How to Grow Chives in Pots on a Home Balcony, Plus Points to Note
Chives are a very important seasoning in our daily life; generally, when stewing soup or cooking noodles, chives are indispensable. As everyone knows, chives do not keep for long, at most about three days, and constantly running to the supermarket to buy chives is rather troublesome. Let us teach you how to grow chives on a home balcony, so that whenever you want some, you can simply pick fresh chives from the balcony!
How to Grow Chives in Pots on a Home Balcony
1. Choosing seedlings
To grow chives, you can simply buy untreated scallions for eating from the market. When buying scallions, choose ones with emerald green, fresh leaves, and most importantly with intact roots and a little soil still attached.
2. Preparation
Cut off the leaves above for eating, and do not just throw the remaining root portion into the trash; when cutting, leave a little more of the white part, which makes planting easier and survival more likely.
3. Preparing the pot
Chives have few requirements for the pot; any container will do, as long as there is enough space. If you have some flowers and plants at home and have space, you can plant them directly together, which saves space and can also help defend against pests and diseases.
4. Planting
Dig a hole in the pot, put in the scallions, cover with some soil, count 1 2 3 4 5, and you are done. To make later care easier, press the soil flat with your hand so that the roots are not exposed when watering.
5. Care
After planting, water thoroughly and place in the sun; as long as it is not below 0°C in winter, the survival rate is over 90%.
After one week, the chives will grow new shoots and should be fertilized promptly. For home-grown chives you eat yourself, it is recommended to apply organic fertilizer.
When you want some normally, just pinch them off rather than pulling them up by the roots. This ensures you can keep harvesting them next time, which is simple and convenient and also adds a touch of green to your home.
Points to Note When Growing Chives in Pots on a Home Balcony
1. Transplanting method
About 40 days after sowing, they can be divided and transplanted. If the chives grow quickly and you find the pot very crowded, you can also transplant them earlier.
The potting soil for transplanting should also be watered thoroughly in advance. Dig holes 4-6 cm deep in the soil surface, select well-growing scallion seedlings, bury them in the small holes, press gently, cover with moist fine soil, pat flat and press gently, and water a little.
2. Harvesting method
Both the white and green parts of chives can be eaten, but it is recommended that when harvesting, you only pinch off the leaves rather than pulling them up by the roots; in this way, the chives can continue to grow and keep producing leaves, giving a sense of abundance as if they were inexhaustible.
Fertilizer and Water Management Tips for Growing Chives on a Balcony
1. Watering tips
Growing a pot of chives on your own balcony is not only attractive as a green potted plant to look at, but also edible as an ingredient for stir-fries; it truly is endless fun. From after sowing until the leaves emerge, the soil should be kept moist. When the chives grow to about 15 cm, sufficient water should be ensured to promote rapid growth. In the middle stage of growth, the amount of water can be appropriately reduced.
2. Fertilizing tips
When growing chives, fertilizer can be applied once every ten days. The fertilizer can be ordinary compound fertilizer or flower fertilizer. The most economical and practical fertilizer is rice-washing water. Rice-washing water is not only environmentally friendly, but also provides both water and nutrients, making it very suitable as fertilizer for chives.
Common Pests of Chives and Control Methods
1. Onion maggots
Onion maggots is the general name for the larvae of several pests in the family Anthomyiidae. Onion maggots very much like plants with pungent odors such as scallions, ginger, and garlic, feeding on their tender roots or tender stems, generally causing damage mainly in spring and autumn; the root maggot harming scallions is mainly the onion fly.
Control method: Drench the roots with 5% beta-cypermethrin at 200 times dilution; or drench the roots with trichlorfon at 100 times dilution; both are very effective.
2. Leafminers
Leafminer eggs are white, oval, and 0.9 mm × 0.3 mm in size; mature larvae are about 7.5 mm long, wrinkled, and dusky yellow. Pupae are about 5 mm long, oval, initially light yellowish brown, later turning reddish brown, and becoming dark brown before emergence.
Control method: Grasp the peak emergence period of adults, and spray promptly to control adults and prevent them from laying eggs. Adults mainly lay eggs on the underside of leaves, so spray should be applied to the underside of leaves. Or spray to control larvae when damage first appears; for larval control, spray 2~3 times consecutively; the pesticide can be 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution.
As described above, in fact, if you can grow a pot of the chives we often use in cooking at home, it will be very convenient, and the method of growing chives is very simple!