Grow and Care for Chives.
Chives are the delicately flavored less onion-y herb in the onion family - Allium - that are used to enhance salads, soups stews, eggs, vegetables and sauces.
They are frost-hardy perennials in the herb bed, and once they're established in the garden, you'll have foot-high mounds of strappy, tender leaves for years. They grow in every season.
To plant them you start by sowing the seeds in early spring. Do this in a prepared bed of loose fertile soil with clusters of seven to 10 inches deep. You space the clusters about 10 inches apart. Then you press the soil over the seeds and keep the bed evenly moist. Allow to germinate for about 14 to 21 days.
If you wish to transplant, you can start indoors in late winter to set out the garden in early spring. Do this six to 8 weeks before the last average frost date. About seven to ten seeds 1/4 in deep in individual containers of potting mix, will do the trick. Remember you'll need a good light source for the chives to germinate. So, place the planting trays in a sunny window or under grow lights and keep the soil evenly moist.
Chives are the delicately flavored less onion-y herb in the onion family - Allium - that are used to enhance salads, soups stews, eggs, vegetables and sauces.
They are frost-hardy perennials in the herb bed, and once they're established in the garden, you'll have foot-high mounds of strappy, tender leaves for years. They grow in every season.
To plant them you start by sowing the seeds in early spring. Do this in a prepared bed of loose fertile soil with clusters of seven to 10 inches deep. You space the clusters about 10 inches apart. Then you press the soil over the seeds and keep the bed evenly moist. Allow to germinate for about 14 to 21 days.
If you wish to transplant, you can start indoors in late winter to set out the garden in early spring. Do this six to 8 weeks before the last average frost date. About seven to ten seeds 1/4 in deep in individual containers of potting mix, will do the trick. Remember you'll need a good light source for the chives to germinate. So, place the planting trays in a sunny window or under grow lights and keep the soil evenly moist.
You can harvest young chive leaves as soon as they are a good size by simply clipping them with scissors. Snipping the leaves will stimulate new growth.
