Chicory, Forage (Cichorium intybus) Cover Crop Seed
$3.95 – $36.00
Family: Aster (Asteracea)
Hardiness: Zone 3 to 9
Taprooted herbaceous perennial native to Europe and widely naturalized. This is a coarse variety of chicory meant for cover crop, blue flowers and pasture. Seed can be broadcast fall or spring. Although it works best to prepare a seedbed, it is also possible to oversow chicory seed onto broken sod or short grass. The seed does work its way down, and good results may occur. One packet covers 10 sq ft. The long taproot penetrates subsoil and breaks up plowsole to improve aeration and water holding capacity of soils. The leaves provide superior forage for cattle, horses, goats, etc, containing up to 30% protein. Chicory is rich in potassium, sulfur, calcium, sodium, manganese and iron.
500 seeds/pkt. 100 g per 1,000 square feet. 100 g is equivalent to 70,000 seeds. 1 lb covers 4,500 square feet.
Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s
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Question
Lydia Blum –
I would like a highly nutritious forage for my goats. Would a mix of forage chicory, hay flower, and alfalfa be a good option? Or is a different mix better? I have about 3/4 of an acre of quack grass I want to plow up and plant in something better.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Lydia, I think your least expensive and most effective option would be to mix forage chicory with red clover. Chicory is an herb, high feed value for goats, very palatable to them, and red clover will improve the pasture and provide a foundation, also has good feed value and high palatability for goats. richo
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Lydia Blum –
Thanks. I looked up the clover and it’s only hardy to zone 5. I’m in zone 4. Is there something hardy here that I could mix it with? Or would the clover reseed? I’m slightly confused because we have some red clover naturally. Not much, but some. We have a lot of white clover though.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Lydia,
If you have red clover overwintering then red clover is probably hardy in your microniche. White clover might be more winter hardy. We don’t have that one, though. Richo
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Question
Lynda –
Hi. Can this Chicory be grown in a shady spot?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Lynda, Chicory prefers sun. In general cool season forage crops are more likely to grow well in shade. You can try oats and peas or annual ryegrass. Richo
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Lynda –
Thank you so much! I am still trying to figure out my deer “cafe”. It is mostly shade to deep shade. I’m going to order many plantain plants. They should be good. Would the deer enjoy the oats and peas? Heartfelt gratitude once again!
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Richo Cech –
hi lynda, deer are more like browsers than grazers. I haven’t seen them eat too much oats and peas but if there was nothing else growing there, they would eat it. richo
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Bobby –
What’s the average height range for this chicory?
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Richo Cech –
The average height is really ground level because stock and deer will eat it to the ground continually. It flowers out to about knee-high if it isn’t grazed or browsed. r
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Bobby –
Thanks. Some friends are installing a semi-wild lawn, but there are height restrictions in certain areas because the don’t want to hide some of the current permanent plantings…
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Question
John Spence –
Can humans eat forage chicory?
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Admin Richo Cech –
Yes, but why not go for some of the more delicate cichoriums? If you’re on the trail of edible chicories, why not “Italian Dandelion.” I personally consume “Golden Giant” — a perfect salad ingredient, solid enough to satisfy, bitter enough to excite.
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Marsha Cooper –
Would this make a good plant for honey bees in the piedmont area of Georgia?
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Richo Cech –
Hello Marsha, Chicory is widely adapted as a plant, and the plant is frequently visited by bees. Richo
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