Botanical Name: Allium Tuberosum
Some other names: Thai leeks, Chinese Chives, Gow choy, Oriental garlic.
How to Grow It
Garlic chives are a perennial herb growing to about 50 cm tall. They form dense clumps of flat, strap‑like green leaves that look like long grass, and in late summer they produce sprays of pretty white star‑shaped flowers that bees love.
Native to China and Southeast Asia, garlic chives thrive in temperate to subtropical climates. In warm areas they grow and can be harvested all year round; in colder zones they may die back in winter but reshoot strongly as soon as the weather warms up.
They’re incredibly tough – they handle drought, poor soil, and neglect better than almost any other herb. I’ve seen rundown veggie patches where the only thing still standing was the garlic chives! They’ll grow faster with regular watering and fertiliser, but they don’t demand it.
Garlic chives do beautifully in pots – just pull them up and divide the clumps every couple of years to keep them fresh. Propagation is easy: you can start them from seed, but once you have plants, simply dig up the clump, split it into sections, and replant. Within a week or two, they’re off and running again.
Herbal & Nutrient Value
Garlic chives aren’t just flavourful – they’re nutrient dense. They’re high in vitamin C (boosting immunity and skin health) and also rich in vitamin A, some B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and sulfur.
In herbal traditions, garlic chives are considered a tonic herb – eaten regularly, they’re thought to support digestion, circulation, and the immune system. Like garlic, they have mild antibacterial and antifungal properties, making them one of those “eat a little often” plants for long‑term wellbeing.
Traditional & Home Remedies
Garlic Chive Tea – Leaves steeped in hot water; used as a mild digestive tonic.
Poultice for Bruises – Crushed leaves applied to bruises or insect bites (folk remedy).
Tonic Soup – Leaves simmered with ginger and chicken for postpartum recovery.
Using It in the Kitchen
Garlic chives are endlessly useful in the kitchen – they bring a gentle garlic‑onion flavour that works in just about everything.
The upper green parts are best raw – toss them into salads and sandwiches, snip over soups, noodles, or scrambled eggs for a fresh kick. You can chop them finely, but I like cutting them into 2–3 cm sections – the flavour is a little bolder that way.
The lower white stems are sturdier and have a stronger flavour – treat them like baby leeks, adding them to stir‑fries, omelettes, or soups for little bursts of garlicky sweetness.
Add garlic chives at the very end of cooking – too much heat will make the flavour vanish.
5 Simple Recipes:
– Garlic Chive Omelette – scatter chopped chives into beaten eggs just before they set.
– Asian Stir‑Fry – toss white stems into a hot wok for 30 seconds before adding greens or noodles.
– Garlic Chive Pancakes – mix chopped chives into a simple flour batter, fry until crisp.
– Herb Butter – mash softened butter with chopped chives for spreading on bread or melting on veg.
– Quick Chive Soup – stir chopped greens into chicken broth just before serving for a fresh lift.
Other Uses
Garlic chives are more than just a kitchen herb – they’re bee magnets when they flower, bringing pollinators to the garden. Their strong roots also help stabilise soil, and their clumps outcompete weeds easily.
Why it’s a survival plant:
Incredibly hardy, drought‑tolerant, endlessly productive, and adding a flavour boost to meals when other herbs fail. If you had to live off your garden, garlic chives would be one of the plants you’d cherish most – for the flavour, the nutrition, and the fact they never let you down.
