GARDENPlants and seeds

Growing Chives – How to Grow Chives

If you are one that enjoys the taste of onions with your meals, you’ll definitely like the experience of growing chives. ‘Chive’ does actually mean onion in Latin! This useful herb is a perennial plant so you can enjoy chives each year. Chives are a hardy plant and there are uses for every part of the herb.

It is not widely known, but chives were brought back by Marco Polo after his venture to China. The Chinese have been cultivating chives for their cuisine for centuries. The chive that the Chinese use is slightly different to the herb we know and love, and possesses a hint of garlic. Chives are known to grow in most parts of the world, in the wild. Not hard to please, the plant can tolerate most soil types, and produce in partial shade or full sun.

Growing chives in full sunlight and rich, well-drained soil produces healthy plants to dress up any herb garden with their purple tops. From planting time to harvest, you can have fresh chives on your dinner plate in three months.

Growing chives Tips:

It is relatively simple when growing chives. Either buy ‘ready-grown’ chive plants from the nursery, or brave it out and grow your own from seed. Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, are best grown by splitting the bulbs of existing plants and replanting. The herb plants should be planted about nine inches apart.

Growing chives indoors or outside-

Chives is one of the toughest of herbs; it can grow inside or outdoors with minimal care after germination (This is like a plant’s graduation.). Moist soil is better, but it cannot be too wet. An idea would be to place the tiny seedlings in potting  soil, placed in egg cartons (empty ones of course!). After visible sprouting of about 3-4 inches has occurred, it is time to re-plant into larger containers or pots.

If you’d prefer the chives to be outside, use well prepared, good quality soil. Plant the chives seeds in rows at least 12″ apart. When the chives sprout, they resemble blades of grass Keep chives weeded but watch out you do not pull the wrong plant!

Growing Chives and Their Benefits

Chives are chocked full of healthy vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A & C. Another good thing benefit to growing chives in your garden, it helps keep away undesirable seedy characters such as plant lice, apple scab, and mildew.

Flower beds can benefit from the decorative aspect of growing chives. When the chive’s purple flowers begin to appear, select a few chive clumps to use for garnish.

Even the bulbs can be dug up, and used much like an onion – producing a similar flavor. The bulbs can also be chopped the same way as small onions.

Trim off flower heads to allow for vigorous new growth of leaves. When growing chives for seasoning, wait until the leaves have grown about three inches. Select a leaf and trim it down to about an inch. Repeat this until you have enough fresh chives for the dish you are cooking.

Recipes used after growing chives:

Fresh chives go well with a variety of dishes from salads to meat. Add chives to the top of soups for a little extra flavor. A well known favorite is sour cream with chives as a tasty dip. Spuds and chives are a tasty combination. Try sprinkling over ‘just-cooked’ baked potatoes, or mix with mash for a little kick in flavor.

Another decorative idea is to put the herb on a kitchen window. As you now know, growing chives is really no trouble at all. The herb takes up very little space, and the whole plant can be eaten, so there is no waste.

Enjoy the experience of having the convenience of fresh chives to hand, whenever you want it.

Egg Carton Sowing