2008-AUG > SHALLOTS – Beautiful and Delicious – from Seed

It’s been several years now that I’ve wanted to grow Shallots from seed – and for some strange reason I’ve either forgotten, or tried to order seed late – only to find it was “Out of Stock” – darn there goes another year.

Well I’ve finally grown them – quite successfully I might add – in our Hoop House. I’ve placed two photos on our Home Page – about time!

As you probably know, Shallots are between Onions and Garlic – a little sweeter when cooked – a fundamental ingredient of gourmet French Cooking.

Growing them from seed is a lengthy process which began in early March in my heated seedling greenhouse. I transplanted the plugs to the Hoop House the 1st week of May – harvest completed in early August – drying and tying completed by mid-August.

This year’s crop was a test – only about 3-bays of my Hoop House – I wasn’t sure how well they would do. Well – next year I am going to grow a LOT more – probably about 1/3 of my Hoop House.

This variety is a great keeper through the winter – dry, firm and delicious!

Usually Shallots are grown, like garlic, from cloves – but this approach is prohibitively expensive to scale-up in quantity. Next year about this time (mid-August) I should have another fantastic crop. Mark your calendars!