Chives: description of varieties, cultivation and yield with photos

Chnitt belongs to the onion family and is grown for food and ornamental purposes. Growing is not difficult, the plant adapts to any conditions, but it is important to know and take into account some features. The culture is useful for the human body, it contains many vitamins, minerals and natural phytoncides. Thin, dark green chives and small bulbs of chives are added to many foods, salads and snack recipes.

Description and features of chives

Chinese in German means cut onion, belongs to the group of herbaceous plants. Another name for the culture is skoroda onion, but there are many other synonyms. The description of the culture indicates the features of the underground and aboveground parts.

The culture grows in the form of a small bush, tubular leaves of bright green color reach 25 cm in length. At the base, the leaves expand slightly. In four years, a bush can grow up to 60 cm in length and consist of numerous stems with inflorescences (up to 100 pieces).

The underground part of the plant consists of filiform roots, on which oblong bulbs up to 20 pieces are formed. The color of the bulbs can be brown-white or purple-red. Flowering arrows form in the second year.

Blooms for several weeks with beautiful purple, lilac or whitish flowers, spherical in shape. It blooms at the end of May and the period lasts until August. Seeds are formed in a box, as they mature, they become black in color, angular-oval in shape.

Popular varieties

All varieties of chives are most often grown for eating green leaves, as large bulbs do not form. The leaves after cutting quickly grow back, so you can collect greens up to three times during the season.

Skoroda onion does not require special care, all varieties are cold-resistant and highly resistant to diseases and pests. Shoots withstand short-term frosts down to -4 degrees.

The chives are divided into two large groups. The first group includes varieties that are grown as a vegetable crop. Popular varieties include: Medonos, Khibiny, Siberian, Prague, Crocus. The second group includes varieties bred for decorating flower beds and borders: Moskovsky, Elvi, Border.

Useful properties

High taste properties determine the widespread use of chives in cooking. The composition contains more than 3% sugars, a sufficient amount of carbohydrates, fats, proteins. Fresh, as a spice, they are added to salads, fish, meat dishes. Green leaves are tender, without bitterness, so they add a special piquancy to pastries, omelettes, sauces and other dishes.

Ornamental shrubs can decorate the site, the culture looks especially beautiful during flowering. In this case, the crop is grown as a perennial. The pleasant aroma of flowers attracts the attention of pollinating insects.

Due to the vitamin composition, chives are classified as medicinal plants. Useful components include:

vitamins (A, C, B, E, K);
minerals;
phytoncides;
amino acids (lysine, histidine, methionine);
micronutrients (selenium, zinc, manganese).

Thanks to a whole list of useful components, chives increase appetite, improve the functioning of the digestive system, increase immunity, have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the kidneys, gallbladder, cardiovascular system, and is an anthelmintic.

Preparing the soil and planting chives

Chinese does not have special requirements for the composition of the soil, but develops best in fertile, loose, moist land rich in lime.

The place intended for planting is cleared of weeds. In autumn, the site is dug up to a depth of 28 cm and fertilizers are applied. If the soil is dense and clayey, humus or compost is added. It is also useful to add mineral components such as superphosphate and urea.

In the spring, in the first half of April, the site is again dug up, leveled and slightly compacted, only after that they begin to divide into furrows with a distance of 30 cm. The seeds are deepened by 1 cm.

The first shoots should appear in a week. At this time, it is useful to loosen the soil between the rows. This will improve the supply of oxygen to the roots.As soon as the first real leaf unfolds, thinning is carried out, leaving a distance between shoots of 11 cm. The next care is timely weeding, loosening and watering.

Selection of a place

When choosing a site for planting chives, it should be borne in mind that the culture does not tolerate direct sunlight. In the sun, the leaves coarsen, lose their juiciness and become unsuitable for use in cooking. The soil must receive sufficient moisture.

All varieties of chives in the onion family grow well in well-drained, loose soil. Well suited loamy, sandy loamy composition. Growing from seed is not recommended in sandy soils due to poor moisture retention.

If you intend to grow chives as a perennial crop, it is best to choose a shady, humid place. In this case, the bush will form juicy, green leaves for a long time. As an annual plant, onions are grown in separate beds.

Precursors and neighbors of onion skoroda

The best precursors for chives are herbs, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes. Diseases of cucumber and other permitted predecessors do not pose a danger to onions. In the neighborhood you can plant carrots, tomatoes. It develops poorly next to legumes, cabbage and beets.

