I tried to grow chives for the first time this year. I planted the herb out from seed but nothing has appeared! I’m guessing that the seeds were out of date which is a shame because I love the taste of this herb.
Maybe I’ll have more luck next year!
What Are Chives?
Chives are part of the onion family and are the smallest edible species of this family. The plant is native to Europe, North America and Asia. The English name for the herb comes from the French, ‘cive’, which in turn comes from the Latin word for onion.
Chives are perennial and form bulbs in clusters. They grow to a height of 30-50cm and have light purple flowers which appear around April to June. Bees love the flowers!
Growing Chives
I planted my chive seeds out towards the end of April (I think it was an old packet of seeds, so they didn’t grow!) and they like full sun (or slight shade) and well drained soil. They’ll germinate at temperatures of 15C-20C or even indoors if you live in a cooler climate. Usually, the shoots will appear after about four weeks and can then be planted outdoors.
Whilst the herb is growing, you can pick the leaves and they’ll grow back to replace those you’ve cut. This is great if you want to keep adding them to salads and sandwiches throughout the Summer.
The foliage will die back in Winter but should start to grow back in Spring.
Cooking With Chives
The herb is used a lot in cooking and can be used to season loads of different dishes such as soups, fish, pancakes and potatoes. They are particularly popular in traditional dishes from Sweden and France. In Poland, they are served along with quark (cheese)
Uses For Chives
Chives are often planted to disuade garden pests from making an appearance. They can be especially useful for the vegetable gardener who wants to keep his/her veggies safe from insects and bugs. They make an excellent insect repellant! However, bees love their flowers and this is great for pollination.
Chive flowers are often used dried in arrangements.
It’s a hardy plant and is often found around the edges of flowers beds and paths. I’ve seen them around the edges of the vegetable beds in the walled garden of Castle Howard close to where I live.
Chives have been grown since the Middle Ages and were called ‘rush leeks’. The Romans thought chives helped to relieve the pain of sunburn and also helped cure a sore throat. They were also used as a diuretic.
Romanian Gypsies used the plant to tell fortunes and bunches of the herb were often hung around the house to ward off disease and evil spirits!
Medicinal Chives
Chives have similar properties to garlic and are also rich in vitamins A and C, together with iron, calcium and small amounts of sulphur.
So, quite a useful herb with a long history.
Pity my chives didn’t grow this year 
Alan
