Offshoots of Onions

Garlic, shallots, chives and leeks are members of the onion family. These are often grown at home as they frequently are hard to obtain. Fertility and cultural practices are similar to those for onions.

Many areas will find garlic poorly adapted to home gardens.

Garlic produces a group of cloves that are encased in a sheath, rather than a single bulb. Separate into single cloves for planting.

The larger outer cloves produce the best garlic. These are planted 1 to 2 inches deep in a well fertilized garden, in rows 12 to 24 inches apart, with the cloves 5 to 6 inches apart. Planting is done in the South and Southwest from fall through January, and in the rest of the country as early in spring as possible. Delayed planting seriously reduces yield.

Harvest when the top dries down. To prepare garlic for storage, cure the bulbs under cool, dry conditions. Garlic may be stored under a wide range of temperatures, but does best under dry conditions with a temperature range of 40 to 60 F.

Shallots, prized by French chefs and gourmet cooks, are grown for either dry bulbs or young green shoots. They are harvested and used like green onions. Frequently writers confuse shallots with green onions, but shallots are a different species of the onion family.

Left, clump of great headed (Elephant) garlic. Right, chives grown in kitchen window can be harvested as needed all year long.

The shallot bulb has multiple sections like garlic. These are separated and planted the same way you plant onion sets for dry bulbs, spaced 3 to 5 inches apart, with 12- to 24-inch rows.

In the South they are most often raised and used for the green portion, being planted in fall and harvested during winter. In the North, shallots are planted as early as possible in late winter or spring and used for both green onions and dry bulbs.

Seed shallots may be obtained from specialty seed stores or by purchasing dry shallot bulbs in the gourmet section of your food store and dividing into single segments for planting. 9. Shallots are harvested, handled and stored like onions. Gardeners frequently save their own planting material from year to year.

Chives are a perennial member of the onion family and are grown for leaves, rather than bulb or stem. A small bulbous plant, chives grow in 6- to 10-inch clumps. Attractive violet flowers appear on older plants in spring.

Chives may be propagated by either dividing the clump or starting from seed. They are generally started from seed very early in spring.

After three years, large chive clumps should be subdivided in early spring to prevent overcrowding and a decline in vigor. The fertility program for chives is similar to that for onion transplants. Remove the flowers as they will cause the plant to become semi-dormant, preventing new growth.

Leeks are used for almost any purpose that onions are.

Harvest chives any time there are fresh, young leaves. Young leaves may be chopped and frozen for future use. In late fall in the North many gardeners dig a clump of chives, allowing the exposed clump to freeze until mid-winter, and then bring the chives indoors for a fresh winter supply.

Leeks are grown as an annual, entirely from seed rather than plant divisions. The seed is planted in the garden or started in a hotbed for 2 to 3 months before transplanting to the garden. The young plants are set out in the South in fall and in the North in early spring. Leek transplants are handled in the same manner as onion transplants as regards fertility, transplant solution, and side-dressing.

The primary production difference from onions is that leeks are blanched by banking soil along the row gradually throughout the growing season. Exercise care when the plants are young as early banking may cause decay. Common varieties are American Flag, Conqueror, Tivi and Odin.

Leeks can be used any time the stems reach the size of 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. Before freezing in the North, they are harvested and stored in root cellars or placed in a polyethylene bag in the refrigerator. In parts of the country with open winters, they are allowed to remain in the garden and eaten as desired.