Herbs – How to Plant Chives

Planting, maintaining and harvesting aromatic plants, whether in the ground or on the balcony, gives you the opportunity to prepare a good number of small dishes with very special scents. Find out here how to plant chives and take good care of the resulting plant.

Aromatic plants have been known and used by humans for thousands of years and in almost all civilizations. The Chinese, Egyptians and even Sumerians have left traces on the subject, showing that aromatic plants are as useful in medicine as in traditional cooking. But to use the taste benefits of aromatic plants like chives you still have to know how to cultivate it.

Planting Chives – The Complete Guide

Chives are an aromatic plant which produces leaves that look like “stems”. These are full of water and the more they are, the more flavor they have. You want growing chives in the gardenon an aromatic spiral or on a balcony? Follow our advice to get started.

Chives in the open ground

To begin, you will need to plant your chives in rich soil with a good supply of compost at the plantation.

At the time of planting or sowing, namely in March/April water abundantly to avoid any risk of drying out during the first few weeks which would be fatal to the young plant.

Chives on your balcony

As with planting in the ground, chives need to be planted in a good quality potting soil rich in humus which will retain water better than another.

Water abundantly when planting, but be careful not to leave water in the cup below your pot, this could cause the roots of your plant to rot.

The size of the pot is not really important for a chive plant that will grow accordingly, but a pot that is too small will dry out much faster, so if you have the space, choose a good-sized pot instead.

How to maintain a chive plant?

Chives are not particularly fragile, but you will have to be careful water it regularly to prevent the leaves or “stems” from becoming too tough or going into flower too quickly.

While the flowers are highly prized by pollinators of all kinds, they are also a sign that the stems are becoming much less edible. As soon as the flowers appear, cut them to preserve the stems.. They are also part of the edible flowers.

To prepare your chives for winter, whether in the ground or on your balcony, cut them close to the ground and completely then mulch them. Perennialyour chives will only grow back more vigorously in the spring!

Main properties of chives

Chives have recognized soothing effects on the mucous membranes of the voice. respiratory and on the vocal cords. The Roman Emperor Nero already used it to soften his voice!
It also has effects diuretics effective and, like all plants of the alliaceae family of which it is a part, this aromatic plant is good for fighting bad cholesterol and for a good pression sanguine.

Chive harvest

The harvest of this aromatic plant is done gradually of its growth, but especially of your needs. It is by harvesting it fresh that you will have all the taste of this aromatic and that you can use it to the best of your ability.

Chive harvest in full season © shakishan

Storing Chives

In the refrigerator, chives will only keep for a few days. before losing interest.

You can chop it up and put it in a small box before freezing it. to reuse it later, but again it will lose a lot of its flavor, so you will need to put a lot more in your dishes.

Add chives in a butteragain after having chopped it, is certainly the best way to preserve its taste for a longer period of time. You can also add some flowers!

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