I grow a fair bit of my garlic from my own harvest. Shallots, too. I'm not sure what you mean by "do something different"... You mean store them different? They get planted in the fall, so they are stored less long than the bulbs and heads I keep through winter and spring to eat. I choose healthy looking ones to plant, and I've recently learned more about using a variety of sizes... Read the other current thread on this forum about "how many different alliums do you grow" and you'll see the advice given me by George (whose screen name I can't remember). Cheers!

I meant do you have to let them grow longer or do you harvest them as usual and set aside the ones you want to replant in the fall?

I have heard that "seed garlic" is left in the ground longer than what you intend to eat.

Well, now I don't know about that... I can only say that I've always pulled mine all at the same time, setting aside the ones for replanting, and I've found my results satisfactory. But this forum doesn't get as much daily traffic, so maybe you will hear from someone more knowledgeable than me in a day or two. I've been growing one type for 5-6 years this way. But again, I always learn a little something each year that makes the next year a little bigger, better or easier.

I am only telling you the results of my research this fall, as I am in my first year of growing. But, as I understand it, when you harvest your garlic, you should set aside the largest bulbs for planting next year. At that time, you separate the bulbs into cloves and plant them. I live in the south, so we plant softnecks in the fall.

According to "Growing Vegetables and Herbs" by Taunton Press, shallots should be planted in early spring in Zone 4. It says that firm, small bulbs keep longer than large ones, which is crucial, since you have to hold them in storage longer before they are planted.

Both garlic and shallots need to be properly cured before storage.

Good advice from donnabaskets.
Seed garlic is just regular garlic harvested at the regular time. Extending harvest tinme will result in bulbs that are not well encapsulated and do not store well.
Plant the largest cloves to get the largest bulbs. Save your big ones for seed cloves. Mulch with six inches of straw after planting and leave the mulch on in the Spring.
With shallots, I find early (April) Spring planting here in zone 6 to be slightly more productive than Fall planting. With Fall planting, I lose some to the cold and changes in the ground re frost and they do not seem to do well under a heavy mulch. It seems that planting smaller shallot bulbs results in harvesting large bulbs the next season, but fewer of them.
Planting larger bulbs seems to result in more bulbs but they are smaller. Your choice. I am still cooking with last summer's shallot harvest, (the garlic has gone by.... used the last this week), so they do store well. This information is based only on my experience planting shallots for the last ten years here in coastal MA. It might be different in other locales. I have been growing garlic much longer, since the time I had dark hair. It is now white and there is precious little of that left. Hope this helps you out. Garlic and shallots are not that hard to grow. Enjoy.
Victor

Thank you! This is all very helpful information. Shallots sets aren't that expensive to buy when you consider all that you get out of them so perhaps I will just buy them each year.

Seed garlic is very pricey so that will be the thing I will grow from my own harvest. The garlic I planted in the fall was all grown here in Vermont - 4 porcelain varieties including Music, German Extra Hardy, German Porcelain & one that has been grown by a farm for more than 10 years.

Because this is our first year growing garlic, we will have an opportunity to try a few varieties for taste and storage though I am told you can's beat Music and German Extra Hardy for the porcelain type.

I understand that soft neck garlic keeps the best. Can it be grown in New England?

I have grown softneck varieties successfully here in coastal MA over the years. I just like the varieties available with the hardnecks. I have also read that garlic replanted from your harvest from year to year will take on the "terroir" of your garden. That is, the soil, climate, etc., will impart certain unique characteristics to your garlic as it does to grapes in particular wine districts. I have found this to be true in that over the years, I have lost the identity of certain garlic bulbs. I have planted the largest cloves of these unknowns over the years and now I like to think that I have my own unique variety. They were mostly all porcelains or Rocamboles but now I pretend to enjoy "my own" garlic.
Have fun.
Victor