How Many Days for Chive Seeds to Germinate? Master the Right Planting Method

Chives are a very resilient vegetable that can grow well with little care and have low requirements for the growing environment. Sowing chives is one of the common planting methods, so how many days do chive seeds take to germinate? How do you grow them well?

1. How many days do chive seeds take to germinate?

From seed germination to the emergence of the first true leaf, chive seeds generally take 10 to 20 days. The optimum germination temperature is 15 to 18°C, the minimum temperature is 2 to 3°C, and they will not germinate above 20°C. Chives also have weak emergence ability, so pay attention to the thickness of the soil covering.

2. How do you grow chive seeds well?

Chive seeds can be sown as dry seeds or soaked to promote germination, and the method should be chosen according to the planting season, temperature and other conditions.

The seed soaking and germination method is as follows: 4 to 5 days before sowing, put the seeds into warm water at about 30°C; after 24 hours, remove them, rinse them clean with cold water and scoop them out; wrap them with clean gauze as the inner layer and a clean wet burlap sack as the outer layer, and place them at 15 to 20°C for germination. During germination, rinse them once a day with clean water, and after 3 to 4 days they will sprout and can be used for sowing.

For spring sowing, the soil temperature and air temperature are relatively low, so soaking the seeds to promote germination is advisable in order to achieve faster emergence. For sowing in late spring or early summer, the temperature conditions are suitable, so you can skip soaking and germination promotion or only soak the seeds without promoting germination.

The sowing time for chives is generally from late March to early May, with spring sowing being preferable, and summer sowing should be early rather than late. Since chives are a perennial vegetable, autumn sowing is very suitable. Therefore, in the Shandong region, chives can be planted after September, when autumn sowing can begin.

Before sowing, reasonable plowing is also needed. Because chives have a relatively high fertilizer requirement, sufficient base fertilizer needs to be applied to the soil before sowing. Generally, about 5000 kg of farmyard manure, 5 kg of urea, and about 30 kg of diammonium can be used, and the fertilizer should be plowed into the field. The sowing method is generally drilling or broadcasting.

During the growth of chives, good field management is naturally the key to improving chive quality. The first is fertilization. Here we focus on some precautions regarding chive fertilization. As mentioned above, chives are a plant with a relatively high fertilizer requirement, and a good fertilizer supply can ensure the growth of chives. The base fertilizer has already been mentioned above, so it will not be introduced again here. Here we mainly discuss topdressing for chives.

Topdressing needs to be carried out in a timely manner, with reasonable topdressing according to the growth of the chives and the season and other factors. For chive seedlings that have just been planted and established for a short time, the main goal at this time is to promote root growth, and topdressing should be carried out according to the growth status of the chives. After the chive seedlings are established and new leaves grow out, 20 kg of diammonium phosphate can be applied per mu as topdressing.

After chives enter the harvest season, topdressing needs to be carried out promptly after each harvest, and this kind of topdressing is commonly called “cut-by-cut fertilizer”. After harvesting, watering and fertilization can only be carried out two days later, which can avoid infection of the chive wounds. About 400 kg of decomposed manure and about 30 kg of compound fertilizer can be applied per mu as topdressing, applied together with watering.

In addition to fertilization, if you want chives to grow well, you also need to pay attention to letting the chives rest their roots. In the high-temperature summer season each year, it is best to stop harvesting chives at this time and let the chives nourish their roots. This can not only improve the quality of the chives but also extend the harvest years of the chives. In addition, pest and disease control for chives should also be done well.