How to Plant and Harvest Chives

Everyone loves herbs because it gives your food some zest and flavor.  And the one herb that a majority of people love (especially if you love baked potatoes) is chives.  Chives, if properly taken care of, can last for years. They can get as tall as 20 inches and every spring they will bloom a lavender color flower.  If you allow the flower to blossom fully, it is packed with seeds and can spread around your garden and then you will have chives growing everywhere.  You can even grow chives indoors.  And every 3 to 4 years, it is recommended that you split the chive plant up due to it will bunch together.

Chives should be planted in the spring and in soil that has the pH of 6.0 to 7.0.  In addition, they should be planted in full sun and in soil that drains very well.  If you are transplanting a chive plant, it is suggested that you wait 30 days until you start pruning the stems.  If you have started a chive plant from seeds, it is suggested that you wait 60 days until you start pruning.  When pruning the stalks, you can snip to about 2 inches from the soil.  In fact, you can harvest chives every month.  However, it is recommended to prune the plant only 4 times in its first year.  And if you get the lavender blooms you can even eat those.

When chives start to yellow go ahead and prune that stalk and use it due to it is starting to lose its nutrients.  If the stalk is completely yellow, go ahead and prune it and you can either add it to a compost pile or to the trash. Chives retained their nutrients when they are fresh but lose a good percentage of their nutrients when they are dried and stored.  And another tip for when you harvest chives is that you can freeze them as well.