Juliette Rogers - Growing & Using Chives

Juliette Rogers

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Edited by Arden Moore and Nancy Ringer
Cover illustrations by Brigita Fuhrmann, Charles Joslin, and Mary Rich
Cover design by Carol J. Jessop (Black Trout Design) and Betty Kodela

Text illustrations on pages 1, 23, and 31 by Mary Rich; by Laura Tedeschi

Text production by Leslie Noyes

Copyright 1999 by Storey Publishing, LLC

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The chive is a hardy perennial herb that grows in clusters of many small, oniony bulbs. Take a close look and youll notice that this herbs leaves are long, thin, cylindrical spikes, hollow on the inside, with a bright, medium-green hue. In late spring, chives produce pompomlike blossoms in varying shades. At maturity, the plants reach heights of 8 to 18 inches (3045 cm), depending on the variety and growing conditions.

Chives can be found in several varieties in herb and vegetable gardens across Europe, Asia, and North America. They grow wild in the Mediterranean, tucked into moist soil pockets on hillsides and cliff walks by the sea. All are grown and harvested in much the same manner. One way to distinguish among the different species and varieties is to examine the color of their flowers, which range from dark pink through pastel shades to medium purple.

In North America, the most common species is Allium schoenoprasum, known as garden chives, which have long, hollow, cylindrical leaves and striking clusters of globe-shaped pinkish purple flowers. In Asia, however, A. tuberosum, or garlic chives, remain the favorite. Also known as chiu tsai, garlic chives are small plants that reach 8 to 10 inches (2025 cm) in height; they have long, flat leaves and white blossoms. Their flavor is, as you might guess, akin to that of garlic. In Cantonese cooking, you might find garlic chives with yellow leaves, which develop when the chives are raised in complete darkness and which lend a subtle flavor as a result of their soft upbringing.

Garden chives have globe-shaped clusters of pinkish purple flowers surrounded by grassy foliage.

Garlic chives are smaller and produce large white blossoms.

In China and other Eastern countries, chives are considered vegetables. In these countries, chives are typically grown from seeds and the young plants are uprooted for cooking rather than being top-cut, as is most common in North America and Europe.

Chives are among the easiest and most rewarding herbs for the home gardener to grow. They are hardy and thrive in a variety of climates. In wild habitats, they manage to survive in sandy pockets of soil accumulated among rocks and on windblown mountainsides. Given their druthers, garden-variety chives prefer fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 7. They are fond of sun but will get by with partial shade. When it comes right down to it, chives will forgive imperfect conditions and still reward you with a long season of delicious harvests.

Before you head out to the nursery or garden center to purchase your young chive plants, ask yourself these questions:

Where will I grow my chives?

Do I have a suitable piece of garden space?

Do I want to be able to move the plants inside or outdoors seasonally?

How many chive plants do I want, and how big do I want them to be?

How much work am I willing to invest at the outset?

What kind of chives do I want to grow?

Anybody can grow chives, but some methods of growing these tasty herbs are more challenging than others. The easiest way to grow them is to buy healthy plants from a nursery or garden center. When youre shopping for plants, look for those that are upright and brightly colored. Dull, drooping leaves are not a sign of health. Look at the bottom of the pot. Are lots of roots growing out of the drainage holes? This means that the plant has been confined to a small pot for too long, and its roots have outgrown it. Avoid these plants if you can. Ask nursery workers if the plants have been hardened off, which means they have been exposed to outdoor conditions enough to be ready for planting in your garden. Once youve made your decision and purchased some chives, theyll be ready to transplant to your garden (see pages 68 for details).

Starting chives from seeds is a bit more challenging than growing purchased plants. Though your total monetary investment will be modest, you will still need soil, planting trays or pots, covers, and seeds. Chives grown from seed require patience because it will take them a couple of years to grow into nice, lush plants.

Garden Neighbors

All varieties of chives can be happily companion-planted with roses, carrots, tomatoes, and grapes.

To start chives from seeds, freshness counts. Stick with seeds from this years crop from a reliable supplier and discard that packet of 1987 seeds you just found in your basement.

You can start seeds anytime, but most people sow them in spring. When it comes to planters, you have several options. Some gardeners enjoy the simplicity of peat pots, which are little pots made of compressed peat moss that can be planted directly into the garden when the plant is ready to move out into the big, bright world. Others invest in multiflats plastic planting trays consisting of a large, rectangular base trough for proper drainage and irrigation and a top nesting tray with lots of potlike indentations, each of which gets one or two seeds. Seedlings grown in multiflats are easily popped out of these reusable trays, along with the little cup of soil in which they were planted their root structures hold the soil in place while you plant them. Multiflats have the advantage of being very tidy and self-contained. Peat pots and small plastic pots need to be set into trays and can be more awkward to handle.