Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum)

(Allium tuberosum ‘Garlic')

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Garlic Chive is a clump-forming annual herb that is native to Asia but can be found growing throughout the Midwest and along the southern and eastern coasts of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 10-18" and features 12” tapering, soft textured, cylindrical leaves, leafless stems, and 2” violet-scented, star-shaped, white flowers that have brown striped tepals. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, and ladybugs, repels aphids, carrot flies, Japanese beetles, and moles, is resistant to deer, tolerates drought and frost, is used to make fungicides and insecticides, is both edible and medicinal and self-sows!

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General Information
Soil Preparation
Germination
Seedlings
Crop Care
Harvesting
Seed Saving
Culinary & Medicinal
Companion Planting
Nutrition & Health Benefits

Family: Amaryllidaceae

Genus: Allium

Species: tuberosum

Variety: Garlic Chives

Also Known As: Oriental Garlic, Chinese Chives, Chinese Leek, Flat Chives.

Native to: Assam, China North-Central, Nepal, West Himalaya.

Introduced into: Alabama, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cambodia, Caroline Is., Comoros, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Iowa, Japan, Kansas, Korea, Massachusetts, Myanmar, Nauru, Nebraska, New York, Philippines, Romania, Seychelles, Thailand, Tibet, Wisconsin.

Ease of Growing: Easy

Grown as: Perennial

Maturity (Blooms): August to September

Hardiness: very-hardy cool weather crop and can tolerate frost.

Crops: Spring Transplant, Spring

Growing Season: Short, Long

Growing Conditions: Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot. Chives prefer cool conditions and doesn't particularly like heat, but it will grow in heat if you provide it more moisture. It's a pretty adaptable, independent plant, and will grow almost anywhere and doesn't need a lot of care.

Outdoor Growing Temp: 40°F - 85°F

Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 50°F. Chives take a long time to germinate and do best in soil between 60 to 70˚ F. Like other alliums, chives don't germinate as well at higher temperatures.

Start Indoors: Yes

Start Outdoors: Yes

Light: Full sun to part shade.

Water: Dry to medium. Chives are pretty drought tolerant and don't need a lot of watering. However the soil should be kept moist for maximum productivity.

Feeder: Light. Like other members of the Onion family, it is a fairly light feeder.

Suitability: Tolerates light frost, Tolerates hard frost.

Maintenance: Medium

Small Gardens?: Yes

Containers?: Yes. Chives are an excellent candidate for container growing. Plant in a container at least 6 inches deep. Chives grow best in well-drained soil, so be careful not to overly water your plants. Make sure they have access to sunlight as well as partial shade. They can be potted and moved indoors to provide a fresh supply for cooking all year.

Attracts beneficial insects?: Yes

Plant Height: 10-18"

Plant Spacing: 8-10"

Sow Depth: 1/4"

Produces: 12” tapering, soft textured, cylindrical leaves, leafless stems, and 2” violet scented, star-shaped, white flowers that have brown striped tepals.

USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9

Garden Uses: Herb gardens, vegetable gardens, cottage gardens or naturalized areas. Attractive flowers have good ornamental value and are pleasant additions to rock gardens or border fronts, however flowers must be deadheaded before setting seed or seedlings will sprout up throughout the garden.

Soil Preference:
Soil pH: 6.0-7.5, Ideal 6.5-7.0. Chives will grow almost anywhere, but do best in a rich, moist soil with lots of organic matter. It doesn't like wet soil, so make sure the soil drains well.

Soil Preparation:
Compost (Nitrogen), 2" in top 6" of soil, 1 time: Prepare the soil by incorporating 2˝ of compost or aged manure into the top 6˝ of soil, which is where most of their feeder roots are to be found.

Garlic chives grow well in a variety of soil types, though they prefer moist, well drained soil and full sun or partial shade. In short growing seasons, the seed can be started indoors in a flat; provide bottom heat for fastest germination. To direct sow, plant the seeds after the last frost of spring 1/4" deep in rows 18" apart, thinning to 6-8" apart as soon as the seedlings appear. Germination should take place within 14 days. Garlic chives also grow well as a container plant. For companion planting benefits, plant garlic chives with carrots; this improves the carrots' flavor and production.

Keep the soil moist while the seedlings are developing. Garlic chives will spread vigorously with each year of growth, and can easily be divided for new plantings. To prevent the plant from reseeding itself, be sure to remove the developing seed heads and keep the plant trimmed. To blanch the developing leaves, cover the plant with a thick layer of straw. After several frosts, cut the plant down to the ground.

