Allotments 4 All

 Hi all,
           when do you plant out your shallot sets? I live in the sunny south east ::)
and I have bought back from France some lovely shallots, now,  should I plant them during November, or hope they will be ok until March & plant them then? I can store them in good dry cool conditions so that is not a problem , but do you think they will be ok in the ground?
                                                  Adrian.

I plant my shallots early spring when the ground can be worked, over winter and you run the risk of them rotting in the ground. Apparently they need a frost to encourage them to split into multiple shallots instead of one large bulb, but 2 years ago I didn’t plant them until about April and they still split and I got a crop of small shallots.

Old gardening books seem to suggest planting shallots in the Autumn, although I suspect not all varieties are suitable. Last Autumn I decided to experiment and planted some Golden Gourmet around now. The results were fine, but they did bolt earlier than my Spring grown ones.
As you'll probably want to retain your French shallots for planting year on year, try putting a few out now and the rest in Spring. It's always a bonus to find somethin that over-winters as it's a job out of the way.

Hi there

Well I'm in Kent and plant mine in the autumn.  But as your were from France - I think i'd hedge my bets and try a few now and leave the rest for Spring - then you can compare for future years.

Louise

I planted my Jermour shallots in November last year, and got about 230 shallots from 30 sets so I shall be doing the same this year! We shall see if it was beginners luck....... ;D

I've seen Jermour in the local garden centre already and had a gander at the packet - and I think it said they were for Autumn planting. Hope so as I've got a space for them to go into!

Jon

Can anybody suggest a decent website to buy shallots from please?

Lauren  :)

That was good going Debs i'll have to try some of that.

I ordered Griselle from Dobies - they were quite expensive (unlike their onions, strangely) but I think they're normally planted now? I've only got an IOU through the post so far though...

I've just googled for Jermour shallots and the only site listed that mentions them is this one!    ???

Anyone know where they're available?

I saw some in Wyvales the other week, may be worth a try? ???

Noooooooooooooooo, please don't make me go near any shops that start with 'W'  - I'm not to be trusted!!!

;D

I was only in there checking I hadn't missed any 50p seeds that I er.......needed, honest! ;D ;D ;D