Therefore, spring plantings in the tablelands should be early to allow as much vegetative growth as possible before bulbing begins. It is non-bulbing, prolific and hardy, and resistant to pink root, smut and yellow dwarf. It grows continually by tillering throughout most of the warm season of the year. Although there are a great many varieties in use in China and Japan, only one or two are listed by Australian seed suppliers. The most popular is the variety Straight Leaf, which is pulled and bunched when the stalks are pencil thick.
Propagation is either by seed or by division of plants.
Thereafter, the culture is similar to that for true shallots harvested green. Some growers plant four rows on a bed about 1.52 m wide and mound the soil along the rows to produce blanched stalks about 10 cm long. The market prefers shallots with dark green, straight leaves. Chives are thought to be a native of Europe. They are completely cold hardy, will withstand drought, and grow well in a wide variety of soils.