Cut garlic is still little known in the herb garden. But this herb is easy to plant, has no special location requirements and tastes delicious. What care does it require?
How do I care for chives properly?
Cut garlic requires evenly moist soil, regular fertilization for potted plants, no special overwintering measures and occasional division for propagation. The harvest takes place from March until the first frost by cutting off the above-ground parts of the plant.
How and how often should the herb be watered?
This herb loves evenly moist soil. If it is in a pot, it should be watered daily in summer. On hot days it is best to apply directly to the root area in the morning and evening. Growing in a bed, chives usually need enough rain to grow. Watering should only be done in dry times.
Does chives need fertilizer?
If chives grow in a pot or in a balcony box, they should be regularly supplied with fertilizer. In the bed it is sufficient to enrich the soil with compost before planting. Organic fertilizer such as guano (€29.00 on Amazon) is recommended for fertilizing in pots or balcony boxes. Mineral fertilizer can only be an alternative if you do not want to eat the herb but rather plant it as an ornament.
Are winter measures necessary?
Cut garlic is perennial. Its above-ground plant parts die off and its root system survives and is hardy. In protected locations, the plant can tolerate winter temperatures down to -17 °C and in unprotected locations temperatures down to -12 °C.
How can the herb be propagated?
If you have a lot of time and patience, you can easily propagate chives by sowing them. Dividing the cabbage is much quicker and also easy and successful. In fact, it is recommended to divide it every three years to preserve its strength.
Chives tolerate dividing extremely well. This is how it works:
- Time: in spring after budding or in late summer
- Dig up the plant generously
- Divide a plant
- insert new plants at a distance of 30 cm
- water well
How and when do you cut chives?
Cutting the chives is necessary to harvest the leaves and flowers. From March until the first frost in autumn, the above-ground parts of the plant can be cut off and used as needed.
Tips & Tricks
In order not to overload the chives but to preserve their vigor, the inflorescences should be cut off quickly. Seed formation in particular costs the plant a lot of energy.
