Best ways to grow shallots

Best ways to grow shallots

- Anne Swithinbank

Q I have taken a liking to shallots and would like to learn how to grow them. Can you tell me when to plant them, and any problems to watch out for? Julia Simmons, Redruth, Cornwall

AIf onions are Allium cepa, then shallots are known as Allium cepa Aggregatum Group, and aggregate is exactly what they do. Plant an onion set (a tiny immature onion) and it will swell to deliver one much bigger onion. Plant a shallot set and it develops a cluster of bulbs, so from one you are likely to harvest six or seven. Shallots are generally smaller than onions, they store for longer, and they have a more delicate flavour and unctuous texture.

The easiest route to a crop is by planting sets, and you’ll find that some cultivars are available in autumn to plant from mid-November to December in milder regions, and others to go in from February-April when the soil is workable. Shallots need a long growing season, and there comes a point by midsummer when the foliage will turn yellow and growth will stop, regardless of how large the bulbs have grown.