My chives are simply thriving but they are starting to become crowded. I have 5 large bunches that should be seperateable. Is it important to seperate them and replant them in richer soil? When is the best time to seperate them? Now? Fall or does it really matter? Should I break apart the large custers or simply seperate the large clusters from each other and replant? Do I even need to worry about it? Instead of replanting can I just add some compost and fertlizer to the soil they are in working it as deep as I can and leave them alone otherwise?
Chives are basically onions that you eat the top instead of the bulb. Every two years I separate my chives. I dig them in early spring (February here in Texas) and break the clump into two or three smaller clumps. Then I replant the clumps separately and put a bit of composted manure in each hole. After a while you get so many clumps of chives that you start to find chive-less gardeners to take the excess! They really need to be divided occasionally. Otherwise they lose vitality and start to get pretty puny and lose flavor.
Sounds like a plan to me. But I think I will have enough to find homes for right now. My plan is to take out the clusters after they get a haircut, remix their soil with compost, bone meal and slow release fertilizer and then replant. I have 8 or so clusters in a large recycle bin. Plan to put 4 back into the bin and replant the others individualy into 2.5 gallon buckets. Hopefully I don't manage to kill them but it sounds like that is pretty hard to do. Does that sould like it will work or should I seperate the clusters into even smaller ones?
Oh and I found Aphids on them today. Could this be a result of them starting to deminish in strength and natural oils? I couldn't believe it when I found them but there they were hiding in the back corner. Sneaky little sap suckers.
Nasty bugs they are. Dump your dishwater on them (if you have don't have a dishwasher), that should do the trick. (I use murphy's oil soap and a drop or 2 of veg. oil). horrid little bugs. They will suck the life right out of the host plant.
I'm sure the question regarding chives has been answered several times. This is what I do each fall as the days grow shorter. I grow several pots of chives, as I use them in cooking and making herb butters for gifts. I have 8 pots of chives. Four are seedlings that I started this past May. These are my new chives plants I keep as "back-ups." The other four chives plants are 2 years old. Ready to be root-pruned and re-potted in a slightly larger container. I'll do this soon, and give the two year old plants a "crew cut." I'll cut them down to about an inch or so. The roots: I'll cut away half the roots with a bread knife. One of the best tools for root pruning is a bread knife. You can pick up a used one in a thrift store. I'll do a sawing motion back and forth, this will give the roots a clean cut straight across. Toss the old roots away. I'll give the chive plants a little splash in warm water, and pot them up in moist potting soil. The roots will adjust very quickly to the new soil, and the chives plants will send out tender, green growth. I only keep chive plants about 3 to 4 years, and then give them away or toss them. I think the younger plants have a better flavor and vigor. Chive seed is less than a dollar a package in the garden center. I love watching them grow from tiny ssedlings to robust chive plants. The aphid problem: I have had aphids before on chives. I think do to extremely wet soil and very humid conditions. I added two dried hot peppers to a jar of warm water. I let the peppers soak a few days in the water, then poured the water in a spray bottle and sprayed the chives plants. After a few applications of the pepper water, the aphids were dead. The pepper mixture had burned the soft aphid bodies and killed them. The spray did not harm the plants. Caution: Don't get this spray in your eyes or on your skin. I wear latex gloves when I'm spraying this mixture.
