Tricia plants a shallot bulb. You can see the paper is split where this bulb was separated from the cluster of bulbs.

They’re a big family, those alliums. From the familiar onions and softneck garlics, to the less famous but intriguing shallots, leeks, and hardneck garlics.

Some gardeners even use alliums just for their flowers, like Allium giganteum with 3 foot stems and purple flower heads the size of softballs.

Gardeners agree that for superior flavor in onions, garlic, shallots, and leeks there is no substitute for growing your own. They are easy crops, planted in fall and growing until mid-summer harvest.

For the scoop on different kinds of garlic, and how to plant them, check out our video and articles about growing garlic.

We have a new video about planting onions, shallots, and leeks. Which leads to the question:

What exactly is a shallot or a leek?

Shallots

Shallots are small, paper covered bulbs that are about half the size of an onion. Their delicate flavor is described as combining a sweet onion with a hint of garlic.

Specified as an ingredient in many French recipes, some of our customers grow them simply for the convenience of keeping a small version of an onion on hand, for those nights they want to use about half an onion in cooking a dish and don’t want to worry about wasting the leftover onion.

Do you want to plant Dutch Yellow or French Red organic shallots? We have both for you. Bonus: you’ll be able to use shallots in cooking without breaking the bank.

Leeks

Leeks look like large versions of green onions or scallions. Even milder and sweeter than shallots, their flavor makes them prized ingredients in soups. Braise or grill them on their own as a side dish.

Ready to add leeks to your organic garden? We ship organic leek transplants as soon as we receive them, so pre-order now. We expect the last group of leek transplants to arrive here on October 25.

For more information All the Onions is an inexpensive book, rich in details on choosing, planting, growing, and harvesting shallots, leeks, garlic, and many kinds of onions.