How To Grow Chives As Companion Plants

Pretty chives are a must grow companion plant amongst your vegetables as they have huge natural health benefits for us and our gardens.

Power houses for all round gut health little chives in the garden can also :

1. Protect plants from pests
2. Improve soil quality
3. Fight bacterial infections
4. Fight fungal infections
5. Attract pollinators.

So in this guide I'll show you how to grow chives easily covering :

1. Chives As Companion Plants
2. Growing Chives In Pots
3. Growing Chives Indoors
4. When To Plant Chives
5. Caring For Chives Plants
6. Harvesting Chives

I hope these tips help you enjoy the benefits of this pretty pest control in your garden. Do shout with questions.

Chives As Companion Plants

Chives have big benefits for flowers, fruit and vegetable gardens if you want to garden more organically and cut down on pesticides & herbicides.

In this section I'll dive down into:

1. Benefits Of Chives
2. What To Plant With Chives
3. What Not To Plant With Chives
4. Interplanting Chives

Benefits Of Chives

Chives in your garden are able to :

1. Repel Aphids & Beetles
2. Repel Mosquitoes
3. Camouflage Plants From Pests
4. Control Bacterial Infections
5. Control Fungal Infections
6. Attract Pollinators

Repel Aphids & Beetles

The smell of chives repels aphids and beetles from nearby vegetables reducing the need for pesticides.

Underplanting roses with chives help repel green fly that attack new buds.

Repel Mosquitoes

Chives are a natural mosquito repellent that can discourage mosquitoes from your vegetable garden where they can spread disease and from patio areas. Small pots of chives are a pretty addition to patio tables.

Camouflage Plants

The smell of chives can camouflage the fragrance of carrots and so "hides" carrots from pesky carrot flies, again reducing the needs for pesticides.

Anti-Bacterial & Anti-Fungal

Chives - like garlic - help to protect root vegetables and brassicas from fungal disease by feeding soil with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal nutrients such as sulphur, nitrogen & trace minerals.

These nutrients also protect roses from black spot, cutting the need for chemical soil improvers and treatments.

Attract Pollinators

Pretty chives attract bees and butterflies into your garden to increase pollination of flowering vegetables such as tomatoes and courgettes.

What Grows Well With Chives

These garden favourites all do well planted with chives nearby.

Chive Friendly Vegetables & Fruit

• Lettuce
• Peppers
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Tomatoes

Chive Friendly Fruit

• Strawberries
• Apple Trees
• Grapes

Chive Friendly Flowers

• Roses
• Marigolds
• Alyssum
• Cosmos
• Calendula
• Nasturtiums

What Not To Plant With Chives

It is generally advised to keep your chive plants away from :

• Peas
• Beans
• Asparagus

Some people also keep chives away from spinach and brassicas like collards as they may reduce growth. But personally I find the aphid and cabbage white repelling benefits outweigh any downsides.

Interplanting Chives

As they are so small, chives can be easily interplanted amongst other vegetables so you get the full whammy of all the companion plant benefits.

But you can also grow chives in pots as roaming companion plants to help out around the garden as needed.

Growing Chives In Pots & Containers

Chives will grow well in both :

• Small 10 cm / 4 inch pots and
• Bigger 15 to 20 cm / 6 to 8 inch pots with about 20 cm depth.

To plant chives in pots simply :

1. Sow 2 to 3 seeds in a small 4 inch pot with good drainage.
2. Multiply up for larger pots.
3. Seeds are happy growing close together and will have more visual impact planted snugly.
4. Lightly cover seeds with soil at no more than ¼ inch deep.
5. Place pots in full sun or light shade. Ideally they need a good 6 hours of direct light daily.
6. Keep soil moist not soggy.

In subsequent years chives can be easily split if they are overgrowing pots.

Growing Chives Indoors

Chives will grow happily indoors all year round for use in the kitchen. They just need a bright spot like a sunny window so they get plenty of light.

Starting chives indoors in late winter and early spring can give your spring vegetables early protection from aphids and beetles as you can plant out ready grown chives from early April.

Germination temperatures for chive seeds vary. Some seeds germinate happily at 15 degrees (59F) whilst other seeds only germinate at 20-25C/68-77F so need a warm spot to get going.

Remember chives grown indoors will need to be gently acclimatised to outdoor weather over a week to 10 days being brought in at night.

When To Plant Chives

Chives can be sown outdoors in the first weeks following the last frost date (UK) wherever you are living.

Most chive seed varieties will struggle to germinate above 25c/77f so don't hang around too long after last frost to get them sown in case of a hot spring.

But it is worth planting chives indoors in February or 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost date so you can get them straight out working hard as companion plants in April.

Best Soil For Growing Chives

Chives do like constant moisture - unlike oregano and thyme who will grow in any old ground - so they do need fertile soil that holds moisture.

The soil does not however need to be over rich. Bog standard potting compost is fine and I manage to grow mine in marginal soil on path edges.

Growing Chives From Seeds

Chives are easy to grow from seed and if you want to grow veggies on a budget, it is a no brainer to sow your own: one tiny chive plant will cost the same as a packet of 500 chive seeds!!

My only caveat is that chive seeds are not always quick to germinate. They can take up to 3 weeks to get going which may way be too slow if you want urgent organic pest control!!

If you are sowing seeds directly outdoors after your last frost date, simply sow them in :

1. Clusters of 2 to 5 seeds
2. Good sunlight
3. Moisture retaining soil
4. ¼ inch deep.

How Long Chives Take To Grow

After their slightly slow germination - see above - chives do grow quickly.

Typically within 8 to 12 weeks of sowing chives will :

• Grow to 15-40 cm /6-16 inches
• Start flowering.

You can start harvesting the chive blades for cooking before the chives flower but it's usually best to wait at least 8 weeks from planting.

Once chives flower you should harvest regularly to ensure the chives grow back after cutting and keep flowering.

Caring For Chive Plants

Chives are incredibly easy plants to care for. It basically boils down to :

1. Plenty of sunlight but some shade in temperatures above 80f/26c.
2. Moist but not soggy soil. In warmer climates you may need to mulch to retain moisture.
3. Take pots in or protect plants if temperature falls below 40f/4c.
4. Keep harvesting regularly for more growth and flowers.
5. Split clumps in spring every 2 to 3 years to prevent over crowding.

Chives are perennials and in most of the USA and UK chives will die back over winter to re-emerge next spring.

How To Harvest Chives To Grow Back After Cutting

Chives are a lovely light garnish for everything from soups and salads to mains so we want to harvest little and often rather than all in one go.

Chives are ready to harvest 8 weeks from planting or as they start to flower.

You can actually eat the whole of the chive but the best parts are the :

• Blades (the non-flowering leaves)
• Flowers.

The bulbs and flowering stems are a bit tough and would need cooking.

When your chives are ready to harvest :

1. Cut 2 or 3 blades
2. 2 or 3 times a week
3. Leaving roughly 2 inches/5 cm of blade above soil.

The chive blossoms have a delicate onion-garlic flavour and make a pretty and tasty addition to anything from salads to omelettes.

To prepare the chive flowers simply :

• Rinse gently
• To remove any little bugs
• Allow to air dry before serving.

Regular harvesting will keep your chives flowering for optimal performance as organic pest control and soil improver. So if you have more than you can eat simply cut regularly for pretty little vases of indoor flowers.

And there you go, everything you need to know about growing chives for cooking and as organic companion plants.

Do drop me any feedback, queries or questions in the comments.

For more simple backyard gardening tips check out my other grow your own posts and follow me on Pinterest.