Page 22 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2024

Shallots
RON NUTALL
Enjoy growing shallots for good reason. They are those small, sweet onions which are easy to grow, trouble free and a chef’s delight. They don’t have the tangy bite of onions and are prized for garnishing food and preparations which require mild flavours.
A regular rotation of crops is important
in a garden, preventing the heavy feeding crops depleting the soil of nutrients
and inhibiting the build-up of pests and diseases. Shallots do not need to be part of a strict rotation!! They have a short growing season and are light feeders. Simply grow them wherever you think you are going to have some space. The sets are larger than onion sets and benefit from planting 9” apart in 12” rows.
Exhibition shallots are a different subject altogether, they are grown from seeds. One seed will produce one bulb of a suitable size and perfection for the show bench classes.
Start the process of growing in the autumn. Dig your rows with a fork as if you are going to let the winter weather have every chance to get into the soil.
The best shallots are grown in a light soil, well drained and fully open to the sun. Check soil tests for acidity and the need for lime, then incorporate a handful of good quality, long lasting fertilizer into the seedbed.
There are three main cultivars you could choose from if you decide to discontinue your own strain of shallots.
• EasiesttogrowarePrismashallotswith
their deep pink, glossy skin.
• Favouriteforcookingaretheelongated
Gray shallots, with their stronger taste
Shallots drying
• Foreatingrawinasaladarethelarger Pink shallots with their milder flavour.
Mid-February, when your soil is working freely, a seedbed can be prepared, then it is time to plant your sets. The quality of the soil condition being more important than the sowing date. Although they do have some winter hardiness, they benefit from the use of a good quality fleece. This is invaluable as birds are inclined to pull the sets out, while cats and foxes disturb the soil and mess up the plants. Chicken wire is useful as a protection until the roots get established and start to grow.
Marchisthemainmonthforplanting particularly the more expensive heat- treated sets. These sets will have been specially prepared to prevent them bolting
Shallots ‘Vigarmor’
andaretheeasiesttogrow.
Regular hoeing keeps weeds down and
the soil surface open to feed and water. Shallots being shallow rooted do not like competition during the spring months. From the middle of June, after the longest day of the year. The leaves start to turn brown, bulbs produced will be ready to harvest avoiding the usual problems of waste from many vegetable crops due to summer over-production. When grown well from sets shallots are a miracle plant, each plant producing more than six usable bulbs.
If an early harvest is planned:
• StopwateringtheminearlyJune,lay them flat on the ground in the hot sunshine for a week or if the weather comes wet, tie them in bunches and keep them in the shed until they are dried out and ready to store in a dry place where they will keep into the New Year.
• Scrapesomesoilfromaroundthebulbs before harvest to help them finally mature and ripen.
• Waituntilacoupleofsunnydays
are predicted and then dig up all the remaining shallots. Do not bend the foliage over in attempt to make the shallots dry quicker, this will only expose them to the risk of neck rot.
In conclusion
These small, sweet onions are a chef’s delight and are looking forward to improving your yummy food. A regular rotation is important in the allotment but because shallots have a short growing season and are light feeders, they do not need to be part of it. Simply enjoy growing them for your family wherever you think you are going to have some space!!
Shallot trials sets
22 Simply Vegetables