garlic and shallots and leeks, oh my!

I've got a raised bed that I've finally decided I want to set aside to use to plant shallots and leeks this winter (and garlic, too if I can - see question #3 ;o)

The soil is fairly clayish, and here are my questions:

1) If I add some sharp sand (okay, a LOT of sharp sand) and some compost now, will that help or hinder the growth of these plants this fall?

2) Assuming I get them in on time, and harvest the leeks throughout the winter and the garlic and shallots in the spring, can I plant onions in the same bed in the spring, or should I plan on putting them somewhere else, and planting a cover crop in this bed?

3) Can garlic be planted along with the shallots and leeks? I had great luck with shallots a couple years ago, I know leeks will overwinter, but not so sure about garlic...help!

Terry, those are always the staples in my garden, along with a tomato or two. I cook a lot with shallots and leeks and they are sooo expensive in the grocery stores! Garlic I grow just for variety and fun.

I've had all of them side by side in a raised bed, or interplanted, with good results. Of course the leeks are usually in a row so I can trench them. I have never overwintered garlic; there have been some shallots I missed in the fall that did okay the next spring/summer.

I've never added sand to my clay beds, but lots of other amendments, compost, etc. Never seemed to bother them but the compost always helped as long as it was well composted. I cannot answer about onions in the same bed because I've never grown onions.

Heheh...now I'm gonna be singing this thread topic in my head the rest of the day! ♫

I've only grown shallots once and got them in the ground too late for them to get some decent size on them so can't really comment on those.

I've grown a gazillion garlics, leeks and onions though, and I don't worry too much about whether they are planted together, with the exception of what darius said...the leeks need to be where you can hill them up w/out disturbing the other alliums around them.

Some leeks will grow thru the winter much better than other kinds but right now I can't remember which varieties those are. Terry, you might want to make a VERY QUICK phone call to Dixondale and see if they still have some plants; they usually sell out very quickly and I've missed out getting any from them the past two years for my End of Summer plantings.

I plant onions sets in the Fall, usually around Thanksgiving (or is that Winter?). Same for garlic. You can put each in in October and do quite well with them too. They will both easily winter over. The weather is perfect to let them get a good root system then the coolness slows down top-growth.

I put onion sets out in the Fall and then plants in the later Winter (end of Feb or early March.) Garlic always goes in in the Fall...Spring planted garlic doesn't gain much size.

As for sand in your garden. Not me! I, too, thought it would break up the clay but it actually has the opposite effect. It binds the clay tighter together and really makes it crust up something terrible! Remember, sand is the major ingredient in making concrete! I would recommend adding spagnum peat moss instead, till it in real good and mercy me sakes alive...that really makes that clay nice and loose, well aerated, and it finally looks like good dirt!

Did I forget anything?

Just throwing in my two cents to back up Shoe. Garlic in the fall is definitely the way to go. Onions depending on how hot it gets how quickly. I have to plant onion plants late winter here otherwise they bolt to seed instead of gaining plenty of size.

Compost,compost, compost for that clay soil. I didn't do anything else. The first year I planted garlic I didn't have any, they still did just fine.

Chris

What about seeds? I have done onions in sets but I bought seeds this year and have been to confused when to put them in the ground. Package says spring for fall harvest. Is that true?

Daisy..yes...

Sowing onions from seeds take a long time. In California I keep thinking you have a very long growing season and you could quite possibly see mature onions in one season. (I'm not familiar with much of your state and the zones there.)

Often-times seeds are sown here (NC) and will make onions by Fall. I don't care for the long wait and the babysitting that is required.

I have sown seeds in mid-late summer though, grow them to sets, harvest them, slightly dry them, then sow the sets in the Fall for fully-mature onions the next year.

Onions are a very forgiving plant. You should grow them and enjoy them.