Not sure. Increasing daylength triggers bulbing just like with onions and garlic. I plant mine in the fall and harvest in July so you planting them in July seems way off for me. Try planting them like you would garlic.

Rodney

Interesting. The local extension says shallots are to be planted in July. Garlic can't grow here (not cold enough). Short day onions get planted in September/October. Worst case, they won't make it, which wouldn't be a loss, just a learning experience. Last year I planted in mid-July.

I had to look up I'itoi. I hadn't heard of them before. They look to be interesting. I am assuming from another post of yours that you are West Coast 10A. I am over on the other coast in 9A, probably 9B soon enough if things keep up the way they are. My shallots are still in the ground. The bulbs are small, probably because I planted them too close. Hurricane season starts next month, so I'll probably go ahead and pull them. I'll put some of them back in the ground in August. Normal planting time for south Florida is Sept.-March.

You might want to rethink the garlic. I am growing hard necks like rocombole, purple strip, and porcelain here in 9A and a friend in 9B has produced bulbs, too. Do a search for garlic on the Florida forum. I've written a few posts on how I do it. Short version is that you need to vernalize the seed for 10-12 weeks in your fridge