I started a new thread here, so we won't keep hijacking the garlic thread!

Here is a photo of the bonilla shallots that grew so large, and show no sign of browning - of all the flowerheads only one is still white, if that is any indication of when they will be ready to dig up. The stalks are over 1" in diameter in many cases, and almost all are over 3' tall.


Any ideas when to dig these? There are only a few browned sections - looks like when a stalk was broken my accident, not a gradual browning from bottom up, as in garlic.

I cleaned up the German Gray shallots, and figured out that I got just over 3 lbs. from 3/4 lb of sets - not a great return, but many were very small when harvested, so I could have done something better, or it was just too hot too fast.

Dave

Here's a few more pictures of my shallots I've harvested this year.All the hybrid shallots shown are grown from seed last year and then replanted last fall for this years growing season. Direct seeded shallots just wont size up for me here in one season.The standard shallots are from sets bought from 2 sources.Bonilla first

prisma next

ambition is the last hybrid

2 standard shallot types

I didn't get any size the one time I tried them from seed...and this was starting the seed indoors on 2-1, and transplanting, like with leeks. Ambition was the one I tried from seed.

My German Greys died back realtively early - I think I should have watered them longer, but I had them in the row with my garlic, which was drying out as it should, before harvest, so I never put the water on it in the last 3 weeks. Didn't bother the bonilla, but it's roots are probably much deeper. Next season I'll plant them in a separate row, so I can water them different.

So when should I think about pulling these? They don't have the layers garlic has, so you can see it drying out gradually. The flowerheads are turning brown and drying, and that last white one is just starting to dry some, but still no sign of the stalk drying, so maybe they are still growing. I guess I'll just wait 'til they show signs of dying back some, as with other onions.

Dave

Up there in NJ you may want to add some sand to the soil for your bulbs. If you cannot find some, you can have some of mine!!!

As long as yours are still going strong I'd leave them too.I started digging mine because of a root rot problem caused by me planting too close to last years garlic spot.
This is my first year that I started my shallot seeds indoors.I planted them around 2/1 like you have done before.I'm having great luck with them because of the earlier start.I can see I'll only have a few of them stay around "set" size on me by the end of the season.Most are about the same size as those that I have posted pictures of. And those are second year growth ones I've shown so far.

I dug up all mine last night. All leaves were very brown. Size varied a lot. Some are pretty decent, while others look like set sizes.(quarter dollar) I guess I am replanting those. If they are like garlic and you are supposed to plant the big ones, what's left is not worth messing with.