Shallot questions in the Maritime NW.

[blurose]

I planted dutch yellow shallot bulbs in April. The green part came up nicely and now has slumped over. It looks as if the bulbs are being pushed up out of the ground with some being totally exposed now. Are they ready to harvest? They don't look very large, but where one bulb was planted there is now more than a half dozen shallot bulbs. I'm only about 40 miles inland from the Oregon coast and temps are only now starting to get in the mid to high 80s in my garden. I need to know what to do with my shallots and the best way to store them. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[digitS']

Blurose, I'm not the most sophisticated person but one needn't get too gourmet with shallots until they arrive to the kitchen. I've grown shallots over 20+ seasons, now.

As with most plants in the onion family, they seem quite willing to tolerate personnes sans sophistication in their immediate neighborhood - including, da weeds! Your job is to make sure they aren't suppressed by rouging those weeds out. They also benefit a good deal from plant nutrients. Cow manure works as good as any but I use a commercial product that smells worse . . .

Beyond that - there's nothing much more to growing them .

Yep, dropping over like that means that they are finished with their growing season and have developed bulbs for your culinary pleasure. I will soon pull my shallots and toss them out in a sunny location on the lawn. After the mud has dried a little on them, they can be further tossed about on the grass until they are relatively clean.

They can then be gathered in a basket and put on a shelf in my garage. They will reside thru the winter and freezing temperatures there in the garage. Next spring, those that haven't been carried into the house and eaten (I have to be careful NOT to eat them all ) can be set back out in a fertile bed for another growing season.

I'm not sure if this rates as high as "advice"

Steve