Garlic Chives

Sow seed a quarter inch deep in moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade, once soil temperature reaches roughly 50F. Expect germination in 7 to 14 days. Seed can also be sown in fall as soon as it ripens, or in spring in a cold frame. The seed is small and needs warmth and steady moisture near the surface to germinate, and a quarter inch is as deep as it can push from.

If an established clump is looking weak, give it a very light application of a 5-10-5 fertilizer once in spring. Skip it entirely if the plant is growing well. For plants in containers, use a liquid fertilizer at half the label strength every four to six weeks. Over-fertilizing harms chives. Slower, more compact growth gives stronger flavor and a healthier plant, so pushing the foliage with nitrogen works against the reason you grow it.

When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, thin them to stand 12 inches apart. Pulled thinnings are edible, so eat them rather than composting them. A mature clump fills roughly 12 inches across, and crowded seedlings compete into thin, weak foliage instead of the broad flat leaves worth harvesting.

Every three or four years, lift the clump in early spring, pull the bulbs apart into smaller sections, and replant them at 12 inch spacing. Spring is the best time for this. Spare divisions transplant readily or make good gifts. The clump thickens on its own tuberous rootstock until the bulbs are competing with each other, and vigor and bloom fall off. Splitting resets that.

Pick the fragrant white star-shaped flowers shortly after they open, for garnish, salads or cut arrangements. The stalks also cut well for the vase, and left alone the seed heads dry for winter displays. Picked shortly after opening the flowers are at their best, and every flower you take now is one that cannot set the seed that makes this plant a weed.

As soon as the flowers finish and before seed sets, cut the flower stalks off at the soil line. Do not leave the dried seed heads standing in the garden. If a stalk gets away from you and drops seed, pull the seedlings while they are small. Garlic chives self-seeds aggressively and can become invasive. Each head sets abundant seed, and cutting the stalk before seed set is the one intervention that stops the spread while also keeping the plant productive.

Harvest by snipping leaves off at the base of the plant, not by shearing the tops. Leaves are good any time they are green. Cutting the foliage back encourages fresh growth. The flavor is best fresh, but chopped leaves freeze well: chop prewashed leaves into small pieces and freeze them in containers. Cutting at the base removes whole leaves and triggers new ones from the crown, while topping leaves behind blunt, browning stubs that never regrow cleanly.