9 Consulting Chives
Reflection
There is an innate wisdom in the Earth. Our kinship with plants can enlighten and empower us. As we consider and consult the greens that grow so near to us, what do we learn— what Earthly gifts are they so freely offering to our body and soul?
What do we know about chives?
It’s beautiful. Green and waxy, the grass like, tapering tubes of chives grow in clusters as tall as two feet. Blooming - its globes of purplish-pink wag in the wind. Bees are drawn to them! The flowers are very pretty and long-lasting, and work well as cut flowers in arrangements. Nearing chives, gardeners and greens admirers are greeted by a pungent onion smell that is grounding and comforting.
It’s growable. A perennial herb, chives are the harbingers of spring. Of the lily family and kin to shallots, leeks, onions and garlic, chives are cold hardy (to zone 3) and also sun loving. You can plant the tiny black seeds and grow them easily. Chives also multiply by bunching, so digging and dividing established clumps every few years, which is beneficial for the health of your plants, is is also a good way of spreading them around your garden and makes it an easy plant to share. This herb likes a fairly fertile soil and a regular water supply. Because it wards off bugs and is anti-bacterial, it has does not succumb to disease and houses no bugs. Because of these features, it also makes a great companion plant; so, plant chives around flowers and vegetables and they too will benefit by it’s protective and anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties. The flowers attracting those bees are also great for pollination! If you choose to grow your own, harvest them when they reach 8 to 10 inches in height. Grab the tops together in one hand and with scissors or a sharp knife, cut the whole bunch, leaving about an inch.
It’s got roots. A kitchen staple for thousands of years, this herb is native to the Mediterranean, Asia, Northern Europe, and North America.
It’s got a name. From the Latin cepa which means onion. and then the French cive, the first recorded use for the world in English was around 1400. The botanical name is derived from the Greek meaning, "reed-like leek.”
It’s edible. The whole plant is edible: the stems, the blossoms, the flowers. The mildest of all of its kin, most people chop the stems and use them raw as toppings. The most common use that I am aware of is as a topping for baked potatoes. Fresh chives has that onion taste. I like to dice them up raw and mix them into a salsa or blend them with avocados. I also east them in my wraps and salads. The flowers make a beautiful addition to salads, but can be used to top any dish. A pink vinegar is made by adding the flowers to vinegar. The leaves and flowers can also be used to prepare tea.
It’s nutrient dense. Nutritionally, this herb is high in fiber and vitamins A, K and C. It also has significant amounts of folic acid, calcium, sulphur, choline, and phosphorous. It’s been reported that 1 T of chopped chives has as much vitamin A as two cups of chopped cabbage!
It builds and repairs. As we consume this plant, all of our body tissues are getting just what they need for the growth, and development, and repair. Collagen is formed, iron is absorbed, and our immune system is bolstered. Wounds are healed, and our cartilage, bones, and teeth are strengthened. Our eyes and vision are nourished, and our blood is regulated. The sulfur serves as antiseptic. The choline helps with sleep, memory, the ability to move muscles, and transmit nerve impulses.
It protects and detoxifies. Compounds formed in this plant and released into our system as we chew and digest, flush out our body protecting from virus and cleansing out of parasites and bacteria. The allicin compound supplied by this plant has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. The antioxidant it provides shed us against cancer. Perhaps picking up on this, the practice of hanging bunches around the house is said to be a protective act.
It predicts. Long ago, chives were used in fortune telling.
It’s medicine. Used as medicine for thousands of years in China, chives is used to promote sweating, ridding the body of toxins. It is also used to lower blood pressure, aid digestion, and increase male fertility. During the Middle Ages, this plant was prescribed to ease depression and used in exorcism rituals. People have used it to break bad habits and end negative cycles.
What Advise for living does this plant give?
Grow tall in the society of others. Invite all that is beneficial and ward off what is not. Bloom. From head to toe, be useful. With clarity, enjoy the changing of the seasons from one year to the next. Please and clear and protect.
Resources
"PART VIII A Historical Dictionary of the World's Plant Foods." Cambridge World History of Food, edited by Kenneth F. Kiple, and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas, Cambridge University Press, 1st edition, 2000. Credo Reference, https://scsl.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=discus&url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/cupfood/part_viii_a_historical_dictionary_of_the_world_s_plant_foods/0?institutionId=7268. Accessed 09 Jun. 2021.
Patterson, Rachael. A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Food. Moon Books. 2015.
Pleasant, Barbara. “Chives.” Mother Earth News, no. 202, Feb. 2004, pp. 120–123. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=11986858&site=eds-live.
Reynolds, Gail. “The Charm of Chives.” Countryside & Small Stock Journal, vol. 87, no. 3, June 2003, p. 41. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=9478537&site=eds-live.
William, Anthony.”Chives.” https://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/chives Accessed 09 Jun. 2021.