Growing herbs is one of the simplest and highest-producing crops in any home garden. Chives, one of the hardiest perennials (meaning they grow back year after year), grow in fragrant clumps, and in summer, produce small edible flowers. The chive’s flavor of mild-onion and garlic make it a prime candidate for additions to salads and soups, as well as on main dishes as a garnish.

Are you going to plant chives in your garden? According to our research, we don’t recommend planting beans near chives in the garden.

An added benefit to growing chives is that they can also be used as part of your landscaping as well as a crop. If starting your chives from seed, start them indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost to give them a jump-start once they are transplanted to your garden or around your home. Give each seedling at least 6 inches between the next, as chives will often grow to about a foot tall. While chives require fertile soil that drains well, it doesn’t require additional fertilizing, as it can alter the taste of the chive over time.

Once the chive stalks right about 6 inches tall, you can begin to harvest them. Using garden shears or clean scissors, clip the leaves individually from the outer portion of the clump towards the middle. If you’d like to harvest the chive blossoms to use in salads or to make chive blossom vinegar, cut the flower right below where the stem connects to the flower. The stem itself is also edible, but has a much woodier taste than the chive’s leaves.