CHINESE CONTAINER GARDENS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 192

Garlic Chives, page 120
Allium tuberosum
A perfect plant for the indoor or outdoor container herb garden, garlic chives are not
only delicious but also offer attractive flowers. The flowering extends over a long peri-
od. Even in my outdoor garden where wind, rain, and summer sun hasten the fading of
flowers, garlic chives bloom profusely for months. You can clip the leaves and still get
flowers, as long as you don't accidentally clip the flower stalks or take so much foliage
you discourage bud formation.
Start in individual 4-inch pots. After several months your clump will be large
enough to divide. Tuck a division into a larger container of other herbs or vegetables.
Don't eat the bulbs, just the foliage (as with common chives), and always leave enough
for the plant to grow on.
Pot some up to enjoy indoors over the winter; grow it on a sunny window-sill. It
makes a pretty table centerpiece; try three or four pots in a Chinese basket to accent
a Chinese meal. The fragrant white-flowered species ( Allium ramosum ) is particularly
nice indoors.
Start seeds indoors anytime. Outdoors, early spring is best. The seeds are small and
should be sown ½ inch to ¾ inch deep. If your sunny spots are preempted, garlic chives
tolerate partial shade.
Burdock, page 90
Arctium lappa
Burdock needs a container at least 12 inches deep — and practically nothing else. Since
you're growing it in 12 inches of soil, you won't get a full 24-inch root. Just to be sure
to harvest the roots as soon as they fill their container; they will be sweet and delicate.
We eat baby carrots and baby beets, so why not baby burdock?
If you want, you can plant it outdoors in the fall and let it come up and surprise you
in the spring. Indoors, you wouldn't want to tie up the room with such a hardy plant.