Author Topic: When are my shallots ready? (Read 6424 times)

slippy fly · « **on:** July 11, 2006, 20:51:14 »

The foilage is withering and has turned yellow but a few are still abit green, can i dig them all up or do i wait for them all to die back.Also i intend drying them in the greenhouse but how will i know when they are ready?

adrianhumph · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2006, 08:55:02 »

Hi slippy, :D
Mine were similar to yours, & on inspection they seemed almost to be lifting out of the ground of their own accord. A couple of days ago I lifted them gently to break them from the soil & then dug them up completely yesterday. They are now spread out in 3 tier veg racks to dry. I leave mine outside when the weather is good & only put them inside the greenhouse if rain is forecast. On the strength of last year they will take up to 3 weeks to dry out completely, you can tell because by then all the foliage will have drie up & withered away leaving you just the shallots. I stored mine in the wives old tights, :o cut into single legs, then filled & hung up in the garage, they lasted well into the spring.

Adrian.

growmore · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2006, 10:11:12 »

The leaves will die back. The middle shallots will pop out of the clump of their own accord..If you can just lift them and they come away easily they are ready..
If you need space and they are big enough for you but not dry as above, just fork the clump up and hang them outside to dry..Or if that ain't possible up in eaves of the greenhouse ...cheers Jim

tim · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2006, 10:49:05 »

No rain in sight, so no rush!

slippy fly · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2006, 16:19:09 »

;D Thanks all that has answered my question.
Are you sure they are your wifes tights :o :o :o :o

adrianhumph · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2006, 15:09:10 »

Hi slippy,
definitely the wives, mine are in another drawer :o

Adrian.

Paulines7 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2006, 08:21:52 »

Quote from: adrianhumph on July 13, 2006, 15:09:10

Hi slippy,
definitely the wives, mine are in another drawer :o

Adrian.

Hmmmm Adrian, how many wives have you got?? :o :o

slippy fly · « **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2006, 15:36:56 »

:o ;D so funny!!! ;D

katynewbie · « **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2006, 16:33:20 »

;D

Adrian, glad to hear that you are so tidy, keeping them in separate drawers is a good idea! ;)

My shallots are sat there, not bursting out of the soil etc, but as the foliage is looking a bit grim, may get them up anyway

;D

Tora · « **Reply #9 on:** July 15, 2006, 21:02:24 »

I dug up all my shallots today, as I wanted to make space for other vegetables.
I planted a bag of shallots from Wilko and ended up with 101 shallots (yes I counted them ::)), many of them are onion sized. What excellent veg shalltos are! Definitely going to grow them every year from now on. ;D

Kea · « **Reply #10 on:** July 19, 2006, 18:37:42 »

I also had a bag of shallots from Wilko and planted them a bit late but still got 78 (my son counted them he's getting very keen and helpful) however 5 didn't grow (one I accidently planted upside down poor thing tried it's best!) and three rotted before i got them planted. I dug them up last week when the leafs flopped over, the ends turned brown and the shallots were lifting themselves out of the ground. I am really pleased with them because they did really well and all I did really was plant them.
I'm planning even more next year.....or even this year i might plant some Autumn ones. Can anybody suggest the best Autumn varieties?

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #11 on:** July 19, 2006, 21:04:31 »

I think any shallot can be planted in the autumn.

sand · « **Reply #12 on:** July 21, 2006, 23:35:33 »

Another bumper crop from Wilko's Red Sun shallots, a good 100 lovely sized shallots drying in the garden as we speak.

Stunning, and so little effort.

Definately buying for next year.

Sand

growmore · « **Reply #13 on:** July 22, 2006, 09:25:49 »

If you can resist temtation to eat them all :) and save a few to plant out next year ..You can soon build your shallot stock up ..I grow lots of shallots and havent bought none for years... Cheers..Jim

Tora · « **Reply #14 on:** July 22, 2006, 11:11:38 »

I'll definitely try to resist temptation to eat them all and save some to plant next year ;D
Mine was Red Sun too. I wonder if all shallots are this easy and prolific? ???

glow777 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 23, 2006, 08:48:06 »

Silly question but those of you who buy shallots, garlic and onions for autumn planting from Wilkos - when do they start appearing in store?

Kea · « **Reply #16 on:** August 03, 2006, 12:31:05 »

I didn't see any in store until early spring....but then I wasn't looking before that anyway because i didn't get my allotment until October. The Parish council didn't actually mark out it's location until late Novemeber and didn't plough it until December so I didn't get started until after Christmas.
I also bought some globe artichoke....can't remember what they're called...cuttings from Wilkinson's (as they're called here) and I wouldn't recommend getting them from there the named variety I got from the Garden centre is much better. The Wilco ones have nasty spines all over the flower head. I'm going to dig those up and replace with more 'Green Globe'.

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #17 on:** August 03, 2006, 15:21:40 »

The wilko ones I bought were dead and rotten, and had to go back. I'll be a lot more wary about what I buy there in future; they're good for sundries and seeds, but I'm not so sure about plants.

Tora · « **Reply #18 on:** August 03, 2006, 19:17:59 »

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on August 03, 2006, 15:21:40

The wilko ones I bought were dead and rotten, and had to go back. I'll be a lot more wary about what I buy there in future; they're good for sundries and seeds, but I'm not so sure about plants.

My Red Sun shallots were mouldy but they weren't completely rotten so I removed mouldy bits and planted them. I did notice many onion sets were mouldy and some rhubarb and strawberry plants were completely dry... I too will be careful when I buy plants/sets in the future at Wilko.

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Author Topic: When are my shallots ready? (Read 6424 times)