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Posted by Royal Blue Mersey (U4753720) on Monday, 3rd May 2010
I have a chive plant in the garden and yesterday cut some stems from the plant. The stems are long (about 12 inches) and quite thick. There are also smaller stems with heads growing.
I dont think I did anything to the plant in winter so these may have been on the plant for some time. The taste was pretty strong and quite garlicky to the point where everyone questioned whether this really was chives. I quite liked it!
Is it OK to eat old stems and can anyone advise whether I sould replace the plant or whether I can do some maintenance on it. Thanks!
Garlic chives have a flat leaf, and a white flower, the larger leaves are very strong. But it sounds as though you should have dug up your ordinary chive plant and broken it up into smaller clumps and then replant. It is alright to eat the large stems, but the new stems are much nicer. Hope this helps.
hi
they are probably garlic chives instead of the ordinary ones, I find the leaves a bit thicker but tasty. You can divide old clumps into smaller clumps to grow more. Mine enjoy some chicken pellets (not many) in spring before they grow.
We too have a patch of definitley ordinary chives, which have survived the winter - though they had no protection or care, and grow in a large container. We had them as an edging to a mixed bed for several years and certainy ate them all that time, they are a bulb not an annual so there is no reason why you should not go on using them for as long as they come up. Friends of ours had a potful on their balcony for several years, and they came back each year - they certainly had no help or protection either. (We don't have ours in that place any more because between the rhubarb and the ground elder, they got swamped.)
When the heads open, they should be purply/blue flowers if they are chives. I believe garlic chives have white flowers, tho' I'm not sure.
I cut mine back after flowering and they seem to sprout again from the base. I never replace the plants. They seem fairly indestructible.
My chives have a purple round flower head and rounded leaves
My garlic chives have quite open white flowers and flat leaves
Thanks everyone. I will try cutting back after flowering to encourage fresh young growth!
I only split mine when they outgrow their space. I still like the flavour of the young thin, or older thicker stalks.
The only ones I never eat are the much tougher feeling flowering stalks, with the gorgeous pink globe flowers on.
I'm not sure if it is necessary or a myth that you should remove these if you want to carry on eating the rest.
Probably just a myth & I've been depriving myself of their prettiness for years .
The flowers are frequently used as ornaments on the plate.
, in reply to message 9.
Posted by Royal Blue Mersey (U4753720) on Saturday, 8th May 2010
I have heard this as well. Anyone know the truth of it?
Every part of a chive is edible. Though the thoiught of eating the flowers doesn't exactly make me salivate.
, in reply to message 12.
Posted by sparklepinksunflower (U10977805) on Monday, 10th May 2010
I had dinner at a friends house last weekend and he serves monk fish garnished with garlic chive flowers and they were lovely.
He also served pea shoots with the starter which were lovely but they cost him £8 for a live box about 24" x12"!! I might start a new business growing and selling boxes of pea shoots I could make a fortune
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