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Can I use some of this years harvest to plant again in Oct/Nov? If so, which ones should I choose? I have seen suggestions of saving the biggest, but I have also seen the suggestion that the big shallots would be more inclined to bolt.

Thanks very much.

Well, I planted quite big bulbs and they did not bolt...
I planted my shallots in February however, although I know many people overwinter them. I still got a very good harvest this year. I admit that I buy in bulbs as I can't resist the temptation to eat my shallots!!!  ;D ;D

I save the biggest to replant and it works for me. We use the small ones first and as long as the harvest is big enough, we plant our own. I planted in early Nov (in France) last year and they were ready in mid-June. I planted some more in March and they were lifted last week.

I also replant the biggest, but make sure they came from shallots that had lots of 'babies'.  If a shallot splits into many new shallots, that trait will be inherited by the new generation. 

When shallots throw up a flower stalk (happens more often with autumn planted ones) I cut it off.  Any shallots with cut off flower stalk are fine to eat, but should not be used for replanting.  Again the tendency to flower would only be passed on to the next generation.

I was told to plant at the shortest day of the year and harvest at the longest day of the year....

...That was several decades ago and I am sure the rules must have been changed by now...

......Rules seem to change daily and they are hard to keep up with.

Quote from: PurpleHeather on July 15, 2010, 23:50:30
I was told to plant at the shortest day of the year and harvest at the longest day of the year....

...That was several decades ago and I am sure the rules must have been changed by now...

......Rules seem to change daily and they are hard to keep up with.

Nah - way too close to Christmas and other Winter festivals.  Us females would never have time to plant shallots then ...... :-)

Looking at this thread, am I reading it right. It's OK to plant shallots to over Winter from shallots that were planted in the Spring? I have some left over from Spring planting as I bought to many so if these are still firm I could plant those too.
Still a bit bleary eyed ;D.

I think I may have not put it very well! I planted shallot sets at the end of October last year, and have just harvested them now. I was asking about using some of these this October. Sorry about that!

 I can only get shallot seeds here, so if I grow them one year will they be the same as the single UK ones and I can then plant the bulbs the next year?

Oh and another question..the ones that multiply..are they different varieties to others, I grew some of these in the UK from the old man next door, they were quite big ,I planted the whole single shallot like he told me and all the  multiples I got were big too. I didn't save any because he gave me them fresh every year and in return I gave him squash so never really got to understand the concept of multiples.

XX Jeannine

Infradig,  that's what I understood.  No problem.

GrannyJanny, if I got this right your 'seed shallots' bulbs were bought to be planted for spring 2010 and you have some of these 'seed shallots' left over.  Shallots do keep a long time and if they are still firm, they are alive and can be planted this autumn just fine.

Jeannine, I received shallot seeds from the USA.  The first year I got one bulb from each seed, as expected.  The maximum number of split-offs I got in the second year was 3 and again only 3 this year.  Both years a number of flower scapes (which I removed), more than from shallots that had only been multiplied vegetatively.  I hope next year these will produce more split-offs and fewer flowers.  The shallot seeds were called 'Giant Shallots'  and some of the bulbs are much bigger than the shallots I am used to.  It may take a few years to 'convert' them from flowering/seeding to multiplying vegetatively.

Ah, so is it possible to buy a multiplier variety, the old man certainly had one but he could have had it for years of course, I could never understand why they so much bigger than everybody elses.

If I was ti try to find a multiplier type, if thee is in fact one, what names would be looking for, maybe I could get some sent over , then keep from there.

I did have banana shallot seeds but they didn't germinate , they were three years old though,  and I wasn't expecting them to pop,I was lucky that my Roscoffs  did  and they are growing really well.

I guess I need to educate myself on shallots next  ;D

XX Jeannine

Quote from: Jeannine on July 16, 2010, 20:46:25

If I was ti try to find a multiplier type, if thee is in fact one, what names would be looking for, maybe I could get some sent over , then keep from there.

I did have banana shallot seeds but they didn't germinate , they were three years old though,  and I wasn't expecting them to pop,I was lucky that my Roscoffs  did  and they are growing really well.

I guess I need to educate myself on shallots next  ;D

XX Jeannine

You can buy seed shallot bulbs (aka shallot sets) in Canada from Richter's herbs:
http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X5405&show=&prodclass=Roots_and_Bulbs&cart_id=4196014.16674

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X5400&show=&prodclass=Roots_and_Bulbs&cart_id=4196014.16674

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X5408&show=&prodclass=Roots_and_Bulbs&cart_id=4196014.16674
They look like the same shallots we have here.

What the old man gave you might have been potato onions.  Have a look at this picture and description.  Up to 3 inches across is almost big onion sized.
https://www.mainepotatolady.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=8