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How to Grow Shallots

This smaller full cousin of the common onion plant belong to the Allium cepa species , race aggregatum . Shallots lend sweetness to dishes that ask for onions and they are just as easy to raise as their large - bulbing relatives .

Time of Planting

Plant shallot seeds indoors 8 - 10 calendar week before the last rime . Sow Allium cepa aggregatum seed ¼ ” rich .

Time to Germination

5 - 8 days

How to Transplant

Just before the last fountain frost , head out to your garden and loosen up the dirt . Make a large crease in your garden bed , at least 4 ” mystifying . Water this line before planting your seedling to make transplantation easier .

Spacing Requirements

Set out seedlings 3 - 6″ apart in rows at least 6″ aside .

Common Pests and Diseases

Like onions , shallots can lose from land borne diseases . Be sure to rotate your allium crops and plant shallots in well - drained soil . disease and fungi such as Fusarium basal putrefaction , white rot , and Botrytis cervix bunkum can affect Allium crop in storage . harvest rotation can help prevent these diseases .

When and How to Harvest for Food Consumption

Shallot leaves will set out to droop once the bulb has matured . When they have constitute low bulbs , harvest the plant and set them in a warm , dry smirch away from direct fair weather to heal . Cure shallot for 2 - 3 weeks after harvesting by store them in a lovesome situation away from direct sunlight . When the shallots experience paper - dry on the outside , clip off the tops and roots , and thinly sweep off loose soil before stack away the shallot in a coolheaded , ironical station . Arrange them in a single stratum or hang them in mesh bags .

Eating

Use multiplier onion to add earthiness and subtle flowered notes to dishes that call for onions .

Storing

Allium ascalonicum will last for several months if store in cool , dry conditions .

How to Save Shallot Seeds

Life Cycle

Shallots are a two-year craw . Biennials typically do not flower in their first growing time of year . They must first experience inhuman weather before they flower , put germ , and conk in their second growing season .

When saving cum from shallot , separate varieties by at least 800 feet-½ knot in their 2d twelvemonth .

To ensure executable seed , save seeds from at least five plants . To maintain a variety over time , bring through seed from between 20 - 50 plant .

Vernalization

To produce seed from shallot , select several perfect Allium ascalonicum and store them through wintertime . Ideally , memory multiplier onion in a cool , dry space away from sunshine . Replant shallots in other spring .

Harvesting

After the plants peak and seeded player heads begin to dry out , pile up the heads in a paper bag and shake the source devoid .

Cleaning and Processing

set aside the seeds to air - dry for a few days before store the seeds in a coolheaded , ironical place .

Storage and Viability

Shallot seeds will remain feasible for several geezerhood .

scan more about storing seeds .

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