I have already planted my fall garden, And I have lots of garlic planted and a couple of rows of shallots in the ground. A fall garden is something I started doing about 4 years ago and it is something everybody needs to do just because its too EASY...
Wow, how easy is it to grow garlic. Get the garlic in the ground and it will reward you with yummy goodness. Ha-ha. It's so easy to do whether you plant a garlic clove that was store bought or if you bought seed garlic from a good source (which I would encourage). I plant my garlic about 2 inchs deep in good soil mixed with some bone meal, I put about 1 cup per 10 foot row and water them in. After I plant them, I do add compost to my rows during the winter and maybe a light layer of manure and straw. Then, wait till spring when they will start actively growing, I keep them well watered in the spring and they will be ready to pull up about June -July pending on what kind of garlic you planted. I would encourage everyone to plant a few garlic cloves it's just to easy. Garlic will do well in pots to. Higher altitudes will may need to add 3 to 4 inches of straw over the top...
For the shallots just plant them to there neck do not plant them very deep. If you live in an area that gets -5 degrees or colder for extended lengths of time I would suggest covering the shallots with 3 to 4 inches of straw and in the spring when it warms you can just pull it back or leave it in, it will help keep the weed seeds from germinating. One of the great things about shallots is that they store very well.
You gotta do this you gotta grow a winter garden.
A winter crop is just to easy try it once and you will be planting it year after year....
