Description
Key Facts
- Ideal in Japanese, Chinese and Korean recipes
- Easy to grow
- Takes about 2 to 3 months to grow
Chinese chives, Asian chives or oriental garlic
They are also known as Chinese chives, Asian chives or oriental garlic.
- They are originally from South West China (Shanxi) and now grown in many other parts of Asia.
- Slightly stronger garlic & onion flavour than regular chives.
- More often used as an ingredients then regular chives and popular in Chinese, Japanese & Korean recipes.
- Days from seed to harvest – about 60 to 90 (2 to 3 months)
- About 30 to 40 cm high
Example garlic chives recipes
When you grow them (also known as Chinese chives) you will notice they have larger and flatter leaves than plain chives with a slightly stronger onion & garlic flavour.
As opposed to plain chives they are used more as an ingredient in recipes. Although they can also be used as a garnish.
Example recipes include:
- Japanese Garlic Chives Scrambled Eggs (Niratama)
- Chinese Garlic Chive Boxes
- Korean Garlic Chive and Baked Garlic Salad
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The 3 garlic chives growing stages
There are 3 main stages in growing chives:
1. Propogation
You can either sow the seeds straight into soil or use growing blocks (in the same method as parsley). The difference compared to a herb like parsley is that chive seeds will germinate easily and quickly – usually within 10 days.
When sowing in soil
- Sow them 13 mm deep
- And keep an ideal temperature of 16° – 22° C.
- And thin seedlings 15 mm between plants
2. Transplanting & Growing
If you are transplanting to a hydroponic or aquaponic system
- Transplant them after 4 to 6 weeks
- They will grow at their best at a temperature of about 19°C.
- And need at least 14 hours of light per day
If you are growing them inn soil please note they need plenty of moisture.
3. Harvesting
You can start cutting them when the plants are at least 15 cm tall.
- Cut the leaves 5 cms above the base of the plant.
- Make sure to leave enough foliage to help the plant regenerate.
- At most cut upto 2/3 of the plant
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Minze Vries –
More interesting herb than plain chives – and great for Chinese or Japanese meals. Not that hard to grow.