and pale. Zoom’s uniformity means most heads in a batch are ready together — harvest the batch, then start the next roots.

Saving seeds

Zoom is the F1 forcing variety recommended for early to midwinter forcing: uniform, vigorous roots that produce even chicons on a predictable schedule, which is exactly what you want when you are learning to force. Hybrid vigor shows up as roots that size up evenly and heads that come up together, instead of a staggered trickle. The trade-off for that uniformity is seed saving: as an F1 hybrid, Zoom does not come true from saved seed, so buy fresh seed each time you grow it. For a first forcing attempt, that is a fair trade — predictable heads beat a seed-saving project. In Florida, witloof is a winter project, not a summer crop: sow in fall, grow the roots through the cool months, lift them in late winter, and force the chicons indoors in a dark, cool spot. The full method is in the Saving seeds section of the Witloof Chicory guide.