Growing chives is quite simple - they will grow virtually anywhere and in any soil, but to get the best out of them, they prefer a light soil, a sunny aspect and lots of water - it enables the clumps to grow evenly.
They will tolerate semi shade and if your soil is a heavy clay type, then work some peaty compost into the planting hole.
The seeds are tiny and black - if you sow them in seed compost in early spring, they will reward you with lots of tiny regular seedlings - plant these out in clumps - if you enrich the soil with weathered soot or coffee grounds, they will romp away.
If you plant the seeds into the soil, then it must be finely tilled otherwise the seedlings will not have the strength to push through evenly - also, you will have to thin them out - if you grow in a seed tray, then you will have strong, straight seedlings - by far the best.
Chives can make a great edging plant - a clump of 3 to 6 bulbs will multiply over the course of a year - the flower heads - much like clover flowers - look great - as soon as the flowers begin to fade, if you don't want the chives to overrun your garden, take the heads off - they will self seed, the leaves of the plant will turn brown and you'll have chives weeds in your herb garden.
By regularly cutting the leaves for use, you'll keep the plants well in check and growing healthily - cut down to about 3 inches (8 cms) and snip into your food to give a delicate onion flavor.
If you want to have chives through the winter, you'll need to move some indoors - take some small bulbs from the edges of your growing clumps in late summer and put into a plant pot with some potting compost.
Keep the plant well watered and when your outdoor chives have begun to die down, you can begin to use your indoor plant which should by then, have put on some good growth.
In the spring put these chives back in the garden.
When you look at which are the best herbs to grow for profit, you need to consider two angles before you make your decision.
Now first of all, you might decide to grow the easiest and quickest to germinate because you want to make some money quickly.
If that's the case, then look at the annuals - basil, coriander, dill and marjoram for instance - that will concentrate your growing time to the spring and selling in early summer - just one hit.
You can get hundreds of plants from a packet of seed but if it's easy to grow, then you won't be able to charge a lot due to market forces - easy invariably means cheap because lots of people can do it.
That might suit you if you're just looking to make a bit of holiday money for the summer.
If you're thinking of making growing herbs for profit a full time job though you might decide to go for the more difficult plants to propogate - most people consider parsley difficult - it's not really, read my growing parsley page for an explanation as to why it's considered a tough plant to grow.
Also the shrubby herbs take a bit longer to establish - you can take a stock plant and grow from cuttings - these plants last for years instead of one year and that means you can charge more for them.
So look at sage, thyme, rosemary and bay to begin with.
The final decision needs to be made by you giving consideration to your circumstances - look at the time you have available and your other commitments.
