Welcome back one our grower favorites: Garlicky Chives!! This micro-herb is uniquely beautiful and boasts a garlicky and oniony flavor that is milder and not as harsh as a raw clove of garlic. 😍 Garlicky Chives Health Benefits Based upon references from the published scientific literature: 🌱 Contain vitamin C for cellular and tissue health 🌱 Contain vitamin A for vision health and immunity 🌱 Contain plant compounds that can fight against bacterial infections Garlic chives are a source of vitamin C, an ultra-important antioxidant critical for maintaining good cellular and tissue health; and vitamin A, which promotes vision health and immunity.¹ They are a source of plant compounds that can fight against bacterial² and fungal³ infections. Consumption of garlic chives has been linked to reduced gastric cancer.⁴⁵ Taste & Appearance 🧄 Hamama Garlicky Chives have an elongated and needle-like shape, and grow to be about 3-4 inches tall. They are a beautiful bright green with some black seed hulls (these are edible!) still attached at the tops. 🧄 Garlicky Chives have a crunchy and juicy texture and they will add a slight garlic & onion flavor to any dish! 🧄 Unlike mature chives, which are usually minced or chopped, Garlicky Chive micro-herbs are meant to be kept whole. We love our new Garlicky Chive micro-herbs on just about everything! They are an especially popular and delicious addition to potatoes, eggs, and sandwiches. Team Hamama has compiled some of our favorite recipes using this micro-herb in our 2 FREE Recipe eBooks...Be sure to download and try them out! We hope you 💚 them! Here’s a sneak peek of our fave recipes using our new micro-herb Garlicky Chives: Roasted Potatoes with Browned Butter, Sage & Garlicky Chives Hamama Olive Oil & Aged Balsamic Vinegar Bread Dip Roasted Acorn Squash with Fried Sage and Garlic Chives Garlicky Chive Chutney with Naan Bread Garlicky Chive Pull Apart Bread Garlicky Chive Pesto Garlicky Chive & Cheese Pizza Pan-Seared Broccoli Creamy Cajun Chicken & Rice Download our Garlicky Chives Recipe eBook Now Download our NEW Garlicky Chives Recipe ebook! Follow along on Grow Coach Allie's, Garlicky Chive growing journey! Let’s unwrap these beauties and get to planting. via GIPHY Here are a few things you should know before you grow: The peel time is around 6-7 days after the initial soak (a tad longer than your typical Hamama Seed Quilt!). The grow time is around 8-10 days (again, expect a tad longer than your typical Seed Quilt!). You will see some black seeds stuck on top of the grown Garlicky Chive micro-herbs - these are edible and this is normal! These micro-herbs will grow to be about 3-4 inches tall at maturity when ready to harvest. The top ⅓ of each micro-herb will fold or “hook” over - this is the best time to harvest them! They may keep growing taller than that but it is best to harvest at this stage for peak flavor (this is a rule of thumb as different growing conditions may affect this slightly). Day 1 - Planting the Seed Quilt! Just follow the simple Hamama instructions & check out our YouTube channel for some great tips and tricks to ensure a perfect harvest! This video demonstrates how to soak your Seed Quilt for optimal and even germination! You’ll notice that the seed pockets are larger and we’ve packed a lot of seeds in each one. Give your Seed Quilt a quick shake to evenly distribute the seeds, add water to the fill line on your tray, then set the quilt on the tray’s bottom ribs. To ensure that it is adequately soaked, be sure to hold it down long enough for the quilt to turn a shade darker. A good trick is to flick the Seed Quilt! If the seeds roll around in their pods, that is a good sign it is too dry and could soak for just a little longer. After the soak, you want to be sure that the quilt is properly propped on the tray's bottom ribs so that neither side of the quilt is dipping into the water. You also want to be sure the seed pockets are not under water after the dunk and that no water is left pooling on top of the seeds. Here are some extra watering tips! via GIPHY Day 2 - You won’t see much happening on day two but there are some things to note: The water level may have gone down from day one. That’s totally normal! Our Seed Quilts and trays are designed to provide the seeds with enough water to last them from day one until harvest day. No need to add additional water at this point. Another thing to note is the environment where you keep your greens! When referring to temperature, anywhere between 65-80 F is best. The warmer they are in that range, the faster they will grow on time with predictable health. Cooler temps can stunt the growth and it'll take a little longer for the seeds to germinate. Microgreens don't necessarily need a lot of light to grow (especially pre-peel) but will halt if they are too cold so I would prioritize warmth over light! Remember our rule of thumb: if it’s comfy for you, it’ll be comfortable for your little plant babies! Curious what that top layer is for? It's important to have a weighted black-out period for the first few days of growing microgreens. The weighted black-out period (seeds held down + darkness) encourages the seeds to send their roots downward, as opposed to growing outward and sending out root hairs to grab moisture from the air. Day 3 - Not many changes to note here