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Herb Garden
Published August 15, 2022 by Nicole Burke

Why Every Organic Kitchen Garden Should Include Chives

Filed Under:
herb garden
herbs
herbs you can start from seed
chives
chive blossoms
kitchen garden
organic gardening
pests
chives blooming

Reasons to Grow Garlic and Onion Chives

There's one herb that makes its way into every single one of my kitchen garden planting plans and the planting lists I put together for Rooted Garden clients.

It's chives. Chives are easy to grow and make a fantastic companion planting plant for an organic kitchen garden or vegetable garden.

When I say chives, I'm really referring to garlic chives and onion chives (also called common chives).

Onion chives produce thin, hollow leaves that can grow 10 to 15 inches tall, and white, pink, purple, or red flowers. Garlic chives have flatter leaves and can grow up to 20 inches tall. Their flowers are white and less densely clustered. As the names suggest, onion chives taste more like onions, and garlic chives have a strong garlic flavor.

Let's look at six reasons you should add garlic and/or onion chives to your kitchen garden, veggie patch, or herb garden ASAP.

companion planting with chives

Reason number one to grow your own chives

Chive blossoms are edible

Chive flowers are both beautiful and edible. They're not something you're likely to get to taste (at least not when they're at their peak flavor, just after opening) unless you grow and harvest your own blossoms. I love making chive blossom vinegar with my onion chives flower harvests to use as a salad dressing. These blossoms are attractive enough to hold their own in any floral arrangement (that is, if you don't eat them all).

Onion chive blossoms typically form by early summer, while garlic chives flower a bit later. Each little part of the floret, if dried, will produce one small, circular chive seed. (By the way: It's a good idea to harvest these blooms before they spread seeds all over your garden, though they're easy enough to move should that happen.)

chives blossoms

Reason number two to grow your own chives

Chives are incredibly easy to grow

If you've been wanting to try your hand at gardening or looking for simple plants to give you quick garden success, chives are my top plant recommendation. What makes them so easy is their forgiving nature. They'll forgive too much sun, too little sun, too much heat, frost, and even a little drought. Seriously, with just a little bit of tending and very little gardening knowledge or skill, you’ll be able to grow way more chives than you could ever think of using.

I know this because a pot of garlic chives was one of my first introductions to kitchen gardening. I kept it on our front stoop, and I would just step outside the door and harvest leaves to put on omelettes every Saturday morning. I did very little to care for this pot, and yet it gave me so many fresh greens to toss on my food.

chives vs scallion

Reason number three to grow your own chives

Chives don't take up a lot of space

Chives are small plants that need only a little area in the garden about the size of a tea cup. These little herbs are perfect for adding to corners of raised beds or filling in small patches of bare soil. They also grow well in containers thanks to their shallow roots.

After your chive plant has enjoyed several seasons in your garden, it might begin spreading via underground bulbs. You can simply divide each chive plant with a hori hori or small shovel to spread the chive love around your garden or to keep the existing plant small. Doing so also encourages each plant to be more productive.

chives growing

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Reason number four to grow your own chives

Chives are hardy perennials

Though they're known as cool season plants, chives grow well in both hot and cold climates. They'll grow year round in warmer climates, such as gardening zones 9 and 10. In colder climates, they'll die back with heavy frost or snow and then return in the spring. My chives were typically one of the very first plants to pop back up after the brutal winters we had when we lived in Chicago.

Thanks to being perennials, your chive plants will keep producing year after year for you.

chives vs scallion

Reason number five to grow your own chives

You can harvest chives frequently

You can treat established chive plants like a cut-and-come-again herb. In other words, you can harvest the leaves, give the plant time to regrow, and then return to harvest more leaves.

Additionally, chives are ready to be harvested from very soon after planting. If you buy a mature plant from the store, you can begin harvesting leaves almost immediately.

chives plant

Reason number six to grow your own chives

Chives repel garden pests

Plant chives or green onions around the edges of your garden to deter critters like aphids, Japanese beetles, caterpillars, and other things that like to eat green leaves. I call alliums "interrupters" because their oniony smell repels so many pests.

Chives are so effective that even if I didn't use them as a culinary herb in my kitchen, I would still plant six to eight chive plants per raised bed to act as a form of organic pest protection in my kitchen garden. When people ask me about companion planting, chives and marigolds are my go-to answers for protecting carrots, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, and so much more.

While chives deter "bad guys" from entering your garden, they act as a welcome mat for "good guys", AKA your friendly neighborhood pollinators.

chives from seed

Tips to Grow Your Own Chives

How to Grow Chives from Seeds

Chives are easy to grow from seed. You can either start chives seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost in the spring or sow seeds directly in the garden once your soil is workable. Chives seeds can take a few weeks to germinate, and it's best to keep your soil moist during this time.

You can also plant chives by rooted clumps or nursery sets in the spring—this way, you'll be able to harvest much sooner.

If you don't have room for outdoor gardening, you can grow your chives indoors in a sunny windowsill or under grow lights. Just make sure you select a pot that has good drainage holes. Learn more about growing herbs indoors by clicking on the article below.

How to Care for Chives

Once chives plants are established in the garden, they require minimal care. Still, growing your chives under their ideal growing conditions will ensure you get harvest after delicious harvest from each plant.

  • Grow chives in full sun. Don't worry if you have some shade though. These low-maintenance little plants will still grow (you just might not get any flowers).
  • Add a layer of compost to the top of your soil before planting chives to give them a little nutritional boost.
  • Plant your chives in well-draining soil.
  • Avoid planting chives during the heat of summer. The best time to plant this herb is in the spring or fall.
  • Water chives consistently (though they'll tolerate some drought).
  • Harvest blooms to prevent their seeds from spreading.

You can begin harvesting from your chives about 30 days after moving them out to the garden space or about 60 days after sowing them from seed. Learn more about how to cut back your chives and what to do with all those beautiful blossoms by clicking on the article below.

How to Enjoy Garden-Fresh Chives

Use up as much of your chives as you can when they're freshly harvested and at their most flavorful. You can toss chopped stems into salads or onto soups, stews, baked potatoes, and omelettes.

If you have more than you could possibly need, wrap stems in a damp paper towel and then put them into a container or jar in the fridge. You can also store chives in an airtight bag in the freezer if you won't be able to use them in the next two weeks. Dried chives lose their flavor.

chives garlic

Chives vs Green Onion

Are chives and green onions the same? Not quite, but they're very similar. Chives and green onions are both members of the allium family, which is a great bunch for organic pest control.

Chives have much thinner stems than scallions, aka green onions, and are green throughout, while green onions change from green tops to crunchy white bottoms (see picture below). Taste wise, chives have a much milder flavor than green onions. For that reason, I typically consider chives an herb used for seasoning and adding subtle flavor, while green onions are more like vegetables.

Between the two, I prefer growing chives. They're easy to grow, and I love their chive blossoms. And because you're not growing chives for their bulb, you can harvest chives stems near the ground level, let them regrow, and then return for another harvest, just as you would do with any other cut-and-come-again herb.

chives green onion

I hope these hardy, pretty little plants give you quick success in your raised bed garden or even in a little pot. Thanks for helping me bring back the kitchen garden one easy-to-grow plant at a time!

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Why Every Organic Kitchen Garden Should Include Chives