Are You Harvesting Your Chives the Right Way? What to Know Before Your Next Batch

• You can harvest chives once they’re about 6 inches tall.
• You can harvest chives more than once, and herbs in their first year of growth actually thrive after being cut a few times.
• Freshly harvested chives can be kept fresh in a glass container for up to 10 days.

Chives are perennial herbs that infuse mild onion or garlic flavor into just about any savory dish prepared in your kitchen.

Three domestic types to include in your herb collection are common chives (Allium schoenoprasum), garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), and Siberian garlic chives (Allium nutans).

These are cut-and-come-again plants that produce throughout the growing season and even over winter months in warmer climates.

Chives are low-maintenance herbs that spread by seed and bulb production to form clumps with the greatest growth and spread during cool weather in early spring.

When to Harvest Chives

You can start harvesting chives when the long, grass-like blades reach about 6 inches tall. Taller leaves are thicker at the base, where flavor is concentrated. Plants started from seed take about 60 days to reach maturity, depending on the climate. Purchased plants are ready to harvest 30 days after transplanting into the garden.

First-year plants do well when cut back three or four times throughout the season. As clump size increases with every year, you’ll be able to harvest more often as needed.

All herbs are freshest and retain their best flavor when harvested in the morning after dew has dried. Once the sun reaches its zenith, essential oils are less concentrated, and plants start to lose moisture and flavor.

Chives are well-suited to container growing and thrive indoors, set in a sunny windowsill. In cold climates where garden-grown chives die back naturally in winter, indoor potted plants provide a year-round harvest.

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How to Harvest Chives

Use a sharp, sterile snipper or scissors to harvest chives. When done properly, plants will regrow new leaves for future harvests. If you pull them, you’ll see a small green onion-like bulb with roots. Pulled plants won’t regrow, however, this is a practical way to thin out overgrown clumps.

You can cut an entire clump of chives at once or take several stems at a time as needed. Follow these steps for the correct way to harvest chives to keep them producing.

1. Gently grasp the blades of several chive plants with your non-dominant hand.
2. Begin with the outermost plants in the clump, working your way into the middle.
3. Use the snipper or scissors to cut near the base about 1/2 to 1 inch above ground level.
4. Use a quick snipping motion and avoid trying to saw through too many leaves at once, which will damage leaves, causing them to deteriorate quickly.
5. To harvest the entire clump, continue as above until all plants are sheared to the correct height.

How to Store Chives

Chives are an herb best used fresh and lose potency when dried. Fresh cut harvests with cut ends submerged in a glass container of clean water can be kept in your refrigerator for a week to ten days.

Flash freezing is one way to preserve flavor for longer storage. Wash and dry leaves, then cut into small pieces with your scissors or snippers. Place pieces on a clean baking sheet and freeze for one to two hours. Put pieces in plastic bags and return to your freezer.

Alternatively, you can place portions in an ice cube tray and cover with water or olive oil. Once ice freezes, remove cubes and place them in plastic bags in the freezer for more convenient storage. Frozen chives, using either method, retain quality and flavor for four to six months. If kept longer, they can still be eaten but won’t be as flavorful.

Harvesting Tips

• Harvest chives regularly throughout the season to keep them growing.
• Always snip plants slightly above ground level. Pulling chives removes the entire plant and reduces future harvests.
• Harvest flowers for use or remove them to avoid unwanted seed spread. Chives grow rapidly from seed and can become invasive when flowers or seedheads are not removed.
• Always begin harvesting at the outside of the clump, even if you’re only cutting a few plants.
• Harvest with a snipper or sharp scissors. Chives bruise easily when cut with knives or other single-bladed cutting tools.