How to Keep Chives Safe Through Winter and Manage Them During Dormancy

Summary: How do chives safely overwinter in winter? How should chives be managed during dormancy?

The weather is getting colder and colder now, and fewer and fewer vegetables can be planted, but the overwintering of some perennial vegetables still needs attention, such as the chives mentioned today. How should chives be managed in winter? Here Science Xingnong shares with everyone some questions about winter management of chives.

Winter Overwintering Management of Chives

The management questions for winter chives are divided into open-field chives and protected-cultivation chives. Here we will explain the overwintering management of chives separately.

First, the overwintering of open-field chives

Although open-field chives are no longer harvested in winter, winter is an important season for chive management. Only with good winter management can the yield and quality of chives be guaranteed the following year.

Watering. Watering mainly refers to the freezing water for chives. Only when this watering is done well can the chives overwinter better later. Growers need to grasp the timing of watering well; too early or too late are both unsuitable. If watered too early, the water is absorbed and does not achieve the effect of preserving soil moisture and preventing freezing. If watered too late, severe freezing damage will occur in the chive field, which not only fails to prevent freezing but instead makes the freezing damage to the chives more serious, and may even cause the chive roots to die.

So the timing of this watering is very critical. Different preparations are needed according to the temperature conditions of different growing regions. Generally speaking, watering begins in early December each year, when the temperature is generally around 5°C.

Earthing up and fertilizing. Although chives enter dormancy in winter, appropriate fertilization is still needed at this time. Winter fertilization is generally called "laba fertilizer." Fertilizing at this time can promote the greening of chives in spring and promote growth. Generally, decomposed human urine and manure is suitable as winter fertilizer, and about 1500 kg can be used per mu. In addition, there is the issue of earthing up. Because winter temperatures are relatively low, proper earthing up can protect the roots of chives. Generally, about 3 times of earthing up are needed over one winter. When earthing up, it is only necessary to pile the soil between the chive rows toward the roots of the chives.

In addition, to prevent freezing damage to chives, dry grass can be used to cover the chive field, which can play a role in preventing freezing and preserving soil moisture.

Management of Greenhouse Chives

Although winter is the dormant period for chives, the demand for chives in winter is still very large, because everyone likes to eat dumplings in winter, and chives, as the main filling for dumplings, are naturally very popular, so many growers use protected cultivation in winter to grow off-season chives.

First, for overwintering chives in greenhouses, it is best to choose a relatively suitable chive variety, choosing a chive variety with relatively strong cold resistance. Second is the most critical issue - covering the greenhouse for the chives. Before covering the greenhouse, sufficient preparatory work is needed, and the chive beds should be cleaned in time. After cleaning the beds, the soil around the chive roots needs to be dug open, which helps break the dormancy period of the chives. After these tasks are completed, the chives need to be root-drenched, because after the greenhouse is covered, chives are prone to chive maggots. After root drenching, fertilization and watering should be carried out.

After all the above work is completed, generally the greenhouse can be covered in about three days. After covering the greenhouse, chives are prone to diseases, so attention should be paid to proper ventilation and disinfection of the greenhouse. The temperature inside the greenhouse must be maintained between 20°C and 25°C. Generally, the first batch of chives can be harvested in 20 days to one month, and about three days after harvesting, topdressing and proper watering are needed.

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