Here is just a short post to highlight an event that occurred back in June. That's right, my shallots came in for harvest! There were many of them and I was surprised at how prolific they were! It seemed that for every clove I planted 10 to 15 sprouted around them, yay!
What pretty colors!
But I was a little disappointed at how small they were. They were still only the size of a dime or nickel. I've decided to take most of them and replant them in the garden this fall and see how they overwinter. I also plan to plant garlic, walking onions, and yellow potato onions in this fashion as well. I did enjoy seeing all the different colors. These photos highlight the myriad of colors that came to light. Shades of yellow, sepia, peach, orange, even pink and purple drift in and out over their skins.
Shallot size, like bulbing onions depends a lot on how big they get before day length changes tell them to bulb. In Italy shallots are planted in October (pretty early) while Garlic isn't planted until Dec.or Jan (mild winters). Try spacing them a bit farther apart (12") and see how they do. They're lovely plants and like leeks a treasure to use in the kitchen and so much cheaper to grow than to buy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try planting my bounty this fall and hoping for the best. Even though they were small it was still rewarding to see them get green and propagate. Their flavor is so wonderful but yes, they are expensive in the grocery stores!