Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Harvesting Chives before the winter?
Hello! I have a bunch of chives in the garden which are doing very well. I read on a website that Chives will recede in the winter but grow back in the spring.
My question is, should I trim and harvest it before the winter to make the most of it?
- 15 Sep, 2011
Answers
Yea I've heard that you can freeze em, and I love the taste of chives and it goes well in many dishes that needs a more subtle onion flavour. It was just an idea I thought of since the leaves are gonna die back in winter.
15 Sep, 2011
If you want a more subtle taste than onion try leeks.
15 Sep, 2011
I do like leeks, but i have limited space for veggies, and i do like chives and their subtle onion taste.
15 Sep, 2011
Not a lot you can do the chives will die back and regrow next spring... personally I would not freeze the flavour changes.
15 Sep, 2011
They freeze beautifully, snip into a container and add to stews, delicious. I have just done the same with my mint and chillies, all useful when the snow is on the ground.
15 Sep, 2011
Thank you everyone for your reply and especially Grandmage!
I love chives in my omelettes and I also use it for my carottes vichy. Another thing I love in omelettes is wild asparagus but we don't seem to have them in this country (they are very common in the south of France however).
17 Sep, 2011
Sorry I double clicked by accident
17 Sep, 2011
Hi Prince.m. you can use the chives, mint & chillies straight from the freezer to, quite yummy. Have never thought of adding them to an omelette either or adding wild asparagus, thanks for that advice.!
17 Sep, 2011
I'm not sure where to find wild asparagus in the UK though. But from some research I have done I found out that in the UK they only grow on the seaside and are rare and protected.
But in the south of France where I used to live, they are very common and grow on the limit between woodland and grassland/fields/vineyards. What you pick is shoots growing amongst a mature plant which is like a prickly curly cane.
The variety you're looking for is Asparagus Acutifolius.
17 Sep, 2011
Thanks Prince.m. I will stick with chives and cheese!
17 Sep, 2011
I've never heard of anybody doing this, but you could probably cut them into little bits and freeze them into ice cubes. Don't think its worth it though as what would you do with them? You could alternatively dig up part of the clump and keep it going on the kitchen windowsill?
15 Sep, 2011