Garlic Chives - Ferme de Ste Marthe Seeds

Garlic chives, also known as Chinese chives, are related to common chives and spring onions. They are grown for their flat, grass-like leaves and edible white starry blooms. Their delicious garlicky flavour is perfect to enhance salads, omelettes and Asian cuisine! Sow from February to May and harvest from late May to September.

Garlic chives are a tasty perennial vegetable. They belong to the Allium family, along with garlic, onion, shallot and chives. They form 70 cm tall clumps of flat, grass-like leaves. They are generally grown for two to three years, after which they become less productive and need to be divided. Garlic chives produce attractive, edible white flowers. Both leaves and flowers are delicious served with omelettes, quiches and fish dishes. They are commonly used in Asian cuisine.

Harvesting: garlic chives can be harvested over a long period of time, from late spring to autumn. Simply snip off the leaves and flowers with scissors as and when required.

Conservation: garlic chives can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator or for a few months when dried or frozen. Nevertheless, for a fuller aroma they are definitely best eaten fresh!

Good to know: We recommend mulching as this reduces the need to water and weed your plants.

Even if the vegetable garden is first and foremost a place for growing great quality veg, it’s always a good idea to leave a bit of room for flowers. Growing flowers alongside your vegetable plants will make your general gardening experience more enjoyable and is a great way to attract pollinators and repel garden pests! Flowers such as gaillardia, marigolds, zinnias, cosmos or nasturtiums can be sown in and around the rows of vegetables. Herbs such as dill can be very useful also. Bear in mind that some companion plants self-seed easily and can be a bit invasive (borage, chives, lemon balm etc.)

NB. Organic seeds (in French "AB" for "Agriculture Biologique") are produced from plants that aren't treated with phytosanitary products (insecticides, weed killers). The seeds do not undergo post-harvest treatment. They carry the AB label and are approved by Ecocert, an independent structure.