garlic chives
allium tuberous

days to maturity: 90 days
plant spacing: 3 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours hours
look out for: snails at the base
harvest notes: harvest whole clump every 2 weeks, grows back very quickly
seasons: fall, winter, spring and summer
perennial

You can identify garlic scallions by their “strap shaped” leaves that are flat like a blade, versus rounded and hollow (like other alliums like scallions). The flavor of this herbaceous plant is more like garlic than chives. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. The leaves are used as a flavoring in a similar way to chives, scallions as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with eggs, shrimp, and/or pork. A Chinese flatbread similar to the scallion pancake may be made with garlic chives instead of scallions. Garlic chives are a key ingredient in traditional Korean kimchi recipes, and there is also a type of kimchi made just with garlic chives, called “buchu-kimchi”.

Besides being delicious Garlic Chives are also quite nutritious. They are are rich in vitamin C, which may prevent common colds and flu, and are also rich in riboflavin, potassium, vitamin A, iron, thiamine and beta-carotene which when consumed increase blood cell count, maintain blood pressure and boost the immunity. 

This is one of the strongest & most resilient plants we see in gardens. Even when a garden has been neglected and laid unattended for years we find patches of garlic chives still thriving amongst the weeds. This is attributed to their incredibly strong root systems which are dense and span way larger than the aboveground parts of the plant.