CHIVES SEED

CHIVES

Description
Heirloom Herb. Chive seeds grow as tufts of grassy, tubular leaves shaped much like miniature onion leaves. Use the delicate, mild onion-flavoured leaves in salads, soups, stews, omelettes and dips. Plants grow in clusters to 15 cm (6″) high and produce pretty, edible, purple ball-shaped flowers about 2.5 cm (1″) in diameter. Often gardeners find chives spreading throughout the garden easily on their own. Despite this, chives can be a fussy germinator, with the seed sometimes taking much longer to emerge than expected. While it often spreads from established plants by self-seeding, it is not considered invasive.

Perennial hardy to Zone 3.

How to Grow
840 seed/gram. Sow seed directly outdoors in a sunny site with average soil in mid-to-late May or in August through September. Sow seed 6 mm (1/4″) deep and 2.5 cm (1″) apart then thin to 10 cm (4″) apart in the garden. Note that germination normally occurs within 14 days of sowing, however seed can sometimes take much longer to sprout so be patient.

LIFECYCLE
Perennial

PROPAGATION
Sow Direct Spring or Fall

DAYS TO EMERGENCE
12 to 16 days -often longer

LIGHT
Full Sun

GROWTH HABIT
Bushy

HEIGHT
Low to Medium (15 to 30 cm)(6" to 12")

FROST TOLERANCE
Winter Hardy

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
Easy

HERITAGE
Heirloom

FAMILY NAME
Liliaceae (sometimes listed as Alliaceae)

LATIN
Allium schoenoprasum

SUGGESTED USES
Flowers can be used as garnish or are integrated into on many culinary dishes., Leaves are used in salads, soups, stews, omelettes and dips