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Garlic Chives Microgreens

Allium tuberosum
Also known as: Chinese Chives, Oriental Garlic, Asian Chives, Nira

Garlic Chives Microgreens is a microgreen in the Amaryllidaceae family. It grows well indoors with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 2-13. Plants reach harvest about 5–14 days after planting and sit about 3 inches apart.

Varieties

1 from Seeds Now · sorted by days to maturity
  • Garlic Chives5–14 days

    Grows well with containers; Grows well with raised beds; Matures in <90 days; Start indoors; Super easy to grow

    Garlic Chives will produce shoots that grow to a mature height of roughly 12 inches tall. Popularly used to flavor potatoes and salads, Chives are not only tasty, but are also attractive as well. Each plant displays white colored flowers atop slender stems / shoots. Flowering much later than traditional Chives, it’s Garlic twins will bloom within the heat of the summer months. The shoots, once cut will add a slight garlic & onion flavor to any dish that they are added to. The flowers also add a mild onion/garlic flavor and can be used as a garnish. Very easy to grow. Country of Origin: Italy Ready to consume after just a couple of days.

    View on Seeds Now
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Category
Microgreen
Form
Microgreen
Lifecycle
annual or perennial
Zone
2-13
Height
0.16666666666666666–0.3333333333333333 ft
Spread
0.08333333333333333–0.16666666666666666 ft
Sun
Indoors

Plant spacing

16 plants per square footSquare-foot planting diagram: a 1-foot square divided into a 4-by-4 grid holding 16 garlic chives microgreens plants spaced 3 inches apart.
16 plants per square foot

In a square-foot bed, space garlic chives microgreens about 3 in apart — that fits 16 plants in each 1-foot square (4×4). Wider rows or containers space the same.

Water
Medium

Plan your garlic chives microgreens planting

Add garlic chives microgreens to a free GardenDraft plan and get sow, transplant, and harvest dates computed for your ZIP code — with a drag-and-drop bed layout and reminders when it’s time to plant.

Start your free plan →

At a glance

Days to harvest
5–14 days
From transplant or sow to first harvest
Harvest style
Harvest once
One main harvest
Succession
Good for succession sowing

Storing & preserving

Cure 2–3 weeks, then store cool, dark, and dry — keeps for months.

  • Cure & store: Dry the necks/skins fully, then store in a cool pantry.
  • Freeze: Freeze chopped for cooking (texture softens).

General home-preservation guidance — for tested processing times and safety, follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Growing timeline

Propagation
Seed

Care & troubleshooting— extension-sourced, with citations

When to feed, prune & water

Feed alliums in spring

Feeding
  • Routine careFeed nitrogen every 3 weeks during active growth· every 3 wks · ~9 wksmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Alliums build the bulb from spring leaf growth. Feed a nitrogen source every ~3 weeks through spring, then stop once bulbs start to swell so they cure well.

    Source: UMN Extension

Floating row cover timing

Protection

Unusual this time of year.

Something looks wrong?

Describe what you see on your garlic chives microgreensand we'll rank the likely causes — most likely first, least-invasive fix first.

Bacterial soft rot

Diseasesevere

Symptoms: mushy water-soaked decay of fleshy tissue; slimy soft rot of heads, bulbs, roots, or fruit; foul odor from rotting tissue; rapid collapse after wounding or in warm wet conditions; rot spreading in storage

  • CulturalRemove rotting plants and produce (manage, not cure)strong evidence — extension confidence

    Soft rot can't be cured once tissue breaks down; promptly remove and discard affected plants and produce so the bacteria don't spread to neighbors or other stored vegetables.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

  • CulturalAvoid wounds and excess moisturestrong evidence — extension confidence

    Harvest in dry conditions, handle gently to avoid bruising, control insects that create entry wounds, and improve drainage; cure and store bulbs and roots cool and dry.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

  • CulturalDon't overwater and rotatemoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Avoid waterlogged soil and overhead watering that splashes bacteria, and rotate away from previously affected fleshy crops to lower disease pressure.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

Onion & garlic white rot

Diseasesevere

Symptoms: yellowing and dieback of leaves; plants pull up easily; fluffy white mold at the base and on bulbs; tiny black poppy-seed sclerotia in the rot; spreads in patches in cool moist soil

Leafhoppers & aster yellows

Diseasemoderate

Symptoms: small wedge-shaped insects hop from leaves; stippled or yellowed foliage; with aster yellows: yellow stunted growth, witches-broom of thin shoots, deformed bitter carrots

Leek moth and thrips on leeks

Pestmoderate

Symptoms: whitish windowpane streaks or mottling on leaves (thrips); pale winding mines and holes in leaves; caterpillars tunneling in leaves and stems; distorted rotting foliage from secondary infection

  • CulturalCover and clean upmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Cover plants with insect netting or row cover at planting to keep egg-laying leek moths and thrips off, and remove and destroy badly infested leaves and crop debris. Rotate alliums to a new spot each year to break the pest cycle.

    Source: RHS: Leek moth; RHS: Thrips on Garden Plants

  • OrganicWash off thrips or spray· every 1 wkmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    For thrips, hose plants down to dislodge them, or apply a labeled insecticidal soap or neem product per the label. For leek moth caterpillars, a labeled spinosad or Bacillus thuringiensis product applied per the label when young larvae are active can help.

    Always follow the product label — it is the law.

    Source: RHS: Leek moth; RHS: Thrips on Garden Plants

Leek rust

Diseasemoderate

Symptoms: bright orange raised pustules on leaves; yellowing around the spots; heavily infected leaves drying and dying back; reduced size of usable shank

  • CulturalImprove airflow and remove infected leavesmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Leek rust is a fungal disease favored by damp, crowded conditions and lush growth; space plants well, avoid over-feeding with nitrogen, and remove badly affected leaves. Mild cases usually still produce a usable crop, and rotating alliums each year helps prevent buildup.

    Source: RHS: Leek rust; UMN Extension: Growing leeks

Onion thrips

Pestmoderate

Symptoms: silvery streaks and flecks on leaves; tiny slivers that scatter when disturbed; worst in hot dry weather

  • CulturalOverhead-water and remove debris· every 3 days · ~3 wksmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Thrips dislike moisture; overhead irrigation and weed/debris cleanup reduce them. Reflective mulch deters them on young plants.

    Source: UMN Extension

  • OrganicInsecticidal soap/spinosad - label use only· every 1 wk · ~3 wksmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    For heavy pressure a labeled soap or spinosad on a weekly schedule helps. Follow the label.

    Always follow the product label — it is the law.

    Source: UMN Extension

Cabbage & onion root maggots

Pestmoderate

Unusual this time of year.

Symptoms: young brassica or onion transplants wilt and stunt; bluish off-color leaves; white legless maggots in roots; rotting tunneled roots; plants pull up easily