[FCG]

Can i set off garlic (normal) and shallots now to start to overwinter them?

Plus i have a few tomatoes on the vine that have blossom end rot. But they are going red. Should i cut these off or leave them on to help the rest go red?

[Trillium]

Blossom end rot shows that the plants were a bit too dry during their forming stage, or got occasional flushes rather than regular watering which is what they need. The end rot is due to the calcium screwup. It doesn't matter if you leave these toms on or off the plant for ripening; when you want to eat one of those toms, simply cut off the ugly bit. Toms ripen accordingly for their age.

Garlic can be planted soon, but if you're having a lot of rain now, as some folks are, you might wait a bit until the soil is dryer or simply plant the garlic on handful of sand in the ground and mound slightly around the soil top for better water runoff (and less chance of rot).

[FCG]

Thanks a ton trillium, the garlic went in today with your advice about shoring up.

Any clues to the shallots? Are they worth putting in over winter?

[Trillium]

Sorry, can't help on the shallots as my winters are hard freeze-overs and we do shallots in spring, but I believe many other members put them in soon for a spring crop. I'd do the same as the garlic - sand under the clove for better drainage and mounding the top. Every bit helps. You could also do mounded beds of garlic and shallots. I do every year, and we got a lot of rain this year so it collected in the paths where the root tips could better soak it up.