Do you know how to grow chives indoors? With their mild onion flavor, chives are a delightful addition to various dishes, enhancing salads or serving as a vibrant garnish. Late summer or early fall is an excellent time to potting up chives for indoor growth, ensuring a year-round supply even when your garden is blanketed in snow.
How to grow chives: Potting Up Chives Ultimate Guide 2024
Grown chives, known for their reliability, are among the first herbs to emerge in early spring, pushing through snow and mulch with their spiky foliage.
Established plants of potting up or grown chives can be clipped when they reach a few inches in height, providing chopped chives that elevate the flavor of vegetables, soups, salads, and even pizza. Chives’ mild yet slightly sharp essence invigorates dishes, while their vivid green color adds vibrancy.
There are two primary varieties of chives: Common Chives, with a mild onion flavor and round, hollow foliage, and Garlic Chives, featuring a light garlic taste and flatter leaves. Both perennials with similar growing conditions can be grown year-round, even indoors during winter.
Common Chives in june boast edible lavender flowers, attracting pollinators. These blossoms can be snipped to make Chive Blossom Vinegar. Garlic Chives follow suit, blooming in late July with edible white flowers.
After blooming, potting up chives are trimmed to about 6 inches, prompting a fresh flush of spiky foliage that continues to yield harvests into fall. As winter approaches, potting up chives go dormant, patiently awaiting the thawing spring soil to emerge once again, marking the cyclical nature of these versatile and resilient herbs.
Grow Chives Indoors:
Enjoying the mild and delightful flavor of chives throughout the winter is a simple feat, as these herbs are among the easiest to grow indoors during the colder months.
They gracefully endure lower light conditions typical of the winter sun and the temperature variations commonly experienced on kitchen windowsill. To explore more herbs that thrive indoors during winter, refer to the list of “5 herbs that thrive inside all winter.”
Place your indoor chives on a south-facing window for optimal growth, where they can bask in at least 4-6 hours of sunlight daily. If such exposure isn’t feasible, consider using Growing Lights to provide the necessary light for their development.
While chives can be started from seeds, they tend to yield quicker results when grown from divisions obtained from established garden plants. This method ensures a more robust start for your indoor chive garden in winter.
Overall, cultivating chives indoors over winter is a rewarding and straightforward endeavor. With a preference for south-facing windows or supplementary Growing Lights, these resilient herbs can provide a fresh and mild flavor to your dishes, even when the outdoor garden is hibernating under a blanket of snow.
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a novice, growing chives indoors offers a simple yet satisfying way to enjoy their delightful taste all year round.
How to grow and Potting up Chives
Late summer to early fall is the ideal period to divide and pot up chives for indoor growth on a sunny windowsill during winter. This timing ensures the plant establishes itself in the container and adjusts gradually to lower light levels indoors before winter.
- All you need are scissors,
- A shovel or digging fork,
- 6 to 8-inch pots for transplanting,
- And all-purpose potting mix.
Producer of growing chives:
Dividing and potting up chives is a straightforward process for ensuring a thriving indoor herb garden.
Follow these simple steps:
Water Well:
Chives have small bulbs close to the soil line, so water them thoroughly for a few hours before dividing them to ease the stress. The roots extend beyond the cluster, making the procedure smoother.
Prepare Your Pots:
Fill pots with damp, all-purpose organic potting mix. For garden transplanting, dig holes and incorporate compost and organic fertilizer.
Trim Foliage:
Snip the tops of chive plants to about 6 inches with scissors.
Dig up the Chives:
Loosen the soil around the clump with a shovel or digging fork. Lift the plant by working the shovel underneath, releasing roots from the soil.
Divide the Cluster:
Lay the cluster on its side; it may break apart naturally. Separate small clumps of 8-10 plants, discarding damaged bulbs.
Replant the Divisions:
- Plant chive divisions in prepared pots about 1/2 inch deeper.
- Hold the foliage upright, fill the sides with potting mix, and press gently to the Water Well.
- Water the newly transplanted chives thoroughly, allowing excess water to drain.
- Keep pots evenly moist until plants establish, then water when the soil surface feels dry.
These steps will ensure a successful transition for your chives, promoting healthy indoor growth. Dividing and potting up chives provides fresh harvests all winter and allows you to propagate these versatile herbs for continued enjoyment in your garden or on your windowsill.
Caring for your New Chive Plants:
Transitioning your newly potted chive plants indoors requires gradually adjusting to reduced sunlight.
Here’s a simplified guide:
Avoid Direct Sunlight Initially:
Keep newly potted plants away from direct sunlight until they adjust and show signs of new growth, typically within a week. This step helps prevent stress during the transition.
Acclimate to Indoor Conditions:
Gradually acclimate chive plants to indoor conditions by bringing the pots indoors for a few hours, then returning them outside. Increase indoor exposure daily over one to two weeks until the plants are permanently indoors.
Choose a Suitable Location:
Option for a south-facing window with at least 4-6 hours of sunlight daily or use Grow Lights for 14 hours daily. Ensure the plants are watered when the soil surface feels dry.
Be Patient During Winter:
Chives may grow slowly on a windowsill during the darkest winter days. As daylight increases, they’ll flourish. Provide a boost by lightly feeding your chives with diluted fish emulsion fertilizer. Water the soil, avoiding foliage contact.
Following these steps will facilitate a smooth transition for your chive plants, ensuring they adjust comfortably to their indoor setting.
This gradual process helps prevent shock, allowing the chives to thrive on your windowsill even during winter. Remember to be patient as they acclimate and adjust their growth patterns based on the changing light conditions.
Harvesting your new chives:
After transplanting your new chives, expect growth within a few weeks. However, it is crucial to give the plant around four weeks to adapt to its new environment before harvesting. This allows it to settle in and establish itself comfortably.
Once the chive plant is firmly rooted, you can start harvesting. Begin by trimming the foliage, leaving at least 2 inches of growth above the soil. This practice ensures the plant thrives and produces more chive foliage over time.
As spring approaches, it’s time to think about the next steps for your chive plants. Harden off the plants, gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions, preparing them for life in larger pots or the garden.
This step is essential for a smooth transition, preventing shock to the plants as they adapt to changes in temperature and sunlight.
Following these simple guidelines will nurture healthy and productive chive plants. The patient approach of allowing them to acclimate, delaying harvesting for the initial weeks, and later transitioning them to larger pots or the garden ensures a robust and bountiful herb garden.
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