Even on the coldest days of the year, I love to go into my garden and get some basic vegetables and herbs. Here’s how I plan what I’m going to grow over the winter: carrots, celery, onions, and leeks. Everyone should grow onions, but don’t leave leeks alone. They’re a milder alternative to onions and garlic, with a little more heft.

Every soup and stew starts with alliums like garlic, onions, and leeks, so it makes sense to have them in the garden. You’ll want to grow and eat leeks, if you’ve never done so before. Anything made with onions can be made with leeks instead. The flavor is complex, but milder than onions, and it makes for a silky finish. My fall is full of potato leek and cauliflower leek soup. Braised leeks with breadcrumbs is an unexpected but memorable side dish.

Growing your own onions gives you the chance to grow varieties that you won’t see in a grocery store. While it makes sense to grow onions that you can “store” and dry and preserve (which is what stores sell you), you can also grow Egyptian walking onions, which are fascinating and grow small onions at the top of their greens that will fall over and reseed themselves. There are also cippollini onions, beautifully colored purple onions, and super sweet yellow and red onions that you won’t find in a grocery store. Growing your own onions gives you the chance to experiment.

Onions and leeks are perfect for overwintering. Leeks take 75 to 115 days to mature, but that depends on full sun. Leeks you plant now will be ready to harvest in the spring, giving you plenty of time to reach that white, bleached part of the final vegetable. Onions are also a long investment of three to four months, so you will harvest them in the spring as well.