How to transplant Chinese chives? Remember these four key points

Chinese chives have a very strong tillering ability and exhibit root-jumping (that is, as the Chinese chives tiller, they gradually move upward in layers, and the rooting position of the Chinese chives also keeps rising). Continuous growth in this way often leads to a sharp decline in both yield and quality three to four years after transplanting, so growers must replant the Chinese chives to ensure high quality and high yield. So how can the continuous growth of Chinese chives be ensured and extended for more years? To find out, the reporter visited Xianfengying, a specialized village for white Chinese chive cultivation, and Wenjia Village, a specialized village for green Chinese chive cultivation, in Wenjia Street, Shouguang City, to see how they grow Chinese chives.

Reasonably determine the spacing between chive beds. According to Xu Guomin, a grower in Wenjia Street, Shouguang City, because white Chinese chives and green Chinese chives have different production processes in winter, that is, white Chinese chives need to be covered with soil during production while green Chinese chives do not, the spacing between the chive beds of the two types also differs. For green Chinese chives, because no soil covering is needed during winter production, and it is only necessary to reserve space for windbreaks and for walking and operations, the distance between chive beds can be about 0.8 m. For white Chinese chives, because soil must be taken from the front of the chive bed nearby in winter and the amount of soil taken is relatively large, in addition to reserving space between two chive beds for windbreaks, space must also be left for convenient soil removal, so the width between chive beds should be larger, generally about 1.6 m between two chive beds. Scientific close planting extends the cultivation life of Chinese chives. During interviews in Wenjia Street, Shouguang City, many growers told the reporter that when Chinese chives are planted too densely at transplanting, although high yields can be obtained quickly, it is also very easy for the yield and quality of the Chinese chives to decline rapidly after about 3 years because of overly rapid tillering, forcing growers to raise new seedlings and renew the planting, which costs labor and effort. Therefore, reasonable close planting should be paid attention to at transplanting. When transplanting Chinese chives, growers generally plant 30-40 plants per 2 m long chive ridge, with a row spacing of about 28 cm, which can extend the renewal period of the Chinese chives and help make the Chinese chives grow thick and strong with good quality. This is because in the first year after transplanting, Chinese chives tiller most rapidly, so the Chinese chives planted in that year, if used for producing white Chinese chives, can also reach a yield of about 5 jin per ridge, and by the second year can reach a yield of about 8 jin, and can maintain this for 3 years. If growers plant about 50 plants per 2 m long chive ridge, although about 6 jin per ridge can be obtained when producing white Chinese chives in that year, the high-yield period of the Chinese chives can only be maintained for 2 years, which in the long run is not conducive to improving the yield and benefits of Chinese chives. Therefore, when transplanting Chinese chives, growers must pay attention to the transplanting density. The transplanting depth should be reasonable. Research shows that the deeper Chinese chives are transplanted, the weaker the tillering ability and the slower the root-jumping; if transplanted too shallowly, the tillering ability of the Chinese chives is strong and root-jumping occurs quickly, which will soon cause the root system of the Chinese chives to grow above the ground and affect the usable cultivation life of the Chinese chives. According to Sang Peimin, a grower in Wenjia Street, Shouguang City, the most suitable transplanting depth for Chinese chives is generally 5-6 cm. Such a transplanting depth neither affects the tillering of the plants nor fails to prevent the problem of too short a cultivation life caused by root-jumping, extending the renewal life of the chive beds to about 5 years. Newly transplanted Chinese chives should not be allowed to retain chive stems. To ensure the yield of Chinese chives and promote the swelling and tillering of the pseudostems, attention should be paid to inhibiting the reproductive growth of the plants and promoting their vegetative growth. The newly grown chive stems of the Chinese chives should be removed in time, so as to ensure that the nutrients produced by the leaves are concentrated on supplying the swelling of the Chinese chive pseudostems and lay the foundation for high quality and high yield in winter.