Alliums

Beans and onions shouldn’t be planted together. That’s the conventional wisdom. It’s accepted in gardening textbooks, and it’s taught in horticultural schools across the world, but, why can’t onions and beans be planted together? From my experience, beans and onions work well together, so I was amazed to learn that there was in fact a…

Planting garlic is an exciting time of the year. If you live in a place with harsh winters, like I do, it’s best to plant it in early spring, so it will be one of the very first crops you put in the ground. Growing garlic is easy, but if you’re a beginner, it might…

Garlic tells you when it wants to be harvested, but there are a few ways to plan ahead so you know when to harvest garlic well in advance and don’t get caught off guard. Firstly, almost all garlic takes a little over 8 months from planting to harvest, so if you plant it in October…

Growing long white leeks is probably the most rewarding prize for any passionate gardener, but there are so many tricks to get to grips with that knowing how to grow big leeks can feel more than a little overwhelming. The first time I grew leeks I was at university, with my first allotment. After seven…

When we grew onions for the first time we didn’t end up with the best results, because although this seemingly easy to grow vegetable comes in several different forms for gardeners to cultivate, choosing the right one at the very start can mean the difference between success and failure.  The most heartbreaking moment is when…

There are a lot of resources out there saying that leeks don’t freeze well, or that the best way to store them is in a fridge for 7 to 10 days. Leeks are a staple in my winter diet, and the thought of filling my fridge with buckets of leeks is ridiculous! The good news…