Chives are a great fuss-free addition to any garden. As a perennial herb you'll be able to crop them year after year. They produce beautiful purple flowers which, as well as being edible, are a good source of pollen for beneficial insects.

Growing calendar
Sow indoors	Mar - Apr
Plant out/transplant	May
Sow outdoors	May
Harvest	Jun - Oct

How to grow chives

Sow chive seed 0.5cm deep and thin or transplant seedlings to 25cm apart. Choose rich moist soil in a sunny site.

Water chives well in dry weather. Remove flowering stems to increase leaf production, unless you want to grow the flowers, which are also edible. Leaves die back to soil level in winter.

You can dig up and split established chive plants in autumn.

Harvesting and using chives

Cut leaves to use fresh or for freezing from when plants are 15cm tall, leaving 5cm of stem to regrow. Chive is perennial so the plants will crop year after year. Chive flowers are also edible.

Growing notes
Difficulty	Easy
Germination time	10-20 days
Average time to harvest	From 12 weeks
Equipment needed	None
Average plant size	30cm tall and wide
Family group to grow with	Alliaceae: onion, shallot
Seed saving notes	Perennial, can cross pollinate
Key nutritional content	Vitamins A and C, calcium (when eaten fresh)