Broadleaf Batavian Endive Seeds | Escarole Greens

Broadleaf Batavian endive seeds grow escarole with broad, slightly ruffled green leaves and tender, paler inner leaves. Its pleasantly bitter flavor adds character to salads and mellows when cooked. Pick a few outer leaves for a fresh salad, or harvest a full head for a comforting pot of escarole and white bean soup.

Choose your seed pack

• 500 seeds.
• 1/4 oz pack.
• 1 oz pack.
• 4 oz pack: 1/4 lb.
• 1 lb pack.

One cart quantity purchases one selected pack. Weight-based packs are sold by weight; seed counts vary by lot. This listing is for seeds to plant, not live transplants or harvested greens.

Variety details

• Variety: Broadleaf Batavian endive, a broadleaf escarole type.
• Botanical name: Cichorium endivia.
• Leaves: broad and slightly ruffled, with green outer leaves and paler inner growth.
• Flavor: pleasantly bitter, generally milder than curly endive; growing conditions and leaf age affect intensity.
• Approximate size: heads around 10–12 inches across; plants may reach approximately 12–16 inches tall under suitable conditions.
• Approximate maturity: 80–85 days, depending on growing conditions and harvest stage.
• Seed type: open-pollinated heirloom.

Timing your crop

Escarole performs best when the main growing and harvest period falls in cool weather. Plan spring or fall crops around your local temperatures rather than a fixed July sowing date. For fall harvest, count back from expected cold weather using the listed maturity period and allow extra time as days shorten.

Start spring crops indoors approximately 6–8 weeks before your expected last frost, or direct sow when the soil is workable and conditions are suitable. Acclimate indoor seedlings gradually and transplant while young, avoiding prolonged cold stress and root-bound plants. Heat and other stress can increase bitterness and encourage bolting.

In mild-winter areas, fall sowing may provide winter harvests. Hardiness zones alone do not establish a safe planting calendar or guarantee survival through severe freezes.

Sowing and spacing

Choose full sun in cool conditions, with light afternoon shade where heat is a concern. Prepare fertile, well-drained soil with finished compost. Sow approximately 1/4 inch deep and keep the surface evenly moist during germination.

Thin or transplant to approximately 12 inches apart for mature heads. Baby-leaf plantings can be closer when harvested young. Leave enough room for airflow and easy watering.

Watering and care

Maintain consistent moisture to support tender leaves, but avoid saturated soil. Water near the root zone when practical and allow foliage to dry rather than remaining wet overnight. Mulch around established plants to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.

Feed according to soil needs and fertilizer label directions. Check for slugs, snails, and leaf-feeding insects, especially where dense foliage stays damp.

Optional blanching

Blanching excludes light from the center to produce paler, milder inner leaves; it is optional. When heads are nearly mature, loosely gather and tie the outer leaves over the center during dry weather. Begin checking within about a week and harvest promptly when the inner leaves reach the tenderness you prefer.

Do not tie wet foliage or leave heads closed unchecked for weeks. Inspect regularly for rot, especially in warm, humid conditions. Blanching does not make spoiled leaves safe to eat.

Growing in containers

Use a container with drainage holes and approximately 8–12 inches of usable soil depth. Allow roughly 12 inches of width per full-size plant and fill with well-drained vegetable potting mix. Check moisture frequently, since containers can dry quickly, but never leave pots standing in water.

Harvesting

Pick a few outer leaves once plants are established, preserving the central growing point and enough healthy foliage for continued growth. For mature heads, cut at the base with a clean knife. Regrowth after a whole-head cut is possible only if the crown survives and conditions remain suitable; it is not guaranteed.

Cool weather often improves eating quality. Light frost may be tolerated, but protect or harvest the crop before damaging cold arrives.

Kitchen use and storage

Separate leaves and wash thoroughly under running water, checking the folded bases for soil. Use tender inner leaves in salads and cook larger outer leaves in soups, braises, or sautés.

Try escarole with white beans, garlic and olive oil, pasta e fagioli, ribollita, or minestrone. It also suits stuffed leaves and pizza di scarola, a savory escarole-filled pie.

Refrigerate harvested greens promptly in a clean bag or container that retains moisture. Use soon for the best texture and discard slimy or decaying leaves.

Seed saving and storage

For seed saving, allow selected healthy plants to flower rather than harvesting every head. Flowering depends on plant age and environmental conditions; overwintering is not universally required for endive. Isolate from other flowering endive varieties if maintaining variety purity.

Collect mature, dry seed heads before seeds scatter, finish drying in a ventilated place, and clean the seed before storage. Keep unused seeds sealed in a cool, dry, dark location; storage life varies, so no fixed eight-year viability is promised.