Needed to share this tidbit of “harvesting trivia” on chives – garlic and regular.
In the course of HerbFest I have recognized when I discuss about “cutting chives” there are plenty of individuals who are shocked to understand that chives are not to be slice from the prime but the base of the plant base.
Let us say you’re executing a baked potato and only want a smidget of chives so you don’t want to slice the total stalk down so you snip across the best harvesting only what you are likely to use. What you just did was kill the stalk from where you slice to the floor, which is waste and also not very good for the plant.
Here is what you require to do…
- Reduce from the foundation the range of stalks you want.
- Now cut from the top rated of the stalks harvested the total you have to have tonight
- Chop them, but do not chop the remainder of the chive stalk or you launch the oils which is what you are just after for taste and fragrance
- Just take the remaining stalks and put in freezer bag and put in freezer
- Following time you require chives clear away stalks from freezer and chop which release oil you experienced saved in stalk by not reducing up upon original harvest.
This procedure also encourages the chives to extend their foundation and you get far more chives 12 months soon after calendar year.
It need to also be remembered that chive blossoms are edible bouquets but be thorough to take in the garlic chive blossom hesitantly as it’s extra garlicky than garlic itself!!