A small shallot harvest

bnoles 6/3/2013, 12:18 pm

My shallots were begging to be harvested so I went out this morning and pulled them up. These were planted last Fall from a small bag that I purchased at the grocery store just for kicks. The results were not as grand as I had hoped for, but at least tripled I my investment Very Happy

CapeCoddess 6/3/2013, 12:25 pm

Wow! Oh my. Is that what they're supposed to look like? Shocked

They don't look like the ones in the grocery store at all. I'm growing shallots for the first time this year and wouldn't even know what to do with those. I guess you cut off all that above the ball at the bottom, right? Do you eat the trimmings?

Do you have a photo of what they looked like before you pulled them?

bnoles 6/3/2013, 1:00 pm

Many good questions and observations CC. This is my first ever attempt and somewhat of a trial and error venture. My plans are to cut the tops off and trim the roots and then peel off the outer skins. I will then pop them in the freezer to use in stews and other recipes that call for them.

You are right that they don't look a whole lot like the grocery store models, but after they dry a few days, maybe the greens draw up some and they will take on a more familiar shape. I watched a youtube video of a guy named Praxus harvest ing and preparing his and they were very round. Not sure the greens are very edible, but I may try some in my eggs in the morning. I already have so many onion and chive greens going that I may have to invest in a wash mouth factory. cyclops

CapeCoddess 6/3/2013, 1:14 pm

Oh, thanks for the heads up about Ray Praxxus' vid on shallots. I must have missed that one and will check in out.

Would you please let us know if the greens are edible?

CC

bnoles 6/3/2013, 1:17 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:

Would you please let us know if the greens are edible?

CC

Will do!

bnoles 6/3/2013, 7:39 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:Oh, thanks for the heads up about Ray Praxxus' vid on shallots. I must have missed that one and will check in out.

Would you please let us know if the greens are edible?

CC

Hi CC.... I tried the greens with dinner tonight and was not impressed. I guess you could call them edible, but a little tougher than onion greens and the taste was certainly much stronger than the shallot itself. I will probably dispose of mine since I have so many other options right now. I think the answer is going to lay in individual tastes.

**camprn** 6/3/2013, 7:58 pm

Are those really shallots? If they are, I think they were not quite done or perhaps planted too deeply
A few years ago I bought a small bag of shallots and it took two seasons to get them to a good size. BUT, each bulb produced between 4-6 daughter bulbs in a season. That means that the one shallot I planted two seasons ago has made 8-12 good size shallots. Just takes time with the two year growing requirements of the shallots.

Here are mine this season, loving the tree root free mix in the box.

This is what they are supposed to look like when ready to harvest.

In this image, the ones on the left and center are very small, first year shallots. the ones on the right are second year shallots.

Just before harvest, second year.

After harvest, second year.

bnoles 6/3/2013, 8:02 pm

hahahaha camprn.... Yes they were shallots, but it sure looks like I harvested about a year early. I had no idea they need 2 years rofl

Like I keep saying... this year is for learning. Embarassed

Now to go think about a salvage plan.

**camprn** 6/3/2013, 8:09 pm

When I say second year I don't mean they stay in the garden all that time. I plant the daughters the second year. Also, when they are ready, there are practically no roots , they just pop away from the surface of the garden.
I do believe there is a Rookie Topic (from one of our Regional Hosts) about growing shallots.

bnoles 6/3/2013, 9:11 pm

camprn wrote:When I say second year I don't mean they stay in the garden all that time. I plant the daughters the second year. Also, when they are ready, there are practically no roots , they just pop away from the surface of the garden.
I do believe there is a Rookie Topic (from one of our Regional Hosts) about growing shallots.

Well... something sure isn't right with mine as they look nothing like yours. I am sure they are shallots as that is what they were labeled in the store and they even looked like yours. Guess I need to do some serious research to see what is wrong.

Thanks for the help.

mollyhespra 6/3/2013, 9:36 pm

Could you have harvested too soon? Were your shallots "laying down" like the ones in Camp's pic?

**camprn** 6/3/2013, 9:45 pm

bnoles wrote:
camprn wrote:When I say second year I don't mean they stay in the garden all that time. I plant the daughters the second year. Also, when they are ready, there are practically no roots , they just pop away from the surface of the garden.
I do believe there is a Rookie Topic (from one of our Regional Hosts) about growing shallots.

Well... something sure isn't right with mine as they look nothing like yours. I am sure they are shallots as that is what they were labeled in the store and they even looked like yours. Guess I need to do some serious research to see what is wrong.

Thanks for the help.

If you can get a hold of some more bulbs you can try again. you have plenty of time in your area.

bnoles 6/3/2013, 10:01 pm

I found the rookie thread and I believe I see the error of my ways. I planted these too deep for sure and mis-read the signs of harvest.

I have been thinking about a salvage plan and I will replant these in a proper manner tomorrow around the outer edge of my asparagus bed. I have nothing to loose at this point and just maybe some of them will come back around and make proper shallots. This Fall I will put some new bulbs in and try to do it right this time.

Thanks so much for all the help, especially camprn.

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