Quezi

These chives are ready to be split (photo by answerfinder CC-BY)

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are perhaps one of the easiest herbs to grow in your garden or in a container. They require little attention and bring a late-spring colour to the garden.

Chives are part of the onion family. You can eat the bulb, leaves and even the flower head. Most people just use their leaves for cooking. There is the common chive, or new varieties with thinner leaves for cooking, or a Chinese or garlic chive with a hint of garlic.

They grow well in most soils, but like most plants they benefit from soil which is well-fed with manure or other compost, and while liking a sunny spot, do not like to be kept in completely arid conditions. Otherwise they very much look after themselves. They can also be grown in pots or containers.

You can start off by growing chives from seed, or buy the bulbs or plants from a nursery or garden centre.

If growing from seed, in March or April place the seeds in a pot of peat based compost and keep watered. Germination will soon take place and after a month they can be planted into the garden or into a larger pot.

Bulbs and plants can be planted on the surface of the ground five inches apart with just a slight covering of soil. Many gardeners place them along path edges as they make a nice border edge when they flower. In a harsh winter they will die back completely, but don’t despair, they will shoot up again in the spring.

Chives will multiply rapidly with new bulbs being created off the parent plant each year, or seeds germinating where they drop from the parent plant. Every three or four years in the winter, dig up the clumps and carefully split them into individual bulbs. They can then be re-planted on the ground with just a light covering of soil. You can also harvest the seed each year and plant them.

When you need the leaves for cooking, snip them off about one inch above the ground. If you just need the plant for cooking, cut the flowers off before they open, this will promote the growth of the leaves.

Chives have many uses in cooking including potato salad, omelettes, soups, salads, and sauces.