How many days does the growing cycle of garlic chives generally take?

The growth cycle of garlic chive seeds is three to four months, and when it grows to about 15CM, harvesting is most appropriate. The speed of garlic chive growth depends on water and fertilizer, light, temperature, humidity, and density.

1. Germination stage

From the seed beginning to sprout until the young shoot emerges and grows its first true leaf is the germination stage. For most varieties, the entire process of germination and emergence takes about 10 days. Some seeds that are large and tightly sealed, or sown too deep, germinate slowly; when planted in the field, the emergence period can be as long as 12-15 days, and some even longer. Garlic chive seeds are small, with a hard seed coat and poor water absorption, and the nutrients stored inside the seed are few, so emergence is slow. When the young shoot emerges, the upper part bends backward, and first the sheath joint pushes through the soil in an arch shape, which is why it is called “pushing nose”. When it has fully emerged and the cotyledon straightens out, it is called “straight hook”. During this period, if the soil moisture is insufficient, the seedlings are likely to wither and die, so in order to improve sowing quality, the soil should be carefully prepared before sowing, the soil covering should not be too deep, and the soil should be kept moist; only then can full and uniform emergence be ensured.

2. Seedling stage

From the first true leaf becoming visible until it has the ability to tiller is the seedling stage. During this period it grows a total of 8-10 leaves and 10-15 roots. Most varieties take about 70-80 days, and faster-growing varieties take about 60 days. During this period, the aboveground part of the garlic chive grows relatively slowly, with root growth dominant. In management, watering should be combined with 1 application of fertilizer to promote robust seedling growth, and weeding should be strengthened to prevent weeds from growing, so that weeds do not affect the normal growth of the seedlings. If seedling raising and transplanting are used, the seedlings can be planted out when they reach a height of 18-20 cm.

3. Vigorous vegetative growth stage

From the time the growth point of the stem disc has the ability to tiller, it enters the vigorous vegetative growth stage and begins to produce tillers. For growing garlic chives, the number of tillers and how many tillers are produced in 1 year are greatly related to variety characteristics and cultivation conditions. Generally, narrow-leaf varieties have strong tillering ability; when nutrition is sufficient, they can tiller 4-5 times in 1 year, and 1 plant can divide into more than 10 individual plants. Broad-leaf garlic chives have somewhat weaker tillering ability, generally tillering 2-3 times each year. When the plants become dense to a certain degree, the accumulation of photosynthetic matter per individual plant is low, and when nutrition is insufficient, they generally cannot tiller or rarely tiller.

During the vigorous vegetative growth period, garlic chives will complete the preparatory work for flower bud differentiation. Flower bud differentiation requires the plant to go through a period of low-temperature conditions, and then a period of long-day conditions, before it can bolt and flower. Some garlic chives sown in early spring have some plants that go through the low-temperature vernalization stage and then the long-day conditions of summer, and can bolt and flower in the autumn of that same year; most enter dormancy in the winter of that year, and in the spring of the 2nd year, after low-temperature vernalization and the long-day conditions of summer, begin flower bud differentiation, enter the reproductive growth stage, and bolt and flower in autumn. For garlic chives grown for their leaves, bolting and flowering consume a large amount of nutrients, which is unfavorable to the plant, and the flower buds should be removed before flowering.