Shallots

[busy_lizzie]

I bought some shallots at Wilkinsons last week and I couldn't wait to plant them, so when I was at the lottie on Sunday they went in.  It said in my book from late winter to early spring for planting, so I thought I might be okay.  However, then I read a couple of threads on here about onions and got a bit concerned that I might have planted them a bit too early.  So, I popped up today to do a little damage control and put some fleece over the top of them, and to my surprise a few have got some green shoots popping up out of them already.  I have never grown shallots before  so I don't know if this is normal.  Do they usually sprout so quickly?  busy_lizzie

[Larkspur]

Yes, and they are as tough as old boots. Rather in the toughness range of garlic than onion sets.

[Curryandchips]

There is an old saying - plant on the shortest day, and crop on the longest. Whilst it is not necessary to follow this, it shows that shallots can endure the severity of winter. My personal preference is to put the bulbs in a seed tray, in the shelter of the greenhouse for a couple of months to get some good root growth, then plant out when the ground is warmer.

[busy_lizzie]

Thanks for your advice, Larkspur and Curry.  Much appreciated!    busy_lizzie

[grawrc]

There was another thread about shallots which I found quite helpful.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,28/topic,15632.msg159015#msg159015
I have Longor shallots - chosen because they are long and according to Tim- .........................MISS YOU TIM ....... PLEASE COME BACK ........... easier to prepare. The instructions that came with them say "Plant in January". So weather permitting they're going in at the weekend. According to what folk say shallots are as hard as old boots so ther'll be no mollycoddling of these guys. Straight into the freezing Embra soil at the coldest time of year, then grow goddamit!

[busy_lizzie]

Thanks Grawrc for the other shallot thread, which I missed.  My OH's is always saying "plants want to grow", whereas I tend to fuss over them. Unfortunately with Wilco's plants you don't get an abundance of instructions.    busy_lizzie

[Debs]

Thanks for the shallot at Wilko's reminder BL 

I shall be hot footing it down there this weekend.

Debs

[grawrc]

We don't have Wilco's in Edinburgh so we don't have the luxury of reasonable prices and too few instructions
I wouldn't have bothered with shallots at all but Tim persuaded me. (Echo: come back please Tim....
What a knowledgeable guy he is!

[flowerlady]

Just to say TIM is back !!!  Rest easy everybody, 'The Knowledge' is with us 

[allanwoolley]

Over the past couple of seasons I have grown my shallots from seeds and  great crops I've had.   Some were a little on the large size but none the worse for that.

[fat larry]

the £1.19 packs of shallots in tesco say plant in spring - that's March ennit?

[the_snail]

I plant mine in late march and sometimes in april. I get a good crop from them. If planted later they will catch up.

The_Snail

[powerspade]

Never go by the book allways plant a weather permits. I`ll be planting my shallots in about 3 perhaps 4 weeks time when the ground warms up