Potatoes, shallots and garlic

I planted up garlic in among the rhubarb (including the plants I had to move because they are building a new path). The elephant garlic is also looking good.

I have 2 varieties of shallot I planted - Red Sun and Golden Gourmet (two packs of the latter one of which was from Poundland and in fact had more bulbs than the pack from B&Q). Come end of July/ early August I hope to harvest a bumper crop. I planted them in furrows 10cm deep, 10cm apart and kept rows 20cm apart to allow for hoeing. Golden Gourmet is supposed to be sharp while red sun is supposed to be gentler in flavour.

I also harvested the last of the Jerusalem artichokes and replanted a few of the tubers to grow again this year.

I relocated the Swiss Chard as edging to the plot.

Finally, I planted 4 varieties of potato. Positioning the Maris Piper and Charlotte closest to the rhubarb/ garlic to allow the space freed up by the speedy first earlies Rocket and Pentland Javelin to be planted up with something else. I forked over the soil into the trenches so that it would be easier to create a furrow. The only one where I didn't was the Maris Piper and I'm concerned that the soil is too compacted.

I didn't find time to plant the Autumn Bliss raspberry canes from B&Q nor the asparagus crowns from Aldi.

Know your onions

Apparently this is the time of year to start growing onions. I am already growing chives and garlic chives which are part of onion or allium family. I also have some wild garlic growing in my back garden.

I won't be bothering with real onions which as far as I can see you plant as small onions and, after much weeding and hoeing, grow into big onions. Hardly a spectacular outcome when you consider how cheap they are in shops.

I have decided though to try growing shallots this year. Not only are they pricier to buy in shops but they often seem to be favoured by chefs for having a subtler flavour. Shallots also multiply from one bulb to produce more which seems like a better return on my time and effort.

The sort I particularly covet is the long banana style one. Varieties mentioned are Jermor, Delvad, Hative de niort and Pesandor.

I am hoping they turn up in Poundland or Aldi before I have to make a trip to B&Q. In fact I went to B&Q and they don't have any. The search goes on.

It also turns out that I have some Welsh onions. These are perennial evergreens that can be used like spring onions. They should be divided every 2 years.

Garlic also comes under the onion family name but these would have done better if I had planted the cloves in November. I did for the elephant garlic but we'll just have cross our fingers for the ones I planted at the weekend.