My garden was getting a bit overgrown, so it was time to harvest the chives and green onions. Especially my chive plants, because they were beginning to look like “Cousin It”…HA, HA!! And the onions had bolted due to extreme changes in weather and air temperatures. Once the onions bolt (flower), they will no longer grow and need to be harvested.

So, I grabbed my trusty bowl, my favorite scissors and went to work.

How to harvest and cut chives and green onions…

I’m not the least bit fancy about harvesting chives and green onions. I usually just grab a huge handful of chives and cut them off at the base-about a couple of inches above the soil.

And then I put the bunches of chives into a bowl.

After harvesting the chives, I find it quite therapeutic to sit on our front porch swing for the next step. I relax, enjoy the views and listen to the birds while I sort through bunches of chives. I throw any dead or unusable chive strands onto the front lawn, because it smells so nice the next time the lawn is mowed.

Then one little bunch at a time, I gather the chives together in my hand until they are even at the bottom. I prefer to use scissors and cut the chives into small pieces and let them fall into my trusty bowl. I love watching the bowl fill with aromatic treasures. There’s just something so simple and rewarding about this task that also saves so much money.

Layer the harvested and cut chives

I then spread a healthy layer of cut chives onto a baking sheet lined with paper towels and parchment paper. The paper towels absorb any excess moisture and the parchment paper helps the chives slide off for easy removal later.

Note: I had so many cut chives that I had to layer them on 2 separate sheet pans.

How to harvest and cut the green onions…

The same therapeutic task is equally aromatic and productive when it involves green onion tops after they bolted and I pulled from their dirt bed slumber.

I cut the green tops off the onions (just an inch or 2 above the onion bulbs) and gathered them into smaller bunches to give them a trim. Using the same method as I did for the chives…I sorted the bad ones and then cut the green onion tops into small pieces. Afterwards, I placed them on a paper towel and parchment lined baking sheet.

Freezing is quicker and easier…

This is where my chive and green onion adventure varies by the available time on my hands. Sometimes I grab my electric dehydrator and spread the chives in a single layer on the plastic insert. Then I flip the switch to let the dehydrator do it’s job and dry them. Afterwards, I put the dried chives in tightly sealed jars or containers and store them in my spice cupboard.

On this day, I was limited on time. So, I grabbed the paper towel and parchment lined baking sheets with the chives and green onions and placed them in the freezer. Done for now!

How to store frozen chives and green onions…

To safely store the frozen green onions and chives for future uses, you need to first remove the sheet pans from the freezer. Use the parchment paper to form a cone type funnel and slide the chives and green onions off the parchment paper and into zip top freezer bags. Label the bags and return them into the freezer.

At the time this step was needed, I was in the hospital recovering from surgery on my leg. I’m beyond grateful for my daughter-in-law that ever so kindly did this step for me.

Note: I am not displaying a photo of the frozen bag of green onions because they did not photograph well. But I’m sure you can imagine a bag full of frozen green onion pieces.

Uses for frozen chives and green onions…

To use, remove bag from the freezer and spoon out amounts of chives or green onions as needed, whenever you need them and then return the bag to the freezer for later uses. Easy Peasy!

I love the convenience of these frozen aromatic beauties. Of course I use the chives with sour cream on baked potatoes. I also like to use both the frozen chives and/or frozen green onions in mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, omelets, cottage cheese, quiches, egg bites, soups, salads (potato, macaroni or tuna), dips, stews, sautéed and boiled or steamed vegetables, etc. The options are limitless.

The reasons why I love this frugal and delicious task…

I purchased the chive plants for $2.48 each, about 5 years ago. They continue to grow and thrive…producing several large harvests each year, along with numerous cuttings and uses in-between.

The green onion tops are from onion sets that I purchased for 49 cents per pound. I planted each little onion and then cut the green tops off to use as they grew and pulled the mature onions as needed. They are like a multiuse vegetable to me.

Harvesting and freezing chives and green onions truly is a mindless, rewarding, frugal and delicious task and suffice to say….one of my favorites. I hope I have inspired you to take advantage of this rewarding task as well.

Well folks, I’m heading to the garden to harvest a bunch of basil next.

Take care, be safe, be kind, virtual hugs,

Chauncey

For more recipes using herbs from the garden, check these dip recipes out…https://frugalanddelicious.com/quick-easy-dip-recipes-holiday-entertaining/

Because I often tend to be an instant gratification type of gardener, I enjoy starting my herbs from plants vs seeds and this is where I get most of my plants…https://www.lowes.com/pl/Basil–Herb-plants-Edible-garden-Plants-planters-Lawn-garden/4294612541?refinement=1182422619