Start shallot SEEDS

I'm interested in starting shallots from seed this season.
I already have some (hopefully) starting in an outside bed, however, close to the top, frigid cold temps, I 'm not sure if they will survive even tho there's some hay above.
Either way here's what I think I know about them.
Each seed will grow into 1 single clove.
A clove is planted and spaced far enough apart so it will grow into a bulb like garlic.
Has any of you started shallots ?
I just may do an entire bed.

garlic's under neath

Is this what happens with onions, also? Seed becomes a "baby" onion. Remove, dry, then replant to grow into a grown up onion? I have seeds growing nicely in a pot but I don't know if they will grow into big red and yellow onions. Yesterday I bought a bag of red onion sets. They look like my summer onions from seed - tiny.

Hi sanderson, 

I found out the hard way that here in Texas onions are a two-year crop.  The first year you plant seeds and they grow into marble-sized onions called "sets".  You dig those at year end just like regular onions.  The next year, you plant the sets and they become full-sized onions. 

I suspect it works the same way everywhere.
Hope this helps.
Gloria

Thanks. Gloria. That was what I was suspecting!

I planted garlic and shallots this past fall but I planted bulbs! I am hoping they survive the frigid temps we have been having!

jimmy cee wrote:I'm interested in starting shallots from seed this season.
I already have some (hopefully) starting in an outside bed, however, close to the top, frigid cold temps, I 'm not sure if they will survive even tho there's some hay above.
Either way here's what I think I know about them.
Each seed will grow into 1 single clove.
A clove is planted and spaced far enough apart so it will grow into a bulb like garlic.
Has any of you started shallots ?
I just may do an entire bed.

garlic's under neath

Hi Jimmy ,
Here in the UK if we plan the timing right we can sow on Christmas day or day new year indoors in a cool 50 oF  ish (10 oC ) roon away from direct sunlight  and pot on when about 3 inches tall then pot on again if needs be before planting out as soon as the weather improves to that where you'll only get  light frost.

This misses out the minus 10 degrees centigrade we get in the colder first fortnight of February.
 When potting on  use the same size pot as holds the plant  , put enough potting compost in the bigger pot so that when you insert the plant in the pot it is level with the top of the rim , continue to fill up around the empty pot and lightly compact it . , remove the empty pot and gently knock out the plant making sure all the compost around the plant is intact  . Then gently set the whole plug of compost complete with the plant in to the hole in the bigger pot and water it in ( not too much lest you cause damping off ) .

 Doing it that way we can get massive 4 to 5 pound onions and fist sized shallots. The only downside is you'll need a lot of pots and space to do it if your after 80 or so large onions and 40 shallot clusters.

Plantoid
Thanks much

I started my shallots from small daughter bulbs, and because they are a multiplier onion it still took 2 years to get them to a satisfactory usable size.

I'm of the opinion that you may be able to fool the growing shallot onions into thinking it is the second year if you let them dry out so the tips wilt by carefully " lifting "  the small bulbous plant out the pot and put it to one side for three or four days ( I've not done this )

One thing I'd love to know is how shallots are grown in the 365 x dry sunny climes .

I checked the sowing charts .
The shallots I harvested in mid Sept 2013 were sown in trays in the green house in early December 2012 potted on 29 Jan & again 4 April then hardened off in the day time in late April & put out in the SFG garden bed  in mid May .

Could it be the length of time over the three equinox that gave me results??

plantoid wrote:I'm of the opinion that you may be able to fool the growing shallot onions into thinking it is the second year if you let them dry out so the tips wilt by carefully " lifting "  the small bulbous plant out the pot and put it to one side for three or four days ( I've not done this )

I tried that, lifting and drying for 2 weeks, it didn't work. I also tried to chill them into dormancy and replant the same season, that didn't work either. Perhaps I did something wrong OR I didn't have enough daylight hours, or something. I had no trouble planting and growing successfully the next year.So for me this is a biennial for sure.

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-6095.pdf

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/5252/how-to-grow-shallots/page/all

Here are my shallots last July, growing well during the second season.

Interesting thread
My first year with onions, shallots as well.  I have sprouted the seeds between wet coffee filter papers and am today transplanting to 3 inch pots.
I am wondering if they are a bit like the artichokes that need that cooler weather to make them think they have been through a winter.
It worked quite well when I did that with artichokes.

ONE more great article by Barbara Pleasant from Mother earth news
HOW TO GROW ONIONS   a few MORE interesting tips

Interesting thread. Last year I planted 20 bucks worth of bulbs and they all rotted. This year I am going to try growing from seed.  From what I understand, growing shallots from seed is the same as growing onions from seed. You plant seeds or transplants in early spring and harvest a bulb in late summer. Shallots grown from seed will have a single bulb, they do not divide. But that means you can grow more per square.

Shallots are daylight sensitive, just like onions. I'm in a northern latitude, so we plant what are called long day onions/shallots. When the days start to shorten after the summer solstice, that triggers bulb formation. It's day-length, not temperature, that causes it. Since onions are biennial, cold weather/treatment after bulb formation can cause them to bolt to seed.

Johnny's carries three kinds of shallot seeds. Saffron, the variety I am planning to try, is spec'ed as 100 days, adapted to latitudes 40-50°. Conservor is 110 days and adapted to 40-60° latitudes. Camelot is 110 days and adapted to 40-55° latitudes. Since most of Texas is below 40°, I don't know what you are supposed to do except try to find a short-day or day-neutral shallot seed, if they exist.

The other difference with onion culture is that Johnny's recommends direct seeding in early spring, while onions can be direct sown or started indoors in February, which is what I typically do.

dvelton   that explains a lot.
what is an onion culture?

sorry, onion culture = growing onions