How To Harvest Chives

Learning how to harvest chives is one of the easiest and most rewarding tasks in the garden. This simple step-by-step guide will show you the right way to cut your chives so they grow back thicker and healthier every time.

Chives are a wonderful perennial herb. They come back year after year with minimal effort from you. Their mild onion flavor is perfect for salads, soups, and baked potatoes. The best part? Harvesting them correctly is quick and ensures you have a continuous supply all season long.

This main method is the key to keeping your chive plant productive. You’ll need just one tool: a pair of clean, sharp scissors or garden shears. Avoid pulling or tearing the leaves by hand, as this can damage the plant’s base.

What You’ll Need

Sharp scissors or garden snips
A small basket or bowl for collecting
Optional: a rubber band for tying bunches

The Step-by-Step Harvesting Process

Follow these steps for a perfect harvest every single time.

Choose the Right Time. The ideal time to harvest is in the morning after the dew has dried but before the midday sun. The leaves are most crisp and full of flavor then. Make sure your plants are at least 6 inches tall before the first cut.
Locate the Base. Look at the clump of chives. Identify a group of stems that are nice and green. You’ll be cutting a clump, not just random single stems from everywhere.
Make a Clean Cut. Gather a small bunch of stems together in your hand. Position your scissors about 1 to 2 inches above the soil line. Snip the bunch cleanly. This low cut encourages new growth from the base.
Harvest Evenly. Move around the plant, taking small bunches from different sides. Never cut all the stems all at once. Always leave at least 2 inches of growth so the plant can recover easily.
Collect Your Harvest. Place your freshly cut chives directly into your basket. They’re now ready to be used or stored.

How Often Can You Harvest Chives?

You can harvest chives regularly throughout the growing season. A good rule is to never take more than one-third of the plant at a time. After a major harvest, give the plant about two to three weeks to regrow before cutting from that same area again.

Frequent, light harvesting actually signals the plant to produce more leaves. If you see flower buds forming and you want to keep the leaves coming, simply snip the flower stalks off at the base. The flowers are edible too, but letting them go to seed can slow leaf production.

Harvesting for Regrowth

The way you cut directly impacts how well your chives come back. Cutting too high leaves woody, unproductive stubs. Cutting at the base, as described, prompts the plant to send up fresh, tender new shoots from its underground bulbs. It’s a simple trick for a lush plant.

How to Harvest Chive Flowers

Those beautiful purple puffball flowers are not just pretty. They have a milder onion taste and make a lovely garnish. To harvest them, simply snip the entire flower stalk at its base when the blooms are just fully open. You can pull the individual florets apart for sprinkling.

If you don’t want your chives to self-seed all over, its best to remove the flowers before they go to seed. Some gardeners find the leaves taste a bit bitter after flowering, but regular harvesting prevents this.

Post-Harvest Handling and Storage

What you do after harvesting is just as important for keeping that fresh flavor.

Washing and Drying

Gently swish your cut chives in a bowl of cool water to remove any dust or tiny insects.
Lay them out on a clean kitchen towel or use a salad spinner to dry them thoroughly. Excess water will make them slimy in storage.
Never wash chives before you’re ready to use or store them. Moisture is the enemy of fresh herbs.

Best Ways to Store Fresh Chives

For short-term use, treat them like fresh flowers. Wrap the dried bunch loosely in a slightly damp paper towel. Place them in a reusable bag or airtight container in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer. They should stay fresh for up to a week.

For longer storage, freezing is the best option to preserve flavor. Chopping them first makes it easier.

Chop your clean, dry chives to your preferred size.
Spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Freeze for 1-2 hours until solid (this is called “flash freezing”).
Transfer the frozen pieces to a freezer bag or container, removing as much air as possible. They’ll keep for several months, and you can scoop out just what you need.

Common Harvesting Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a simple plant, a few errors can set it back. Here’s what to watch out for.

Cutting Too High: This leaves long stubs that turn brown and can invite disease. Always cut low.
Overharvesting: Taking more than half the plant stresses it and slows regrowth dramatically. Be patient.
Using Dull Tools: Crushed stems heal slower and look unsightly. Keep those blades sharp.
Harvesting When Wet: Cutting when leaves are wet from rain or dew can spread fungal diseases between stems.

Seasonal Harvest Tips

Your approach changes slightly with the seasons. In early spring, take just a light harvest to let the plant establish itself. Summer is the time for frequent cutting. In late fall, you can do a final cut, leaving about 2 inches. The plant will die back and go dormant for winter, ready to sprout again next spring.

If you grow chives indoors on a windowsill, you can harvest lightly year-round. Just ensure the plant gets enough light and isn’t harvested too heavily at once.

Using Your Freshly Harvested Chives

Fresh chives are best used raw or added at the very end of cooking to maintain their delicate flavor and bright green color. They’re fantastic sprinkled over omelets, stirred into soft cheeses, mixed into salad dressings, or as a finish on soups and stews.

The flowers make a beautiful, tasty addition to salads or can be used to infuse vinegar. Simply place a few clean flowers in a bottle of white wine vinegar for a few days for a lovely pink-hued, onion-flavored vinegar.

FAQ: Your Chive Harvesting Questions Answered

How do you pick chives so it keeps growing?

Cut them 1-2 inches from the soil base with sharp scissors and never take more than a third of the plant. This method signals it to regrow.

What is the best way to cut chives from the plant?

The best way is to gather a small bunch and make a clean, low cut near the soil line, rather than picking individual leaves from the top.

Will chives grow back after cutting?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, they grow back even thicker and fuller when harvested properly. They are very resilient plants.

How do you harvest chives without killing the plant?

By avoiding overharvesting and always leaving at least 2 inches of growth behind. The plant needs some leaves to photosynthesize and recover.

Should you let chives flower?

It’s up to you. The flowers are edible and attract pollinators, but if you want maximum leaf production, it’s better to snip the flower buds off as they appear. The leaves can sometimes taste a bit different after flowering.

Can you harvest chives after they flower?

You can, but its often recommended to cut the plant back almost to the ground after flowering. It will then send up a fresh flush of tender leaves for fall harvesting.

With this guide, you have all the information needed to enjoy a bountiful, continuous harvest from your chive plants. Remember, the more regularly you harvest correctly, the more the plant will produce for you. Its a rewarding cycle that provides fresh flavor for your kitchen with very little work.