Chives!

I Believe Chives are the  Ultimate Beginner Herb… And Will Swear to This in Any Court of Law!

The tongue in Cheek Guide to Chives. Plain old Chives.

Growing chives indoors is simple. They are forgiving, they will tolerate a bit of neglect and they will still reward you with lots of “onion-y herbal yumminess.” That’s a technical term, by the way.

The herb plant known to us as chives are known to botanists and gardeners as “Allium schoenoprasum.” Allium just means they are a member of the onion family. No one knows what schoenoprasum means.

This is actually latin terminology, and it is called binomial nomenclature. That means two names. In latin.

When referring to plants, binomial nomenclature is really just a way to keep botanists busy. Botanists sort plants according to their fruiting and flowering structures, but that just takes up too much time when growing chives at home.

For growing chives indoors you will (obviously) need a pot, soil mix, and chives in one form or another. If you have been fortunate enough to garner a start from someone, consider yourself lucky. If not, againconsider yourself lucky. You will learn new growing skills.

Chives grow quickly and easily from seed. If you have gotten a start, you may notice the base of the chive plant will look like little bulbs with hairy roots poking out. Then again, you might not be that observant. Either way, the start will need to be planted in your soil mix (located in your pot) watered, then set in a sunny spot…or beneath a plant light.

If someone has given you a huge chunk of chive starts, (think 5 gallon bucket,) you will need to separate the bulblets before planting. Just hack the plant apart at the roots using a knife or shovel, and help yourself to a more manageable and mannerly sized start. Pass the rest of the ginormous start to someone with room to grow it outside.

If you plan to start your chives from seeds, you’ll probably want to actually buy seeds. These are available all over the internet, in garden centers, and at the occasional supermarket seed rack. There are several varieties to choose from, but in truth any old “Allium schoenoprasum” will do. You may still use the pot and soil mix you had all ready for that start that never materialized. Simply press the seeds lightly into the soil, water and place in a sunny spot. They’ll grow.

The plants look like little bits of grass at first, but will grow to look like big bits of grass in no time at all. Unless you plan to share lots of chive plants with your friends, I would thin the baby plants. That simply means to pluck out a few of the extras and toss them away…sob… it’s a cruel world, I know.

Once your plant is bigger and producing nice leaves, feel free to give it a haircut. Use the trimmings in a meal. No, really! Take your scissors and snip a few leaves into tiny bits over your eggs, or maybe over a bagel. In some cities I think there is a potato/chive/sour cream law that states you must have so many chives per square inch on a baked potato. Don’t behave criminally, chive your spuds.

Remember to trim your plant when it blooms, unless you just don’t want to. Consider yourself warned, if you grow them in the garden you will regret not trimming them. They reseed like crazy. Chive blossoms are also very pretty, edible and SPICY!

For chives grown indoors,  you’ll want to find a good organic fertilizer and use it once in awhile on your plants.

OPTIONAL: Give your potted chives a rest before winter by trimming them back down to the soil line, and letting them “vacation” somewhere cool (Greenland?) or maybe just in a cool garage. Remember to water them now and again. After a month or two of chive vacation, put them back into the window and let them grow all over again!

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