Crop Care After First year: Chives are low maintenance perennials and will do fine without much attention. They are found growing wild over large parts of the northern hemisphere.

Water Needs: Moderate. Chives are pretty drought tolerant and don't need a lot of watering. However the soil should be kept moist for maximum productivity.

Fertilizer Needs: Light. Like other members of the Onion family, it is a fairly light feeder.

Weeding: 1 time a week. This plant is quite low growing and doesn't produce a lot of foliage so is somewhat vulnerable to weeds. Chives must be weeded regularly to prevent them from getting slowly swamped by weeds. This is particularly important while the plants are young.

Watering: Water, 1 cup(s) per plant, 1 time a week. Like most members of the Onion family, chives will rot if constantly damp so take care not to over water. Water regularly, especially in the summer to keep plants growing strong. If watering seeds, use lukewarm water to keep the soil temperature around 70˚F.

Side Dressing: Compost tea, 1 cup(s) per sq.ft., every 4 weeks. If your soil isn't very fertile you may want to give the plants an occasional feed of compost tea. It's best to apply the compost tea to the soil around the plants, rather than on to the leaves themselves (you usually eat them raw).

Support: No

Ripening:
Wait until the leaves have reached 4" or more in length before harvesting. The longer you wait to start harvesting, the more vigorous the plants will be. Chives grow slowly and usually need about a year of growth before they can be routinely harvested.

When and How: Cut & Come Again

When: If it's the first year for your chives, harvest sparingly. If you have many clusters, you can sacrifice a whole cluster because the other ones will grow larger for next year's harvest.

How: Snip the tops after leaves have reached 6 inches or more.

Cut & Come Again:
When: Snip leaves when large enough to use.

How: Snip the tops after leaves have reached 4 inches or more. Never harvest more than 1/3 of the plant at one time.

The flowers are very attractive to bees and other pollinating insects. Just leave the plants alone to flower and they will make seed. The problem is usually preventing it doing so. If you don't want seed then cut off the unwanted flower heads. This prevents the plant from wasting energy on seed production and encourages more vegetative growth.

Once you have an established colony, Chives can also be propagated by dividing the dense clumps of plants. The plants multiply quickly and benefit from the occasional thinning.

Seed Viability in Years: 1 - 2 years
Germination Percentage: 50%

Culinary

Taste:
A light combination of garlic and sweet chive flavors.

Culinary Use:
Chives are commonly used as a garnish for eggs, meat, fish, potatoes and soups. The beautiful lavender flower heads can be used anywhere else you'd use chives.

Medicinal

The whole plant is antibacterial, cardiac, depurative, digestive, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is an anti-emetic herb that improves kidney function. It is used internally to treat urinary incontinence, kidney and bladder weaknesses etc. The seed is carminative and stomachic. They are used in India in the treatment of spermatorrhoea. The leaves and the bulbs are applied to bites, cuts and wounds.

Source

Project Purity Seeds can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Companion Planting

Improves growth and flavor of carrots and tomatoes. A friend to apples, carrots, tomatoes, brassica (broccoli, cabbage, mustard, etc) and many others. Help to keep aphids away from tomatoes, mums and sunflowers. Chives may drive away Japanese beetles and carrot rust fly. Planted among apple trees it helps prevent scab and among roses it prevents black spot. You will need patience as it takes about 3 years for plantings of chives to prevent the 2 diseases. A tea of chives may be used on cucumbers and gooseberries to prevent downy and powdery mildews.

The juice of the plant is used as a moth repellent. The whole plant is said to repel insects and moles.

Avoid planting near beans and peas.

Problems

No serious pest or disease problems. Can become a weed.

Nutrition

Chives are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and calcium. They also contain a variety of beneficial phytochemicals, including diallyl sulfide, kaempferol and quercitin.

The Health Benefits of Chives

Some of the most important health benefits of chives include their ability to boost heart health, improve the strength of bones, protect against a wide range of cancers, ease the digestive process, boost vision, protect against birth defects, and boost the immune system.
Chives

Although chives don’t look much like onions as we commonly think of them, they are actually the smallest member of the onion genus, Allium. With the full scientific classification of Allium Schoenoprasum, this tiny vegetable has a wide range of uses and benefits for human health. This particular herb (as it is commonly used) is native to Europe, North America, and parts of Asia, but is now widespread across the globe, as it has become a very popular addition to many culinary dishes. Chives are bulbous plants, but their stems are long and hollow, which is the edible part of the plant. These hollow stems are commonly sliced and added fish, soups, sauces, salads, Mexican cuisine, potato dishes and a wide range of other meals. The unopened flower buds can also be ground into a useful spice, but the most commonly seen chives are freshly chopped stems.

