How to harvest Chives

Once you’ve bought some of our strong and flavourful Chives herbs, you’ll want to know how to harvest them! That’s why we’ve put together this step-by-step guide on how to harvest Chives and how to prune them. Keep reading to learn exactly what you need to do to keep both you and your herbs happy.

How to harvest Chives:

1. The first thing you need to know is that your plant will be fine. Herbs like to be trimmed, as it encourages new growth. So, don’t be nervous about getting started, just follow these steps and your Chives herb will thank you.
2. The next step is to pick away any of the yellowing parts of the plant, remove those first to make the rest of the herb healthier and to make it easier for you to harvest the best and tastiest bits.
3. Now you need to know how much to take. You can cut chives by cutting down each strand until they are one inch above the ground (or less if you don’t need that much). Doing this will encourage the herb to grow more, meaning you get a bigger harvest in the season by trimming them down.
4. Time to harvest! Grab a bunch of Chives strands in your hand and work your way from the top, go down till you reach the length you’d like to harvest, then cut. Do the same with the next bunch and keep going until the whole plant has been trimmed. Make sure to use clean scissors too, that way your herb will stay healthy.
5. The great thing about Chives is that, like other herbs, the flowers are also edible. You can harvest the flowers too by picking them off the stem. You can also pick a bit of the stem off as well, as doing so will encourage future growth.
6. Last but not least, enjoy! We also have great recipes that you can check out to get the most out of your Chives and other herbs.  

Garlic Chives variety –

Some bonus advice, we’ve included things to know about pruning/harvesting your Garlic Chives too!

1. Garlic chives are flatter than their common counterparts, and they have a stronger scent and flavour to them too. Harvesting methods are the same, but one thing you may want to do is be a little more gentle when harvesting this variety, that way you won’t damage the crop you plan to harvest.

To learn about the other herbs and varieties you’ll need to prune, stick with us. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about harvesting all your SEASON herbs!