Читать книгу Your Herb Garden - Barbara Segall - Страница 28
CHIVES
Оглавление(Allium schoenoprasum – Liliaceae)
Offering onion flavour without the tears, chives’ grassy leaves and mauve flowers provide bold clumps of colour and are ideal as edging.
| type | Hardy perennial with onion-like bulbs |
| flowers | Densely packed heads of pink-to-mauve flowers, early to mid summer |
| leaves | Hollow, long, upright |
| height | 30cm (12in) |
| spread | 20–30cm (8–12in) |
| planting | Plant in spring or autumn, sow seed in spring and pot up a clump or two for kitchen use over winter |
| position | Sun or partial shade |
| soil | Any, but grows best in moist, rich, loamy soil |
| care | Cut back in autumn. Lift and divide large clumps in autumn or spring. Water during dry spells and nip out some flower stems to keep leaf flavour strong |
| propagation | Divide in autumn or spring. Plant, into enriched soil and cut leafy shoots to ground level. Sow seeds outdoors in spring or into trays in the greenhouse in winter |
| species and varieties | Chinese or garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) has flat, strappy leaves with a garlic flavour and delicately scented, star-like white flowers |
| harvest | Use leaves fresh all year. Can be frozen, chopped into ice cube trays or whole. Dry in a cool oven |
| herbal value | Florets can be used whole or broken into individual flowers in salads and to flavour and colour vinegar. Add chopped leaves to salads, dressings, omelettes, soft cheese dips and herb butters |