The most popular variety of chives is Bohemia. It is impossible to plant a plant in the same place for more than 4 years. It is characterized by high yield and semi-sharp taste of green feathers. Can be used as a garden decoration.

Chive care

When growing chives, a number of standard conditions must be met:

in the first year after planting the seeds of the crop, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil;
important to prevent the growth of weeds, as they drown out the growth of young bushes;
watering regularly and plentifully;
recommended to mulch the soil with fine mulch (peat, rice husks, sawdust);
dry leaves are harvested in autumn.

To get a juicy green mass, you need to fertilize with organic and mineral components several times a season.

Feeding

The plot for planting onions begins to be prepared in the fall. It is dug up and mineral and organic fertilizers are applied. It is necessary to mix 5 kg of manure, 25 g of superphosphate, 17 g of potassium s alt. Ammonium nitrate is added in the spring. The supply of nutrients is enough for the entire first year of plant development.

In the second year of growing and caring for the crop, it is necessary to start fertilizing after the first cut of the greens.The greens are cut when the feathers reach a height of 30 cm. You can use wood ash, a liquid solution of mullein or bird droppings. From mineral fertilizers, you can choose nitrophoska, azofoska. The following dressings are carried out after each cut of greenery.

The main pest of schnitt is the onion skunk. To reduce the risk of attack by insect pests, seed treatment and timely top dressing will help. Additional nutritional components increase the immunity of the plant.

Watering chives

Cultivated chives need regular and abundant watering. The soil should be constantly moist, but you should not allow moisture to stagnate near the roots.

If the soil is allowed to dry out, onion leaves begin to coarsen, lose their juiciness and useful properties. In this case, you need to cut off all the coarsened greens and wait for new feathers, avoiding a dry crust on the surface of the site.

Reproduction of chives

Reproduction of chives occurs by seeds, seedlings, bulbs or dividing the bush. Each of the methods involves its own characteristics of cultivation and care. You can grow chives from seeds on the windowsill, in the open field and in the greenhouse.

Propagation of onion seeds

Onion seeds retain their germination capacity for two years, in the future this property decreases. With perennial cultivation, reproduction occurs by self-sowing. Boxes with seeds crack as they ripen, or you can collect boxes and collect seeds yourself.

Seeds are sown in early April, July or late September. They are pre-soaked and dried. Schnitt seeds are small, seedlings appear weak, therefore they require special care and attention. It is best to propagate by seedlings or dividing the bush.

The best varieties of chives for seed cultivation: Chemal, Siberian, Bohemia, Khibinsky, Velta. Growing onions from seeds involves regular watering, loosening the soil, weeding from weeds.

Growing seedlings

Chives can be planted as seedlings. Seeds should be soaked in warm water for a day before planting. They begin to plant in early March in prepared boxes with loose soil mixture. In the prepared holes with a depth of 1 cm, spread one seed at a time and cover it with earth. Then the boxes are covered with foil and cleaned in a warm place. On the 4th day, the first shoots should appear. The temperature in the room should be around 20 degrees.

When is the best time to transplant seedlings outdoors? Two months later, when two true leaves on each bush unfold, they are transplanted to a permanent place. Row spacing 35 cm, row spacing should be 25 cm.

Dividing the bush

Gradually, as the chives develop, they cover the soil with overgrown bushes. The yield and quality of green mass is reduced. In one place, the culture is grown no more than 5 years. After that, they are transplanted, dividing the chives bushes into several parts.

The selected perennial onion bush is carefully dug up, divided into 3-4 parts, so that each part has roots. Holes are made on the prepared site, they are watered with water and the separated parts of the plant are planted, covered with earth. The soil is slightly compacted and watered again.

Cut greens

Up to 3-4 cuts of greenery are carried out throughout the year. Fresh leaves can be cut after they have grown to 30-40 cm in height. The first cut is carried out already in mid-May, and the last cut falls on the last days of September.

When growing a crop annually, cutting is carried out throughout the season, and in the spring they dig bushes along with the roots, using bulbs for food. With proper cultivation, you can get a good harvest.

When growing a crop for many years, the bushes begin to dig out after 3-4 years. Part of the plant is used for further propagation, while the rest is used in cooking.