Topic: Shallots, banana shallots: need an explanation

[pg]

I've grown onions from sets and seed before but I'm interested in trying shallots. But I'm a bit confused on what to expect and why their seed/sets seem to be so expensive compared to onions.

Plus could anyone help me get my head around why some are shown as clumping when grown and others produce single heads - is there a taste difference or ease of growing?

I've also seen reference to banana shallots when searching the forum, what are these?

Advice/suggestions greatfully received.

[aj]

True Banana Shallots only grow from seed and grow one shallot.

There are longor type banana shaped shallots, that grow from a parent bulb, split and grow a crown of shallots.

Other shallots will grow from a parent shallot and will clump and give you 3-10 ish on average.

They are expensive because they are all grown from parent shallots; whereas onion sets are originally grown from seed and stopped when they get to a certain size and heat treated to stop them bolting.

However, if you buy once and save some each year, you shouldn't have to buy them again

[cornykev]

Onions and shallots are normally the same price per weight the shallots being a lot bigger = less shallots, as said you get lots of shallots off one bulb, mine are 5-18 froma bulb, never done banana ones there is a thread on here somewhere about them.   :)

[antipodes]

last year I got a lot of shallots and I didn't eat them all and now they are starting to sprout, so I planted quite a few of my saved ones this spring and they seem to be coming on in leaps and bounds!  I also bought some proper sets, ever the pessimist!
usually they give about 6 or 7 I find to each bulb planted, those are Vitamor or Jermor anyway. They have the best flavour I find.

[chriscross1966]

I'm experimenting this year, banana shallots and my old favourite, Prisma, grown from seed plus a standard (non-banana) frmo sets. Some of the Prisma germination has been poor (as it was last year come to think of it). ANyway once the harvest is in I'll have a look at keeping a Prisma line going through home-saved sets, ditto the banana, though I have spare seeds to plant next year for that..... I get through a lot of smaller alliums, being single a couple of shallots is as good a base for a dish as a small onion, I don't like leaving half an onion in the fridge.....

chrisc

[aj]

I find that shallots are alot stronger anyway - so if you chop up finely you get as much taste as a standard size onion but 1/4 of the bulk.

Love shallots.

:D

[Anisemary]

I grow banana shallots 6 or seven seeds to a small module so the roots fill the module, makes them easier to plant out than larger ones where the soil seems to be looser. They then grow on to produce a clump similar to sets which split as they grow. Long Red Florence are also good for this method.

[Jeannine]

I have been unable to find shallotts here as sets, so today I planted soem store bought shallotts in my disabled raised bed.. I guess anything could happen with these??



I had my own in the Uk which I used every year.

XX Jeannine

[chriscross1966]

I grow banana shallots 6 or seven seeds to a small module so the roots fill the module, makes them easier to plant out than larger ones where the soil seems to be looser. They then grow on to produce a clump similar to sets which split as they grow. Long Red Florence are also good for this method.

Oh yes, I second that, LRF is brilliant for clump culturing....

[antipodes]

Oh and I find that when they are ready for harvest, of course the stems shrivel like onions, but they tend to push upwards and outwards, like a little crown. When they start to be well separated they can be harvested. I then separate the crowns and store in cool dry dark place like onions.

[Vinlander]

You can grow onions big enough for salad on pretty poor soil but if you plant shallots in the same soil they will produce 3-10 tiny stunted offsets which are pretty useless.

These tiny stunted offsets never seem to grow into big ones no matter how well you treat them next year.

Don't get caught in this vicious circle - always plant good sized shallots in good friable soil - that way you will get similar sized offsets next year and so on...

Cheers.

[grawrc]

I think the term "banana shallots" is more a chef's one than a gardening one. The longer, thinner shallots like eschalote grise, longor, jermor etc would be "banana shallots" because of their shape, unlike the more "onion-shaped" varieties such as Golden Gourmet. T&M also sell banana shallot seeds wihout specifying which variety they are.

In my view, shallots have a much finer, subtler flavour than onions and I would eat them in preference to onions every time, although I grow mountains of onions too!! My favourites are eschalote grise which I grow from sets and produce 5-12 shallots per planted bulb. I grow from seed too. This only produces single bulbs so doesn't take up a lot of space and can be used to fill odd corners in the allium beds. It also means you can extend the cropping period a bit, since they mature at different times.

They like fertile, well-draining soil in a sunny position.

There is a school of thought that says plant small sets to get big shallots but I have no idea whether that is true or not.

[Vinlander]

There is a school of thought that says plant small sets to get big shallots but I have no idea whether that is true or not.

Runs counter to my experience, but shallots are expensive so I've only tried about 3 varieties in 30 years.

If you plant smallish garlic offsets in March/April some of them will fail to split giving you one big clove that is very useful - but I've tried it with my shallots - no luck.

Cheers.