The taste of chives isn’t very similar to typical members of the Allium genus, and they are generally considered to have a mild, pleasant flavor that is subtle in culinary applications. In terms of medicinal use, chives have been used dating back to the Roman Empire, but they were likely utilized far before that. They have similar medicinal properties as garlic, although not nearly as potent, but their more palatable nature makes them more versatile in food dishes, so the benefits may be more accessible than other members of the Allium genus. Now, let’s take a more in-depth look at the important health benefits of chives.
Health Benefits of Chives

Digestive Issues: The allyl sulfides and other unique organic compounds found in chives deliver similar benefits to the body as garlic, and as such, can effectively ease digestive discomfort. Furthermore, chives have natural antibacterial qualities that can eliminate a wide range of bacteria, particularly those in the salmonella family, which can wreak havoc on your gastrointestinal system. More specifically, chives can increase the nutrient uptake efficiency of your gut, ensuring that you get as many of the nutrients from your food as possible.

Heart Health: One of the most important organic compounds found in chives is allicin, which has recently been linked to reduced levels of “bad” cholesterol in the body and improved heart health. Allicin is also connected to lowering blood pressure; when combined with the vasodilatory effects of the potassium found in chives, this unassuming herb can have a major impact on reducing cardiovascular strain. Furthermore, another organic compound found in chives, quercetin, has been directly connected to lowering cholesterol levels and plaque in the arteries, effectively preventing atherosclerosis and lowering your risk for stroke and heart attacks.

Immune System Booster: Most of the attention gets thrown at the organic compounds in chives, but the traditional nutrients are important too! The high levels of vitamin C found in chives help to boost the efficacy of the immune system by stimulating the production of white blood cells and stimulating the production of collagen, which is an essential component in the creation of new blood vessels, cells, tissues, and muscles.

Bone Health: There is a wide range of vitamins and minerals found in chives, but one of the most important is certainly vitamin K, an essential nutrient that isn’t widely found in many common foods. Vitamin K is very important in the maintenance of bone mineral density and bone integrity. As we age, our bone mineral density begins to drop, leading to conditions like osteoporosis and exacerbating inflammatory conditions like arthritis. High levels of vitamin K, like those found in chives, can help to produce osteocalcin, which is a key part of maintaining mineral density in the bones.

Cancer Prevention: One of the most exciting areas of research for all members of the Allium genus is the role of quercetin in preventing certain types of cancers. Although research is still ongoing, early results show that quercetin can effectively prevent a wide range of cancers, including breast, prostate, colon, lungs, and ovaries. The antioxidant activities of vitamin C and vitamin K contribute to this prevention as well, helping to reduce levels of free radicals in the body that can hasten the spread or appearance of cancerous cells. Zeaxanthin and lutein, two other antioxidant compounds found in chives, have been linked to lower chances of oral cancers.

Vision Health: The carotenes found in chives, namely lutein and zeaxanthin, are directly responsible for reducing oxidative stress in the ocular system and delaying the appearance of cataracts in the eye. They also help to slow or prevent macular degeneration, keeping your eyes healthy well into your old age.

Birth Defects: Another of the essential nutrients in chives, folic acid, is essential for pregnant mothers who want to ensure the health development of their infant. Folic acid prevents neural tube defects in newborn infants, and chives is a rich source of folic acid for conscientious mothers.

Detoxify the Body: Chives have mild diuretic properties, and combined with the other free-radical scavenging and antibacterial qualities, chives are a wonderful way to detoxify the body. By stimulating urination, chives can help the body get ride of excess toxins, salts, water, and even fat, keeping the organ systems running smoothly and clearing out any dangerous substances that could do us harm.

A Final Word of Warning: Chives are not typically considered to be an allergenic substance and very few reports of negative reactions exist. However, an excessive amount of chives, with a high concentration of powerful organic compounds, can cause stomach discomfort. If you are allergic to onions or other members of the Allium genus, consult a medical professional before adding chives to your regular diet.

Source

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(Allium tuberosum ‘Garlic')

Culinary

Medicinal

Companion Planting

Problems

Nutrition

The Health Benefits of Chives

Suggested Varieties

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