Fresh Chives in a Pot at Home

In short: Sow chives into a pot of light, nutrient-rich soil in several "nests", ideally in March to April, though indoors they can be sown almost year round. Keep the substrate slightly moist, place the pot on a sunny windowsill and cut the leaves with scissors. Harvest can be repeated many times; garlic chives reach 25 to 30 cm.

Chives (Latin: Allium schoenoprasum) is a plant from the Amaryllis family (Latin: Amaryllidaceae). As the Latin name "Allium" itself suggests, it is a close relative of garlic and onion. Chives are also known by the folk name Schnittlauch. Chives are a very hardy plant that grows wild in Europe, Asia, North America, Siberia, and Kamchatka. Chives can also be found in the Czech Republic. Natural habitats for chives in our country include high-mountain springs in the Giant Mountains and the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains. Chives also grow in lowlands, along the Elbe, Vltava, Berounka, and Sázava rivers. Today, you don't have to go anywhere for chives - you can easily grow them at home in a pot. It's not complicated at all.

The following article will advise you on which variety of chives you can grow and how to grow chives in a pot. You'll learn about the beneficial effects of chives and their uses. We'll also include a few tried-and-tested tips.

Chives can be grown in pots or in the garden

All You Need is a Pot with Soil and a Packet of Seeds... But Which Ones?

How about common chives - fine Pražská variety? This chive variety is highly productive and suitable for forcing. Individual tubular leaves are longer and thicker, with a deep green color. Pražská chives thrive best in warm, lighter soils with sufficient nutrients.

The Bohemia variety of chives is also delicious and suitable for forcing, field cultivation, and container growing. The leaves are medium-length with a larger diameter. Bohemia variety chives can be easily harvested several times a year. In the garden bed, it has no problem overwintering and tolerates even severe frosts. Growing in containers indoors doesn't bother this variety either. However, it requires a bright, sunny location with adequate air circulation.

Garlic chives (Latin: Allium tuberosum) really do taste like garlic. Since this chive variety is most commonly grown in Southeast Asia, it's also known as Chinese chives. Thanks to its aromatic garlic-like flavor, these chives are added to all kinds of sauces. Garlic chives grow to a height of approximately 25-30 cm. They thrive in humus-rich soil with plenty of nutrients in sunny or partially shaded locations.

Garlic chives taste like garlic

Growing Chives in a Pot at Home!

Growing chives is not complicated at all, so you can have them on your windowsill ready for immediate use too. Growing herbs in a pot differs from growing them in a garden, because herbs grow in completely different conditions indoors. Much less sunlight reaches the windowsill than the garden. Herbs grown in pots must make do with a very limited amount of soil. Caring for all herbs indoors, chives included, therefore requires increased attention and adherence to basic rules.

Chives grown in a pot need to be watered more frequently, because the substrate in a small pot dries out very quickly. At the same time, you need to make sure not to overwater the plants.

Tip: Water chives in a pot more frequently with small amounts of water.

Chives are a plant that loves sunny or partially shaded locations in the garden, so even indoors they need sufficient light for healthy growth. The most suitable place is to grow chives directly on the windowsill on the sunny side of the building. Herbs won't thrive well on a north-facing window. Lack of light causes herbs to stretch, become weak and yellowish.

Chives grown in apartments will eventually get used to the specific conditions. However, acclimatization is made very difficult by constant changes they must cope with. Don't move potted chives to different locations too often. Chives also don't benefit from temperature changes caused by suddenly opening windows or drafts.

Tip: Give chives a calm acclimatization to the indoor environment.

Sowing Chives in a Pot