These days more and more people are developing their own home herb gardens so that they can have fresh herbs, organically grown whenever they want them even if they have never grown anything before.  Picking your own herbs when you want to is very different from buying packs of fresh herbs, or bottles of dried ones.

Chives are onion-like plants which can be used in many different ways.   They have either a mild onion or garlic flavor.    Chives is an ideal easy-to-grow  herb for novice gardeners .

Description
Chives grows in clumps of bulbs.  The plant is a herbaceous perennial.  Herbaceous means that in colder areas it will die back in winter and then reemerge when the ground warms up in the following spring.  Perennial means that the plant lives for more than two years.

This is a real beginner’s herb plant.  It is easy to grow, has attractive  purple flowers, takes  up little space and grows well in the garden or in a container.

The Chives herb  belongs to the same family as onions, garlic and leeks.  Its official name is Allium schoenoprasum and it comes  from the Alliaceae family.

Cultivation
You have a number of choices for growing  chives.   You can grow chives from seeds or from division.  Or you can buy established seedlings at your local nursery or in a large  supermarket.

Planting Seeds

If you are going to plant seeds, you need a warm place.   If you are living in a cold area, plant your seeds indoors before the end of the frosts ready to go into the garden when spring has arrived.   The seeds will take around 4 weeks to germinate.  You will find detailed instructions on growing planting seeds elsewhere.

The mature plant will  grows only up to a height of about 30-50cm (12 to 20 inches).  You can put it into a container or into the ground.

The first year your clump of chives will need  time to mature.  It is a good idea to grow several clumps so that you can harvest a little from each plant.

Alternatively if you can get a few bulbs with good roots from someone with a  well established plant you will have results much faster.   If you are far from home, wrap your plant in wet newspaper or tissues for the journey home.  When you get home you can plant your bulbs as separate plants making sure they will get plenty of sunshine. They need a well drained soil too.  If it is warm enough, plant them out of doors, otherwise in pots indoors until the weather warms up.

Chives like  full sunshine.   They will need watering when the soil is beginning to dry out.  This will happen  more frequently  during hot weather.

Fertilize occasionally with any general purpose fertilizer.

Well established chives  self seed and so can provide you with more plants than you need.  Remove the flower heads after flowering and before their seeds have formed to prevent self seeding. .

There are two main types of chives, one with a slightly onion like taste Allium schoenoprasum and one with a more garlic flavor  Allium tuberosum.  You might consider growing both varieties.

Harvesting
You can harvest your chives whenever you wish to.
You can  freeze chives.   Wash and dry your cut stems, chop them into 1/2 inch lengths and  half fill ice cube trays with herbs and then and top with water and freeze.  Store the cubes  in labelled plastic bags.

Culinary
When using chives in cooking add them towards the end of the cooking to keep their flavor.
Try adding chives to fish dishes or stirfry’s.  Sprinkle chopped chives onto soups before serving.    Add chopped chives to  salads, dips,  sauces and sandwiches.  Use them anywhere you want to add a mild onion or garlic flavor. The flowers are  edible and you can make  your salads very  special.by adding chive flowers.

The leaves and the flowers  can be added to herbal vinegars. Use them to  garnish your food.

“Fines herbes” is a  mix of herbs used together in cooking in France and other European countries. .  The herbs include chives, tarragon, chervil and/or parsley and are essential for  traditional dishes in France.

Chives are rich in Vitamin K and Vitamins A and C.  They contain magnesium, calcium, phosphorus potassium and sodium.  All of these are needed for the normal functioning of the body.

Medicinal
Chives do not feature as important medicinal herbs.  They are reputed to have some antibiotic and   anti-inflammatory properties.

Chives, chopped and sprinkled on food, are said to aid digestion and stimulate appetite

If you are a novice gardener, then definitely try your hand at growing chives in your home herb garden.

Good herbs gardening!