Chives are a good source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that boosts skin radiance and health. Spinach, Goat Cheese & Chive Quiche @ finecooking.com. Make sure that you keep the growing medium moist throughout the summer months. Gnocchi With Lemon & Chive Pesto @ bbcgoodfood.com. It tolerates cold well, likes full sun and not very particular in any kind of soil. Like onions, garlic, and other alliums, chives are also heart healthy by helping to regulate cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. Originally published on March 2, 2018. If starting your chives from seed, start them indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost to give them a jump-start once they are transplanted to your garden or around your home. These plants are herbaceous perennials which grow into dense clusters around 12-20cm tall. Pop them in the freezer and you can them simply take out a cube or two whenever you want to use some. They can also be used fresh or dried for floral arrangements and displays inside your home. Even if they are not actively repelled, the strong scent can mask the smell of other plants nearby and help to keep them safe from many common pests. 12 Ways to Preserve Apples: Canning, Freezing, Drying + More! Whether you have a large garden or just a corner on a sunny windowsill, chives are an excellent thing to grow. This means that they are a close relative of onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, scallions, elephant garlic etc… They are a plant that is widespread across much of Europe, Asia and North America. These oils combined form a beautiful scent profile that smells like freshly baked goodies and a fresh sweet-scented garden combined. I use them all winter, and they are great. Nutrition in Chives Leaves. The green leaves of chives contain flavonoid-phenolic antioxidants such as beta-Carotene, Zeaxanthin and Lutein, which work well to assist in proper vision, delay age related breakdown to the macula and preserve the health of the optic nerve. A staple for any home cook, learning how to grow chives in your home garden provides a cheap, low maintenance perennial, that add fresh onion flavor to soups, salads, egg dishes, sandwiches and more. You can also preserve chives by freezing them in butter or oil. Chives are a bulb-forming herbaceous perennial plant sized approximately 30–50 cm (12–20 in) tall, flower stalks grow up to 30 inches high and spread 6 inches or more wide. Chives leaves also contain choline which is an important nutrient that helps once with good sleep, easy movement of muscles, and gaining knowledge. In the late spring, the plants are loaded with delicate pale to deep lavender-colored flowers. The importance of Chives is high as its benefits are more and so are Chives Facts. Health Benefits of Chives. If you want to help save the bees, planting chives in your garden is a great way to go. Do you know if they are edible as are the regular chive flower,? Below, we take a closer look at these qualities. The leaves from chives can be cut with scissors as required throughout the spring and summer months. The first is to purchase starts from your local nursery. Interestingly, however, the onion-like smell of chives and other Alliums is said to repel many of the insect species that we don’t want around. Adding chopped leaves, grass clippings, semi-rotted compost, and animal manure to your garden will encourage earthworms to take up residence in your garden, be active, and thrive. Planting season usually takes place in early or late spring when the weather is pretty cool. Chives have been cultivated in Europe since the Mediaeval period, though they have been in use for over 5,000 years. General Content: Chives are also a great herb to plant if you have deer that like to visit your garden! Chives have also traditionally been used for digestive issues. Plant chives alongside and between your other crops, therefore, and they can help make sure there are sufficient pollinators around to pollinate all your food crops. And these hardy perennials are sure to return year after year. Making sure you do not overwater, covering plants with a cloche or other protection if there is a lot of heavy rain, and avoiding overcrowding can all reduce the chances of infection taking hold. Chives really are a cinch to grow and make for a really attractive plant in any garden, patio or edible landscape. Chives have also traditionally been used for digestive issues. Use the chopped leaves as a green mulch … They can also be useful planted near rose bushes to reduce the incidence of scab and black spot on those plants. The most important health benefits of chives include their ability to boost heart and bone health, protect against cancer, regulate digestion, boost vision, protect against birth defects, and boost the immune system. This article is about regular Chives. Read more about the permaculture uses for chives from Amy at Tenth Acre Farm. Learn more. She is a practical, hands-on gardener, with a background in philosophy: (an MA in English-Philosophy from St Andrews University). Check out this article on deer resistant herbs to see what else to plant that your local deer friends (hopefully) won’t eat. Chives can also be chopped and dropped to fertilise your growing areas. Ricotta-Chive Frittata @ marthastewart.com. They can thrive in most soil types and can even grow in heavy clay. