Baker Creek Heirloom Seed, minimum seed count: 300

From Baker Creek, regarding their "Common Chives" -- (Allium schoenoprasum). Wonderful, mild onion flavor. These long, thin chives are excellent in many meals; great raw or cooked. Lavender flowers. Baker Creek has long sold Common Chives seeds. But this summer a federal bureaucrat sent us an odd Warning Letter asserting that use of the adjective “common” may somehow violate federal law. When we spoke, she said the “international code of nomenclature” does not list any varieties for chives, so “common chives” might suggest the seeds were a genetic variety or kind that the global code does not recognize. 

We (Baker Creek) hired expensive lawyers who explained to the federal seed police that American home gardeners do not study the contents of some international directory, and that the U.S. Seed Act does not incorporate the “international code of nomenclature” within its provisions. So it cannot violate U.S. law to use an adjective (“common”) that has been used in this country pervasively for decades just because some global code does not. (In fact, calling our chives “common” is precisely what the California Department of Agriculture actually told us we should do!) 

Our (Baker Creek) lawyers also explained that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects commercial speech. And the Warning Letter contained no rationale at all, making it null and void. Our lawyers also told the federal seed police that the common literature has long recognized at least three varieties of chives—common chives, garlic chives, and Siberian chives—and at least sixteen of our competitors also sell seeds labeled “common chives.” The bureaucrats have not said they warned them; only us. Doesn’t widespread use of the term establish that everyone knows what Common Chives are? 

We wrote the federal bureaucrats saying that we were disregarding their Warning Letter as void gave them 30 days to persuade us otherwise. The deadline has long passed and we’re still waiting—but we won’t hold our breath. Our bulldog lawyers now insist that we advise you the adjective “Common” DOES NOT identify any genetic “variety” or “kind” of chives—and particularly not one that appears in the International Code of Nomenclature. Rather, we use “Common Chives” as a brand name signifying the ownership and heritage of these seeds. They have been passed down for generations, and thus are part of our communal or common heritage that connects us to those who have gone before, and those who follow us. Baker Creek is committed to fighting unreasonable government intrusion into the sale and preservation of heritage seeds. When federal or state bureaucrats overreach or try to impose an unreasonable agenda on American gardeners, we always will resist their efforts. Support heritage seeds! Grow “Common” Chives.

• Perennial

• 60-90 days to maturity

• 2-6 hours of full sun

• Sprouts in 7-14 days

• Seed Depth: 1/8"