yet! With our other Seed Quilts, you will commonly see some germination by day 3 or so, but hold tight for the Garlicky Chives! :D You may see that the top paper is puffing just slightly. Day 4 - Still Cookin! You should notice even ballooning across the Seed Quilt more and more each day from the seeds germinating! At this point, they are starting to set their roots down into the coconut mat. Day 5 - Each pocket of the Garlicky Chives Seed Quilt is evenly ballooning, and slightly tearing open in this case on one of the corner pockets. These micro-herbs have sprung up and have made progress in ballooning and ripping through the top paper. I waited another day before I peeled, when every pocket was on the same page :D It’s important not to peel too early! As the roots begin to grow, they need that top layer to encourage them to penetrate the bottom of the mat. Without it, the roots risk staying above the mat, which would cause them to dry out. Not only does it help the roots but it is also super beneficial for the greens themselves! It keeps moisture in from the initial soak, regulates temperature and humidity, and also shields the seeds from light during the germination process! Day 6 - PEEL DAY! This particular Garlicky Chive Seed Quilt is a great example of a ballooned and ripped Seed Quilt. If your Seed Quilt is ballooned, you can just peel the cover off in one motion! Some quilts will have micro-herbs that rip through the top layer rather than balloon. All you have to do in that case is remove the pieces individually. via GIPHY Day 7 - Now that your greens aren’t hiding under that top layer, you can see just how much they grow day to day! They will also turn greener as they absorb more light. As the greens get bigger they also tend to take up a lot more water. That makes this the perfect time to check the water level of your greens, especially if you live in a drier climate! If you notice that the water level has gone below the halfway point of the fill line and bottom of your tray, you can add enough water to reach the ridges at the base of the tray. This gives those roots enough water to sustain the greens without over-watering them! *Remember, this only applies to dry or really hot growing conditions - the normal function is that you just add water once! :) Day 8 - For a general rule of thumb, your Garlicky Chive microgreens will range from 3-4 inches tall at maturity. Just like any other microgreen though, this is just a reference as growing conditions (light, temp, etc) will affect the mature height slightly. A reminder that you may see some dark seed hulls stuck to the tops of the greens which is normal! Harvesting & Storing your Garlicky Chive Micro-herbs Your micro-herbs can be harvested by cutting at the base & storing them in a glass Tupperware or Stasher Bag in the fridge. They will last for about 10 days that way! If you prefer to munch on your greens while they are in the tray, the mature greens can remain there for a few extra days, but you must periodically check that they have enough water to drink! Otherwise, they may prematurely wilt over from thirst. The greens can also become slightly bitter and more fibrous the longer you leave them in the tray after maturing. Check out our YouTube episode on Harvesting your Microgreens! * Make harvesting & storing your homegrown greens a breeze! The Hamama Harvesting Kit includes a reusable Stasher Bag®, cute branded harvesting scissors, and natural fiber bamboo scrub brush for cleaning your grow tray! Do you need to rinse your chives before use? When the micro-herbs are ready to harvest you don't need to rinse them, but you can if you want. Whatever you feel comfortable with! Since there’s no soil, they’re already super clean. Most growers rinse if they have pets who may have been snooping around in them. *For longer storage, don’t rinse the harvested microgreens before storing. Instead, rinse just before eating, if desired! What's next? After harvesting your greens, you can compost or re-purpose the used coconut mat! Learn how to Upcycle your Coconut Mats here! Then, you can give your grow tray a quick wash & plant your next Seed Quilt! Learn how to wash your grow tray here. We hope you LOVE our Garlicky Chives! Let us know what you think in the comments below 💚🧄🌱 Sources: Jiang, et al. Molecular hydrogen maintains the storage quality of Chinese chive through improving antioxidant capacity. Plants (Basel) 2021, 10:1095; doi: 10.3390/plants10061095 Venancio, et al. Antimicrobial activity of two garlic species (Allium sativum and A. tuberosum) against Staphylococci infection. In vivo study in rats. Adv Pharm Bull 2017 7:115; doi: 10.15171/apb.2017.015 Kocevski, et al. Antifungal effect of Allium tuberosum, Cinnamomum cassia and Pogostemon cablin essential oils and their components against population of Aspergillus species. J Food Sci 2013, 78:M731-7; doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.12118 Zhou et al. Consumption of large amounts of Allium vegetables reduces risk for gastric cancer in a meta-analysis. Gastroenterology 2011, 141:80–89; doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2011.03.057 Turati et al. Allium vegetable intake and gastric cancer: A case-control study and meta-analysis. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 2015, 59:171–179; doi:10.1002/mnfr.201400496
