The High-Heeled Gardener | Chive On

Easy Seeds to Plant Now in the Herb Garden

By Kymberly Taylor

March is a magical month for gardeners.  Despite a few chilly days, Spring is here, and it is time to start planting seeds directly outside! I have found that the common chive (Allium schoenoprasum) and garlic chive (Allium tuberosum) are some of the easiest herbs to grow from seed with stellar results, and they light up the herb garden with fabulous edible flowers. Chives are old-fashioned perennials, with distinct clumps and blossoms that reach for the sky–an early harbinger of good times. The lavender blossoms of the common chive and white blossoms of the garlic chive last for weeks and look terrific in salads and with vegetables. You can also create napkin rings with them.  Simply loop a single long chive stem around a rolled-up napkin and use the flower to fasten in place.

It’s simple to get started. Between March and April 1st, clear two little plots of ground in a sunny spot in your herb garden, one for the garlic chives, and another for the common variety.  Enrich your soil with a natural compost such as Leafgro®. Plant seeds about six to eight inches apart, a quarter-inch deep, cover, and water gently with a mister for about 10 days.  I like to plant mine in the shape of crescent moons for a nice flow of color.

You will see beautiful sea-green shoots in about two weeks, and, if you do not trim or harvest, blooms should appear in another three weeks. For casual cooking, trim as needed from the sides, snipping from the base rather than cutting from the top down.  After sixty days, harvest outright by cutting stems down to two inches above the soil. Your chives will spring back to life and can be harvested two more times throughout the season, generally six weeks apart.

Chives taste like delicate green onions and add flavor to salads, meats, soups, stews, and savory baked goods. Garlic chives have a subtle garlic flavor. Both make a wonderful appetizer when minced and spread upon farmer’s bread topped with whipped cream cheese.

You will love this humble yet hardworking herb that will continue to grow until the first frost in the fall. Without a doubt, it builds confidence for those who are new to planting from seed and is a staple of a cheerful garden.

Follow Kymberly Taylor, editor-in-chief of AHM, on Instagram and Facebook: @thehighheeledgardener

Annapolis Home Magazine
Vol. 11, No. 2 2020