Chives are a very tasty and vitamin-rich leek vegetable, which is also quite easy to cultivate both in the garden and on the balcony. No wonder that the undemanding seasoning and medicinal herb is so popular. To ensure that your plant will also feel at home with you, you should provide the right location.
Sun to partial shade
When it comes to sun, chives are basically not very picky. Although it likes sunny to semi-shady locations best, it often also thrives very well in the shade. Especially on hot summer days, however, you must make sure that the plant gets enough water – and also that it is protected from strong sunlight in sunny places. Chives need quite a lot of water and therefore should be watered regularly during dry periods. At the same time, however, the herb should not stand too wet, because waterlogging quickly leads to root rot.
The optimal soil
For this reason, the optimal soil for chives loosen and permeable, but at the same time rich in nutrients. A balanced mixture of humus and sand is optimal, whereby the humus portion should predominate. For improved moisture, you can also add some clay powder (available at hardware stores or garden centers). The desired pH is in the neutral to alkaline range – that is, chives do not like acidic soils at all, which they have in common with most other culinary herbs. Also in common is a preference for lime – this also means that you can water chives – and other herbs – with tap water without worry.
Tips & tricks
If you cultivate chives and other herbs on rather lime-poor soils, you should supply these regularly with magnesium lime (conventional garden lime (19,00€ at Amazon*) does it however also). You can easily determine whether these lime applications are actually necessary by means of a test strip.
