Chicory has long been popular as a coffee substitute or additive. Some scientific evidence says that chicory is a mild sedative, so chicory-laced coffee smoothes out the coffee drinker.

Chicory leaves look like a dandelion’s, and have a similar taste and health benefits. Collect chicory’s leaves in fall, but don’t expect to freeze or dry them. If you don’t enjoy the bitter edge of fresh chicory, cook them in several changes of water.

This sunflower cousin can grow to 5 feet (1.5 m) or more. As it grows upward, it branches with sparse, smaller leaves, leaving its stem nearly naked. From late summer to early fall, it glows with 11/2-inch-wide (4 cm), true blue flowers (ray petals with squarish, ragged tips) that often glow at dusk.

Chicory’s taproot can grow 2 feet (61 cm) down and 2 inches (5 cm) across. If you’re going to dig its roots, double dig its bed (click here for instructions) and throw in lots of compost. It’s cold hardy through Zone 3, but southern gardeners may struggle to grow it well.

Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in early spring and thin the plants to about a foot apart. Plants usually flower in their second year. Some growers blanch the leaves — cover them with a newspaper or cloth — to reduce their bitterness.

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