Bring texture and garden-fresh flavor to your salad bowl with Benefine Chicory Endive. This non-GMO, open-pollinated heirloom produces bright green, deeply cut and toothed foliage with an upright, vigorous habit. Its ruffled leaves surround a paler, tender heart, offering a pleasing contrast of color and texture. Harvest tender baby leaves for mixed salads or grow plants larger for bunching and fuller hearts. Choose 60, 80, 100, or 200 pelleted seeds.

Germination Rate: 98%. Test Date: 07/25. JSS.

Why Choose Benefine Endive?

• Beautiful salad texture: Deeply cut, ruffled leaves add volume and visual interest to fresh preparations.
• Tender inner leaves: Paler hearts offer a milder contrast to the pleasantly bitter outer foliage; flavor varies with growing conditions.
• Flexible harvests: Pick young outer leaves while protecting the growing point, or allow plants to develop for larger harvests.
• Useful warm-season traits: Benefine is valued for heat and tipburn tolerance and slower bolting relative to some comparable endives, but extreme conditions can still affect quality.
• Easier seed handling: Pelleting makes tiny seeds easier to see and space.

Planting Tips for Success

• Choose your season: Sow for spring or fall harvests using local weather and frost dates. Cooler growing conditions generally favor tender greens.
• Prepare the soil: Choose fertile, well-drained soil enriched with mature compost. Raised beds and adequately sized containers can work well.
• Sow shallowly: Plant approximately 1/4 inch deep in fine soil or seed-starting mix. Keep pellets evenly moist as the coating softens and seedlings emerge.
• Space for your harvest: Thin more closely for baby leaves, or allow approximately 10 to 12 inches between plants grown to full size.
• Manage light and moisture: Provide sun with afternoon protection during intense heat. Water consistently without leaving roots waterlogged.
• Feed moderately: Follow soil-test and fertilizer-label recommendations. Steady growth and moisture help maintain leaf quality.
• Support and harvest: Staking is unnecessary. Cut outer leaves without injuring the crown for possible regrowth, or cut the whole plant when it reaches your preferred size.

What Are Pelleted Seeds?

A coating gives small seeds a more uniform size for easier handling and sowing. Consistent moisture is important while pellets soften; pelleting does not guarantee emergence. Learn more about pelleted seeds.

Why Choose David's Garden Seeds®?

• Veteran-Owned: Supplying premium seeds since 2009.
• GO TEXAN Certified: Supporting local agriculture and communities.
• Integrity Pledge: David's Garden Seeds has taken the Seed Integrity Pledge.
• Vegetable Seed License: David's Garden Seeds has been granted a Vegetable Seed License for the State of Texas.

Cooking Methods

• Fresh salads: Pair clean, dry leaves with fruit, nuts, and a bright dressing to balance their pleasantly bitter flavor.
• Quick sauté: Briefly wilt chopped leaves in olive oil and garlic, finishing with lemon.
• Soups: Stir chopped greens into soups near the end of cooking for texture and flavor.
• Warm grain bowls: Fold tender leaves into warm grains just before serving.

Order Benefine Pelleted Endive Seeds Today

Choose your packet size and grow ruffled greens for fresh garden-to-table meals.

Nutritional Information

• Harvested greens: Nutrition refers to edible endive leaves, not planting seeds or their coating.
• Variety-specific analysis: Verified serving-based nutrient amounts and % Daily Value figures for Benefine are not available in this listing.

Nutrient content varies with growing conditions, serving size, and preparation. No variety-specific nutrient figures are claimed.

Important Disclosures

• Variety Disclaimer: Leaf shape, heart color, flavor, growth rate, and harvest size vary with weather, soil, and gardening practices. Tolerance does not mean immunity to heat, tipburn, or bolting.
• Seed Storage: Store pellets cool, dry, and away from sunlight. Seeds and coating are for planting, not consumption.
• Planting Zones: Consult local frost dates and regional growing guidance to choose sowing windows.

Grow something beautiful. Grow something delicious. Grow with David's Garden Seeds®.

Benefine Endive Salad with Apple and Walnuts

Use harvested Benefine leaves for this crisp salad, not seed-packet contents. Serves 4 as a side. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 3 to 5 minutes for toasting walnuts.

Ingredients

• 6 loosely packed cups harvested Benefine endive leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
• 1 medium red-skinned apple, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey, optional
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant. Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
2. Separate endive leaves and wash under running water, removing soil near the base. Dry thoroughly and tear into bite-size pieces.
3. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, optional honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
4. Place endive and sliced apple in a large bowl. Add enough dressing to lightly coat and toss gently.
5. Top with cooled walnuts and Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve immediately.

Recipe Tips and Storage

Use more pale inner leaves for a milder salad, or include green outer leaves for extra character. Omit walnuts for a nut-free version and check ingredient labels for allergens; Parmesan contains milk and Dijon contains mustard. Keep washed greens cold and store dressing separately until serving. Refrigerate promptly within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Dressed leftovers are best eaten within 24 hours.