Belgian endive

It was my first day back at the Master Gardener research gardens today. My Belgian endive trial is progressing nicely, despite my month-long absence. They're mostly not forming tight heads yet, but we've got the darkness part licked (the containers we used were not sufficiently light proof, so the leaves were greening up despite being in, oh, 90% darkness). And the temperatures have finally dropped enough that they're sweetening up (yes, of course they're still bitter, but there should be a sweetness as well). My thesis is that we should be able to progressively harvest these babies for a couple months. At $6.99/lb in the stores, it can be worth growing your own, especially since our winter temperatures are (usually) in the right range for just leaving them outside in a shady spot. I harvested a goodly portion of single leaves from here and there today, which the other volunteers fell on with cries of gladness.