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bart1_gw

Harvesting Shallots - When?

bart1
13 years ago

This is my first year growing shallots and I'm unsure when to harvest them. Do they fall over like onions when they're ready? Do they turn yellow like garlic when they're ready? How do you know when they are ready to be harvested?

Thanks!

Comments (44)

  • hortster
    13 years ago

    I pull mine when half of the foliage is browning out and they are falling over (did mine last weekend - they were planted around the first of March). I also loosen the soil under them first with a potato fork - makes harvest easy and keeps them intact for drying.
    hortster

  • bart1
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks!

    I think I'm just about there. Some of my plants seem to be opening up in the middle - the bulbs are kind of spreading apart, and the once vertical "leaves" are starting to lean over.

  • veggieholic
    13 years ago

    This is my first year growing shallots also. Is it possible to leave shallots in the ground like floral bulbs to grow again next season? I did not plant very many bulbs last year and I would prefer to replant all the bulbs that grew this year for next year. If I don't dig them up, will they rot in the ground or will they regrow?

    Thanks!

  • spiced_ham
    13 years ago

    Because of the high multiplication factor, if you leave the bulbs in the ground they will be too close together and you will get thick bunches of stunted bulbs next year. Adequate spacing is needed for good growth.

  • Teslynz
    11 years ago

    This is my first year growing shallot, it's been in the ground for 6 months now, should i dig it out now? the leaves still very green though that is why i m not sure whether to pull it out or leave it longer? Thanks

  • gemini_jim
    11 years ago

    Teslynz, I don't know what kind of climate you're in. Assuming you're in a North temperate zone and it's cold winter where you are, I'd leave them in the ground until late spring/early summer, when they should bulb up and dry down. Right now they wouldn't have any bulbs to speak of and would be like thin green onions.

  • geteb007
    10 years ago

    Planted my shallots back in October & they are healthy, thriving & HUGE. But the tops are barely brown - nothing like my garlic. They've opened up & spread out, & the 2 I've harvested have bulbs/cloves(?) the size of small onions, so I'm happy. But not sure if I should harvest the rest of them? In our CO climate, the saying about garlic is "Plant on Columbus Day & harvest on 4th of JUL". Yet we leave our onions in the ground until September or until the tops fall over. Is there an adage about planting/harvesting shallots? And should I stop watering them a week or 2 before harvest like I do for my garlic?

  • theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
    10 years ago

    geteb007- Treat shallots like you would onions when it comes to harvesting them. I like to harvest my shallots when the tops are fallen over and yellowed. Also, I find that my garlic and shallots are ready to harvest at around the same time (both have been harvested already).

    Rodney

  • jjtighe5
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I live in Ohio. I planted shallots with my garlic in the fall and while the garlic is starting to yellow and wither the shallots started to bloom. I was worried the flowers would take energy from the bulbs so I harvested them. The size is ok, but I am wondering what I should have done. should I have let them bloom? they showed no signs of dying back.

  • yolos - 8a Ga. Brooks
    8 years ago

    I wait to harvest until the shallot clump has split open and the leaves are turning brown. See how the shallots are laying out from the center. I don't know if this is typical of all shallots and all environments.


  • mav72
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I think it's best to cut the flowers (scapes) to get the most out of the plant, unless you want seed. If you are going to harvest, you can still use the outside sections of the plant while it's fresh. Plants that have bolted don't store well. I know it's probably not viable for a large scale operation, but in a small garden you also can leave the bolted plant in the ground to grow and the flower stalk will slowly be pushed out to the side. Then you can harvest it...

  • mav72
    8 years ago

    Yolos, I know my shallots do that.. The first time I grew shallots I thought it was weird, and maybe something was wrong with them.. I was so use to bunch onion habits...

  • theforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I pinch off any flower stalks as soon as I see them. No point letting them flower. And like mav said, the stalks usually end up on the side of the bulb come harvest time. I wait until the leaves are yellow before pulling and curing.

