Most of us have heard of garlic but if you've only ever tasted garlic from the supermarket, you're in for a real treat growing your own. First, you'll soon realize that there are dozens of varieties of garlic ranging from hot & spicy Rocambole types to the giant, mildly flavoured elephant garlic. Rocambole types do especially well when fall planted, giving them enough time to develop that flavourful zing.
A bit more unusual, potato onions are thought to have been a staple for pioneers on their journey westward. More like shallots, these onions will multiply below ground from a single bulb. A papery covering envelops the entire bulb cluster. Both the bulbs and the greens are edible and are usually ready to harvest before regular onions and store very well. One potato onion will usually multiply to 8 in one season. No wonder they were once so prized that they were given away as wedding presents! Yellow potato onions are probably the easiest variety to grow if you want to just try them. For the more daring, potato onions come in white & red.
Lastly, "walking" or "topsetting" onions work well both in the vegetable or ornamental garden. Instead of forming below ground, these plants set bulbils at the top of their stems. As the bulbils fatten up, their weight causes the stems to bend over. Once they come into contact with soil, the bulbils will sprout. Thus, you get onions "walking" around your garden. Varieties include Egyptian and Catawissa.
Where to plant?
Instead of tucking these bulbs into spots under trees or in pots like you would flower bulbs, garlic and onion bulbs need to be planted in full sun & fairly rich soil. Even though they will grow in partly shady areas, the size of your harvest will indeed by affected if they're given less than optimum conditions.
If you're planning to actively harvest bulbs for food, you'll want to ensure that you provide a balance of nutrients for the long growing season. The application of compost, well-aged manure, and bonemeal or rock phosphate will provide a source of slow-release nutrients. Fertilizers too high in nitrogen, especially, are to be avoided so that frost tender-foliage isn't stimulated to develop. Also, if you live in an area that gets a large amount of rain during the winter the nutrients in slow-release fertilizers are less likely to leach away.
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