Joe, Italian lettuce and Italian hoes

Joe (86 and 87) finally showed me the difference between the various Italian lettuces. Most of them are forms of chicory (cicoria, or as Joe pronounces it, cicora). So, what I thought was scariole is cicora rossa, with the equivalent blond variety. Scariole - (or was it Catalogna?) - has dentated leaves, and is similar to Witloof-type chicory in appearance above ground. But the latter is dug up in late October, the root (what Joe calls the "potato") shortened, then re-planted in trenches so that it can be blanched.

I told him I'd found the specimens he'd given me too bitter, and he said you can cook them, so maybe I'll try that. But I suspect they are all an acquired taste, like Brussels Sprouts.

I told him that what I needed was an Italian hoe, but you didn't seem to be able to buy them in England. He went into his shed and came out with this specimen, that he said I could have. He said he'd made it himself from a spade "like we did in the War".

Winter vegetables - English and Italian

When I got to the allotment today, Joe (56/58) was planting garlic and Joe (86/87) was planting red onions.

When I passed latter Joe, he told me I should be earthing up the fennel plants he gave me, or they would bolt.

I asked him again which of the winter lettuce he'd given me were which, because by now I was completely confused, and he pointed them out patiently and gave me their names. I turns out I've got them all wrong.

Anyway, it explained why the "lettuce" I tried the other day was bitter - it's name is cicora, i.e. chicory. The red one is cicora rossa. He says they develop hearts like lettuce. There is another chicory which I have, which he says you must dig up and transplant deep at the end of this month, because it has a big root (I guess this must be the chicory they make coffee with).

Later on, he brought me two lettuces in a bag and said, "Try them, see which one you like." One - the frizzy one - is scariola - the other, I think, is cicora.

In contrast, I had the first of my winter greens yesterday - a couple of miniscule cauliflowers and the first sprouts.