A radicchio revolution is underway in the Northwest

On an overcast winter morning, the four acres of Wild Roots Farm look pretty dormant to the untrained eye. A string of winter storms and some 20-degree nights have left what looks like rows of muddy soil with spots of wilting vegetation mixed in. But Mary Colombo sees things a little differently.

“On the outside it’s all slimy and dead,” said Colombo, “but peel back all those layers and inside is this beautiful green head of radicchio with [what] looks like elf-painted pink speckles all throughout.”

Colombo is describing a Variegato di Chioggia, one of the more than 25 varieties of radicchio she and husband Brian Shipman are growing on their farm in Troutdale, Oregon. A significant portion of their crop plan — about a half acre — is planted out in fall/winter radicchio.

“We start harvesting radicchio in September and you sort of have a continued harvest sometimes up [until] March if we’re lucky enough,” she said.

That extended radicchio growing season helps to combat something known to farmers as the “hunger gap” — that time between late November and early March when there just isn’t a lot of local produce growing. In the winter, consumers are often craving something bright and leafy, while many farmers are just looking to stay afloat.