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The flowers are also edible, and can be used in salads or in several other ways. A chive tea made from boiling chopped chives in water can also be sprayed onto cucurbits, gooseberries and other susceptible plants to help control downy and powdery mildew. This is due to the fact that the plant has been shown to have fungicidal properties. Chives also attract other beneficial insects – insects that prey on pest species and can help to keep your crops safe. They are a nutrient accumulator of potassium and calcium – two important nutrients for plants. But the popularity of this herb extends beyond China. Here are just some of the main reasons you might choose to grow them: Of course, the main reason to grow chives is to use them as an edible crop. What to Forage in Fall: 30+ Edible and Medicinal Plants and Mushrooms, How to Make Soap For Beginners + Calendula Soap Recipe, What to Forage in Spring: 20 Edible and Medicinal Plants and Fungi, How to Make a Gallon of Mead: A Simple Mead Recipe. Plant near roses to repel black spot and to enhance … From the kitchen windowsill to a formal border to a rustic cottage garden, chives offer the best of both form … This will also subscribe you to the Grow Forage Cook Ferment newsletter. These plants are self-fertile, hermaphroditic, and pollinated by bees, flies, moths and butterflies. Chives are often one of the first plants to pop up in the springtime and they are a welcome sight after a long and cold winter. I have all 3! Although most people associate chives as a simple garnish for baked potatoes, egg dishes and salads, there are so many more potential benefits and uses of this versatile vegetable. Chives have a super long growing season, and in more mild climates they may even grow year round! Chives shout-“Yeah It’s Finally Spring!!!! It is doing much better than my regular chives, which sadly we lost our original planting do to construction a few years ago, and the new replacement has not grown nearly as well as our old one did. All four species are edible and have different flavors. If you want to help save the bees, planting chives in your garden is a great way to go. Picture 1 – Garlic Chives Image Source – mcfayden.com. This is due to the fact that the plant has been shown to have fungicidal properties. They can even grow in very alkaline soils. She has long had an interest in ecology, gardening and sustainability and is fascinated by how thought can generate action, and ideas can generate positive change. It can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, some of the most prominent signs of aging. This sounds like you have Star of Bethlehem. If your winters are cold, chives will die back, but they will be one of the first plants to come back in the very early spring. Vegan Cheese Scones With Chives @ thevegspace.com. Garlic chive is scientifically known as Allium tuberosum. Plant. Here are some ideas you can try. To detoxify is to rid the body of toxins. Besides chives, there are many other herbs that are also good at keeping pests away, like mint, lavender, borage, dill, fennel, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano. If you do live in a climate with a cold winter, you can divide and pot up some of your chives in the fall to bring inside. There are a wide range of reasons why growing chives in your garden is a great idea. I hadn’t thought of either. Garlic Chives flower are different from regular chives. They are decorative as well as functional and can enhance many a garden scheme. They form on an influorescence of around 10-30 such flowers. I pick the chives in the summer, just like my green onion tops, chop fresh, put in ziploc bags and freeze. They are great to have growing in your garden, and they have multiple edible and even a few medicinal uses too! Chives planted close to carrots encourage bigger carrots. 1. Of course, there are plenty more recipes out there. 2. Apparently this can also be invasive. These sour cream cheddar and chives drop biscuits look amazing, as do these garlic chive butter roasted potatoes. 12 most important benefits of Thieves essential oil . These flowers are pale purple and star-shaped, with six petals. Its scapes, or stems, are stiff and tubular with leaves that are long, slender, and light to dark green in color. I like to make an infused chive blossom oil and vinegar that is great for making a homemade salad dressing. Chives make good container plants and therefore are a must for any kitchen windowsill herb garden. If you smash the bulb or grass like leaf and it does not have an onion/chive smell, its probably STOB. 1. April 23, 2015 By Garden Fresh Foodie Leave a Comment. Chives pair well with so many neighbors in the garden that it is difficult to list them all. Pumpkin Cheese and Chive Muffins @ vegetarianrecipesmag.com. There is a groundcover with white flowers that is called Star of Bethlehem and does spread like wildfire (but it is pretty, so I don’t fight it unless I need to); it looks similar to crucus plants, but with a white star flower. I don’t know – I did not plant it in my garden – it just appeared next to my fence a few years ago and I tasted it, thought gee, this tastes like a cross between garlic and chives, so I looked it up and that is what it is called. Planting chives around the border of your garden works best to prevent any insects, bugs, or fungus that would spread across your fruit, vegetable, or flower gardens. Learn about ten different benefits of growing chives and why you should have them in your herb garden! Both onions and garlic chives are beloved by honey bees … I love chopped chives on a baked potato or on top of some scrambled eggs. They work particularly well in salads, with potatoes or with eggs, in vegetable stocks, soups, creamy sauces. You can stir chives into butter to make chive butter, then freeze it and slice off a small portion whenever you need some. When planted near or with carrots that have been allowed to bloom, the flies that are typically attracted to both carrots and onions become confused. Rich in fiber: Chives have more dietary fiber than onions and other members of the onion family.You can get 7 percent of your daily recommended amount of fiber from 100 grams of chives. Stems and leaves can be used as edible ties for bundles of herbs of vegetables. Before talk about the health benefits of chives leaves, let’s find out what’s in chives leaves here! 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