    Rodney

  • thamnophis9
    8 years ago

    Im wondering too. Im in central Iowa and planted shallot bulbs last October, kept them covered under a low tunnel for the winter. They're spreading but still mostly green. I'm a little concerned that the protective skins or sheaths are eroding away rather than developing. If I understand, garlic will loose these sheaths if allowed to dry to much in the ground, and therefore won't store very well. Would you guys be harvesting these?



  • bcomplx
    8 years ago

    I would wait until you see the leaf tips drying a little more. Those look great.

  • LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I would wait a couple weeks also. Those still look pretty green in the picture but they look really good.. I just harvested my Dutch Yellow shallots yesterday here in the KC area but they were not quite as big as yours.

  • jjtighe5
    8 years ago

    I had a problem with the center stem blossoming. When I grow these the next time should I have cut this back like you would a garlic scape?

  • thamnophis9
    8 years ago

    Wait I will then. Thanks. As far blossoms, I removed them. All of my plants sent up scapes (if thats what they are called on shallots) and I cut all but one shortly after they emerged. I understand the scales will take energy from the clove/bulb development.

  • jjtighe5
    8 years ago
    Ok thanks next year I will catch the scales early. They did stunt the growth this year.
  • OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
    8 years ago

    It really doesn't hurt shallots and potato onions to stay in the ground until the leaves are mostly brown and have fallen over. If extended wet weather is forecast it doesn't hurt to pull them a little early either, although that will reduce bulb size a little, and require a more careful curing. These types of multiply onions are quite forgiving in regard to harvest time.

    BTW most of the multiplier onions braid beautifully, if harvested with a bit of green leaf. Let that wilt a little and then braid before it dries brittle and the onions will finish curing in the braid. Most of them you can then hang in a corner in the kitchen for both decoration and for being handy to the stove. They keep just fine at room temperature as long as it is not actually hot and they stay dry. Red or French shallots store shorter than the golden Dutch or the actual potato onions.


  • jhogerty
    7 years ago

    This is my first year growing shallots and I planted them in November. I just harvested them and it was obviously too early. Can I replant them and hope for the best? Any suggestions? Thanks!

  • bcomplx
    7 years ago

    A your shallots dry (cure), you may be pleasantly surprised to find small elongated shallots at the base. You can cook and eat the white part of non-bulbing shanks, they are delicious. Unless you are way far north, they probably won't regrow much if you replant them because they are sensitive to changes in day length. Mine stop growing and die back mid July at 38 degrees latitude.

  • OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
    7 years ago

    My multipliers are later here at 45 degrees north, generally after the garlics are all dug, but a bit before regular onions, but replanting now isn't likely to produce much except rot. Leave as much leaf on as possible and cure to see if they bulb up a bit as they dry; sometimes that happens. If they start to shrivel, eat them if still good, they won't keep otherwise.

  • jhogerty
    7 years ago

    Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll have better luck next year!

  • Peter (6b SE NY)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I tried shallots from seed (direct seed) this year but the plants are very small and as they are day length sensitive I don't see them making a harvest. They took forever to germinate and are growing as slow as onions. Any suggestions to salvage the planting, can I overwinter them or make sets for next year?

  • Donna R
    7 years ago

    So....once we harvest and cure them, how do we store them to replant? I know with garlic, generally you replant the small cloves, and potato onions, you replant the larger cloves..how is it with shallots?

  • ootockalockatuvik_7a
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I thought it was the opposite. Plant the Garlic large cloves and potato onion small/medium bulbs.

  • Donna R
    7 years ago

    Then one of us needs serious advice! LOL I'm not sure now!

  • OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Biggest cloves of garlic to get biggest bulbs; small potato onions to get best size, biggest to get best multiplication of small bulbs.

  • Donna R
    7 years ago

    Thanks! Had it backwards! So...what about the shallots?

  • LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Shallots = Potato onions

    I inspected my shallots a couple days ago Mine are ready to harvest as are most of my garlic and my Yukon Gold potatoes. I'll be doing a lot of digging this weekend!

  • OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
    7 years ago

    Donna, since they essentially are a type of potato onion, like Jack says, you should be seeing the shallot bulbs nesting right at the surface. Wait for the bulbs to show as much size as possible and develop husks. At that time the stalks should also start to go over like any other onion. Let the stalks pretty much dry out but you don't need to wait much beyond when that starts, since it moves pretty quickly. As opposed to garlic once the bulbs start to husk up timing isn't as important, but best to dig in dry conditions. Set the nests of bulbs in a dry, shaded area and let the stalks dry off completely before removing them. Alternately just before the stalks completely dry off, you can separate the bulbs, being careful not to damage the stalks and braid the stalks and let them complete curing that way. The cured braids can hang in your kitchen right handy to where you want to use them. The red potato onions (generally the types called shallots - and there is always an argument to be had about what "really are shallots" since that varies all over the place and there is a whole lot of splitting hairs one way and another) do not generally keep as well as the whites and the yellows, and the whites do not keep as well as the yellows either. Many of the yellow strains are champions over all other storage onions, sometimes lasting as much as two years.

    BTW the grey shallots are a different species, generally smaller and seldom keep any better than the reds. If you want to get all hoity toity they are the way to go but they are also a lot of messing around. More than I care to do.

    DO NOT REFRIGERATE ANY OF THEM.

  • Donna R
    7 years ago

    Thank you!

  • Donna R
    7 years ago

    Old Dutch...harvested my shallots today...they are curing now. I didn't have many, less than a dozen to start me off,and they all multiplied well... so I will be replanting the majority of them...but can't wait to taste a few! They are Grey Giselle...do you know if there is a difference in taste from when they are freshly pulled or after they've cured? I am in my 50's...and have never tasted a shallot! Since I can only spare a few to taste this year...I want to know if there is a difference!

  • Peter (6b SE NY)
    7 years ago

    My direct sow shallots (from seed) basically made me sets this year. If I pull up and cure, when do I replant? I don't imagine I should try to store them all winter?

  • bcomplx
    7 years ago

    I have been amazed at how long the seed-sown shallots stay dormant. When I have tried replanting them in the fall, they were not ready to grow and rotted. They are more willing to sprout the following spring.

    My seed-sown Camelot shallots are huge this year. Started them indoors in Jan and set them out under row cover in late March. They will be ready to pull in a week or two.

  • nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
    6 years ago

    Let's keep this shallot going. I stumbled on this thread looking for information about bolting. Anyone have any updates?

  • nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The bolted shallots seem to be staying green forever.

    Not bolted...I think.

    Bolted and pulled at least a week ago. Smaller, I think.

    Bolted and still in the ground.

    See the shallot at about 12 o'clock high? Thoughts about pulling off the bolted green at the base near the roots?

  • OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
    6 years ago

    I pulled my yellow multipliers today along with the rest of my garlic. All the onion plants had gone down but the foliage was not dried off. It will dry off well enough on the curing racks. I intend to braid them and use the braid for kitchen decoration until it is time to plant back this fall. For me that will be the same time I do my garlics and my tulips probably in mid October. I got very nice size but very poor numbers in the nests.

    These were not started from seed and have not bolted for me more than one or two plants in years, regardless of fall planted or spring planted. I suspect that seed strains of shallots and other multiplier true onions are more likely to bolt than the older pure set strains. The grey gourmet shallots are another species altogether while the rest are all various types of Allium cepa. I have not heard that the greys could be grown from seed or that they bolted.

  • nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thank you!

    I bought them from " Grow Organic " and they said "you can leave the flower stalk, if the other stalks are dying, you can just fold over the flower stalk."

    Posted by Suzanne at GrowOrganic.com on Jul. 06, 2017 at 10:09:17 AM

  • mbb1238
    3 years ago

    What is a bolted shallot? I find the flower stalks retain moisture and lead to an increased amount of rot...I pull them ff a couple of weeks after harvest.

    The shallots keep forever in my cellar., definitely a year, much longer than garlic.

  • HU-939938193
    3 years ago

    My shallots rotten in the ground from the too wet spring this year.

    Oklahoma zone 7a.


    HU


  • HU-352499387
    3 years ago

    The bulbs will take around 90 days to develop. Shallot bulb picking should start when the greens of the plant begin to shrivel, fall over, and kick the bucket. They will turn brown and become sagging, while the bulbs will jut from the dirt and the external skin gets papery. This normally occurs in mid to pre-fall

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