Chives are one of the most popular culinary herbs and can be harvested many times through proper cutting. How your plant grows back quickly in the season and what you need to pay attention to, you will read in this guide to cut chives to make them grow more.
Cutting chives easily explained
Chives thrive on nutrient-rich soils and need plenty of water. After harvesting, you can either cut the leaves to small size and let them dry or use them fresh in the kitchen – for example on a quark bread.
Use a sharp kitchen scissors or a knife to cut. Clean scissors or knives before and after the cut.
When cutting, make sure that the tubular leaves are not crushed or torn off.
The best place to cut is in the lower half of each leaf. The lower you choose the interface, the more powerful the subsequent shoots become.
Divide the chive hull so that you do not always harvest in one place. So make sure that you have cut the whole plant evenly at least once.
After the cut, use the right care
Chives are robust, but this herb needs a treatment, so it can grow back healthy and strong. From time to time, the plant is happy about a small fertilizer.
Always cut as much of the herb as you actually need.
Also cut any flower stems about fingerwidth above the ground. The purple flowers are edible and can also be processed.
Do not forget to water the plant after the cut. This is how you cover the water requirement and give the new leaf shoots a good foundation for regrowth.
After cutting cut the chive into shade and away from direct sunlight. Otherwise the fresh interfaces will dry out too fast. This can eventually cause the whole leaf to dry and the herb to get yellow leaves.
Chive is a valuable ingredient for homemade herbal salt. We have prepared for you an article about the ingredients and a basic recipe.
