How to manage hotbed chives? Remember the four key points of field management
Hotbed chives, also called "chive sprouts", "yellow chive sprouts", "yellow chives", commonly known as "chive white", are the product of chives that have been blanched and turned yellow through softening cultivation. When chives are cut off from light and grow entirely in darkness, because there is no sunlight, they cannot carry out photosynthesis to synthesize chlorophyll, so they turn yellow and are called "hotbed chives". Because they do not see sunlight, they are yellow-white, and their nutritional value is inferior to that of chives. They belong to the Liliaceae family, a perennial herbaceous plant, and the seeds and leaves are used as medicine. They have effects such as strengthening the stomach, refreshing the mind, stopping sweating and astringing, tonifying the kidney and supporting yang, and securing essence. They are distributed all over the country.
The roots of chives are rather special. They have no distinction between a main root and lateral roots, and even fewer root hairs. They only have relatively fat, string-like fibrous roots. In the year of sowing, they grow at the base of the stem disc of the rhizome; from the 2nd year onward, they grow around the stem disc of the rhizome and on one side of it. The length of the fibrous roots is about 30 cm, mainly distributed in the soil layer 20 cm below the surface soil. This shows that the chive root system has a relatively poor ability to absorb water and nutrients. The rhizome is gourd-shaped and grows in the soil. It is an organ for storing nutrients, and the growing point at its top can produce tillers in the year of sowing.
The bulb of annual chives is oblate. In biennial plants, the bulb disc begins to elongate and continues to produce new roots, and the site of new root formation tends to shift outward. Later, with the increase in tillering, the rhizome continuously elongates toward the soil surface every year, the attachment site of new fibrous roots also continuously rises, while the original old roots continuously die off, producing the so-called “root jumping” phenomenon. This allows the root system to renew itself year after year. The lifespan of chive rhizomes is 2 to 3 years. As plant age increases, old rhizomes gradually age and die, and the fibrous roots die with them, while new fibrous roots are continuously produced on the upper rhizomes to replace the dead old roots. On average, each tiller has about 10 fibrous roots. The number of tillers in chive seedlings over three years old relatively decreases, but good fertilizer and water conditions can delay this trend, thereby making chives long-lived and enduring. The leaves are flat, strap-shaped, the leaf sheaths are closed, forming a pseudostem. They bolt between July and August, with an umbel borne at the top. The flowers are white, and the seeds are black.
Four key points of field management for hotbed chives
1. Apply fertilizer and water frequently and thinly, and clear field weeds in time
When the chive seedlings grow to 7-10 cm, apply 1 topdressing of human excrement and urine or biogas water at 20% concentration (that is, 2 parts decomposed human excrement and urine to 8 parts clear water). After about 15-20 days, apply another topdressing, and thereafter apply topdressing once every 1 week at the same concentration as before. When the chive seedlings grow to 30-50 cm, apply topdressing of human excrement and urine at 30% concentration (that is, 3 parts human excrement and urine to 7 parts clear water), and at the same time add 0.5% urea to the manure water. If there is a long drought, irrigate by furrow, and after the bed surface has absorbed enough water, immediately apply topdressing of human excrement and urine at 50% concentration plus 0.5% urea. If the seedlings are weak, the plant leaves are thin, and the thickness and hardness of the stems are insufficient, organic compound fertilizer may be appropriately applied, at 20-25 kg per 667 sq m. Weeds in the garden should be cleared in time, and early and frequent weeding should be done to keep the bed surface free of weeds.
2. Earthing up and cutting the green
Earthing up is one of the main measures to soften the pseudostem, and it is generally done in 2-3 times. Before each earthing up, apply organic compound fertilizer at 20-25 kg/667 sq m. The fertilizer should be applied on both sides of the chive rows. When 4-5 months after sowing (that is, division and transplanting) or after cutting the first batch of hotbed chives, the pseudostem has grown to 15-20 cm and the seedlings are about 50 cm tall, carry out the 1st earthing up, earthing up to 2 cm from the lotus mouth. After about 7 days, carry out the 2nd earthing up, this time earthing up level with the lotus mouth. If the 1st and 2nd earthing up are not done well, carry out a 3rd earthing up, slightly exceeding the lotus mouth by 1 cm. The lotus mouth is the point 2 cm from the roots. When earthing up, first use a thin bamboo pole to lift and fix the chive leaves, then earth up, taking care not to damage the roots, stems, or leaves. After the chive leaves have grown well, cut them off level with or more than 2 cm above the lotus mouth, which is the so-called cutting the green. Immediately after cutting the green, apply 1 topdressing of human excrement and urine or biogas water at 50% concentration. If there is too much rain in spring and human excrement and urine water or biogas water cannot be applied, Dali brand organic compound fertilizer granules may be used instead. The amount used is 1000-1500 kg of human excrement and urine water or biogas water per 667 sq m, or 100-150 kg of granules.
3. Covering with straw curtains
After cutting the green and topdressing, cover with straw curtains. The straw curtains are made from bamboo tips about 2 m long and rice straw. First spread small bundles of rice straw on both sides, arrange the straw tips tip-to-tip neatly, weave plastic thread onto the bamboo tips, and then use two thin bamboo poles 1-1.5 cm in diameter at each straw end to tie the support frame tightly. Cover the chive ridges with the straw curtains in a triangular shape with a bottom width of 65 cm and both sides 60-65 cm wide. The thickness of the straw curtains should be such that light cannot pass through. The covering height should preferably be high rather than low, otherwise it will affect the yield and quality of the hotbed chives. After covering with straw curtains, if there is drought and the temperature is above 30°C, spray water 1-2 times a day with a sprayer, just enough to wet the straw curtains without dripping, so as to lower the temperature inside the straw curtains and maintain a certain humidity.
4. Harvest hotbed chives in time
When the hotbed chives grow to 65 cm tall and the leaf tips begin to wilt, they can be harvested. The harvesting time depends on the season. In summer, when the temperature is above 30°C, they can be harvested 6-7 days after covering with the curtain; when the temperature is 25°C, they can be harvested 10-13 days after covering with the curtain; when the temperature is 18-20°C, harvest after about 20 days; in winter below 12°C, it takes about 30 days to harvest. When harvesting, first uncover the straw curtain and push the hotbed chive leaves to one side, then use a small hoe to gently dig away the soil on the other side of the chive ridge. When the chive roots are exposed, use a "7"-shaped knife to cut evenly with horizontal force. The stubble height should preferably be 5-10 cm. Tie the cut hotbed chives into bundles of 0.5-0.75 kg, soak them in water for 1-2 h, then tidy them with clear water. After cutting the hotbed chives, let the stumps air for 1-2 days, then apply human and livestock manure water (or biogas water) at 60% concentration on one side of the roots, preferably 2000-2500 kg per 667 sq m, after which the field management for the next round of hotbed chives can begin. Generally, hotbed chives are cut 5 times within 2 years, with each yield above 2500 kg/667 sq m. In order to increase yield, improve quality, avoid premature aging, and extend lifespan, it is better to harvest 2 times a year.