Common chicory is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the dandelion family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Many varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons, or roots, which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and food additive.

It is used in wine growing as a cover crop. As a mid-row (rather the under vine) plant chicory’s taproot helps reduce vine vigour on sites with high soil fertility and a high groundwater table. See also plantain.

New Zealander Bart Arnst says ‘Chicory’s big fat tap root aids in preventing compaction plus as the root breaks down over time and hollows out worms use it as an elevator shaft, redistributing nutrients and helping increase the top soil depth. Differing rooting depths is a key component in a healthy soil (plus Horn Manure 500).

Bibliography

Andreas Welte, ‘Organic Vineyard Update, Harvests–Magazine of the Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association in New Zealand Inc., (Winter 2002, Vol 55 No. 2, p.12).