Salad King Endive, Heirloom Seeds

Bring a pleasantly bitter crunch to your salad bowl with Salad King, an open-pollinated heirloom endive with deeply cut, curled green leaves and pale ribs. Its spreading rosettes add texture to mixed greens, while the sturdier leaves are also delicious cooked. Grow it for spring salads or a fall crop that can tolerate light frost.

Why Grow Salad King Endive?

• Beautiful curly greens: Dark green leaves with pale midribs add contrast and texture to fresh salads.
• Slow to bolt: Tolerates some warmth, although cooler conditions favor quality.
• Fresh or cooked: Pair its pleasantly bitter flavor with milder lettuce, or cook the leaves as greens.
• Room to spread: Mature plants can reach about 22–24 inches wide and 12 inches tall when given space.
• Heirloom and open-pollinated: A variety for gardeners interested in seed saving.

Growing Notes

Sow ¼ inch deep for a cool-season spring or fall crop. Choose full sun to partial shade and keep soil evenly moist. Allow about 18 inches between plants for large rosettes; closer spacing suits smaller harvests. In a square-foot bed, allow 1 plant per 4 sq ft for mature heads.

Plan approximately 50–100 days to full maturity, depending on conditions and growing method; harvest stage also affects timing. Pick outer leaves as needed or cut the whole plant at soil level. Light frost tolerance does not guarantee survival through a hard freeze.

Harvest Details

Seeds per packet: ~200+ Seeds
Plant type: Cool-season leafy vegetable; grown as an annual
Botanical name: Cichorium endivia
Variety: Salad King; heirloom, open-pollinated
Days to maturity: Approximately 50–100 days to full maturity; timing varies
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Best uses: Mixed salads and cooked greens