Chives Garlic

Allium tuberosum

Garlic chive is not a cultivar of ordinary chives but a distinct species of plant. It is commonly regarded as a major kitchen herb, tasting as its name suggests like chives with a mild addition of garlic flavor. It looks like and is grown very much like ordinary chives.

Growing Tips: Garlic chives generally like moist (but not soggy) soil. During their first season, hold down watering to encourage root growth. Garlic chives tolerate heavy harvesting. You can treat it like ordinary chives, pinching off any flower buds that appear, or you can let it flower in the autumn, as the buds and flowers are every bit as tasty and edible as the leaves.

Position: Part to Full Sun

Height: 60cm

Lifespan: Perennial

Use: Garlic chives can be used like regular chives where you want to add a subtle garlic flavor in uncooked dishes where raw regular garlic would be overwhelming or too spicy. This herb is a great replacement for garlic salts and powdered garlic.

Harvest: Harvest leaves by cutting some, or even all, being sure though to cut close to the soil level, so the plant "knows" to send up new leaves. If your garlic chives plant seems to be getting woody, prune it all down to about an inch above the soil level.