Chives are a fantastic plant to grow if you want to try your hand at gardening, especially if you haven’t had much success yet, because they're super forgiving. Too much sun? They're great. Too little sun? That's fine too. Too hot? Not enough water? They'll still be growing. In fact, they’re like the best friend who loves you no matter what. With just a little bit of tending, you’ll be able to grow way more chives than you could ever think of using.
One of my first introductions to kitchen gardening was a pot of garlic chives that my mother gave me. I kept it on our front stoop, and I would just step outside the door and harvest chives to put on omelettes every Saturday morning. I felt like Martha Stewart. It whet my appetite for growing my own fresh food in a simple way.
Chives are a fantastic companion plant—I call them interrupters because their oniony smell repels critters like aphids, caterpillars, and other things that like to eat green leaves. Alliums in general are great organic pest control, so put them around the edges of your garden.
In Chicago, my chives die back in the winter but then return on their own in the spring—a welcome sight every year! They can grow in some areas like Houston year-round. Interestingly enough, I get more chive blossoms in Chicago than I did in Houston, perhaps because they do die back each winter here. By June, my chives are producing gorgeous blossoms that hold the seeds. Each little part of the floret, if dried, will produce one small, circular seed.
Harvesting Guide
Spring or early summer is a great time to cut back your chives. You could also use a hori hori or a garden shovel to divide your plants and spread them further around the borders of your raised beds. When harvesting, use a clean pair of scissors to cut the plants pretty low to the soil level. New growth will spring from the center of the plant, not the tips. A good cutting back will keep your plant healthy through the summer.
With the blossoms, I make a chive blossom vinegar to put on salads or use as a garnish (it’s a pretty pink color). The blossom stems will be more rigid than normal chives, so I compost them.
I hope these hardy, sustainable plants give you quick success in a raised bed or even in a little pot. Happy growing!
Kitchen Garden Revival
Elevate your backyard veggie patch into a work of sophisticated and stylish art. Kitchen Garden Revival guides you through every aspect of kitchen gardening, from design to harvesting—with expert advice from author Nicole Johnsey Burke.