Chives

[igenlode]

I took a packet of chive seed (hand-labelled '26 but presumably harvested last year, unless someone had overwintering chives!) from the local seed library -- a fair return for all the marigold and calendula seeds I had given them :-)
(I have some envelopes of evening primrose seed that I need to remember to post in the slot at some point as well...)

This was on the grounds that the last two times I'd tried sowing chives using my old seed it had been a complete failure, and I'd thrown the seed away. I put a thin scattering of the little black seeds (very similar to spring onion seed but smaller, strangely enough!) back into the pot where I have a couple of blades of chives still clinging to life; this may be a mistake, as the conditions there are evidently not causing the adult plants to thrive, but I'm reluctant to create any more fresh pots where I don't have to, since the balcony is already filling up quite fast again. Also, it means that I don't need to label the seed :-p

But when I went to file the rest of the unused seed away, I discovered that I already *had* an unopened packet of commercial seed that had evidently been given to me at some point last year on the grounds that it was date-expired, so I could have tried simply sowing that first rather than helping myself to the fresh seed... However, it was dated 'sow by 2023', so this swap seed will undoubtedly be more likely to germinate reliably.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> from the local seed library <<

Thank you! I checked and found a local seed library. :D

>> the conditions there are evidently not causing the adult plants to thrive <<

Chives are cool-season, cold-tolerant perennials that prefer full sun and fertile, well-drained soils.

>>However, it was dated 'sow by 2023'<<

Some seeds will last practically forever, others only a year or two. Chives are toward the shorter end.