Growing Shallot Onions in Your Backyard

By jay, on May 3rd, 2009 Asian Vegetables

I know, I know, tomato is your favorite vegetable. However most every one of us buy some kind of onion (either be the large red or yellow onions, shallots or garlic) every week.

Growing onions in the backyard is not discussed that much even though onions are used as much as tomatoes.

So, why should I grow shallots in my backyard?
If you are not exposed to multi-ethnic cuisine, you may not know about shallots. They are related to onions, tastes a bit like an onion, but have a sweeter, milder flavor. Shallots are extensively used in Asian cuisine (India, South Asia) as well as in French and Persian cooking.

Shallot onions are one of the most unappreciated among vegetables. Their wonderful mild flavor, great-keeping quality make them very special. You can use them in most recipes in place of onions which will enhance the flavor and taste of your dish. From my experience they also produce a great yield for the quantity of sets planted.

Shallot Onions After a Rain

I believe that shallots have the greatest taste among all the onion group of plants. If you don’t believe me, then make a simple omelet with onions and then make another one with shallots. Taste them both and come back here and tell me what you think.

I started growing shallot onions about two years ago. And now I really regret not growing shallots sooner? Growing shallots is such an easy task. All it needs is a good well-drained loose soil, lots of organic matter and full sunlight. Once these minimum conditions are met, they are a merry bunch of plants to grow.

Also as a plant they are really beautiful to look at. See the picture above:

Basic Information:
First things first, here are some basic information about shallots.

Unpeeled Shallot Onions

Botanical name: Allium ascalonicum Linn. French onions are Allium oschaninii and are different from shallots.
Family: Liliaceae
Origin: Asia
Other Names:

Eerulli (Kannada),
Sambar Vengayam or Kochulli (Tamil),
Cheriya Ulli (Malayalam)
Brambang (Java)
Hom (Thailand)

How to start shallots? From seeds or sets?

OK, if you are not familiar with growing onions, then there are two ways you can grow shallots (as well as onions). You can either start from seeds or you can start from sets. Sets are small cloves you can use to start the plants for the next season. Starting from sets is easier and quicker to produce a good crop.

Peeled Shallot Onions

From where can I buy the sets of shallots?

You can buy regular shallots from the grocery store and use them as sets for the next growing season.

If you live near a city (metro) then the best place to find shallots would be an Asian Grocery store. We found that shallots are more expensive in regular grocery stores ($3.00 per pound), compared to $2.00 per pound in Asian grocery stores (2009 figures).

If you don’t have access to any of the above sources you may buy shallots sets online from the following sources.

We originally started our shallots from grocery store bought bulbs; hence we don’t have direct experience with the above stores.

When and how to plant Shallots?

Season:

If you live in a colder climate like me (Zone 7), you should plant shallots towards the end of the spring season. Late September to early October would be a good time to plant shallots. Shallots over-winter very nicely and hence no protection is needed during winter.

You can also plant them during early spring for a fall crop.

Growing Shallots in Rows

Seed Preparation:

Before you plant, separate the bulbs into individual cloves. Overnight socking in water is recommended for faster sprouting. Socking in water containing a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is also recommended to protect them from fungal diseases.

Soil Preparation

Like all bulbs, shallots prefer loose soil. Depending on your soil condition, you can have a raised bed, or you can take narrow furrows about 10 inches deep.

Mix plenty of compost or dried, decomposed manure before planting. It would be better if you can do this a few days before the planting day.

Planting

Plant individual sets 1 to 2 inches deep with the pointed tip up. You can actually have two crops of shallots if you are in warmer climates (first planting in early spring and the second plating by late fall) . In colder climates you can plant them during fall season (late September to early October) for harvesting them during next spring (July) season.

Space individual bulbs about 6 inches apart. Mulch them lightly after planting for moisture conservation and for preventing weed growth. You will see them sprouting and start growing before the snowfall. Don’t worry about the snow, they are very cold hardy and thrive well during the winter.

During the next spring season, they will grow fast and attain about a feet in height. Just watering them occasionally (weekly if it is very dry) and some infrequent (once or twice) application of 10:10:10 (or 6:6:6) fertilizer will make them very happy. They don’t need too much fertilizer as long as you have incorporated adequate organic matter before planting.

Insects and Pests:

Growing Shallot Onions

So far, our homegrown shallots are not affected by insect or pests. May be because we grow only a few plants. Diseases such as downy mildew, bacterial rot etc., as well as pests such as onion maggot and onion thrips are reported by commercial growers.

Harvesting and Storage

You can harvest your shallots after the green leaves turn yellow and then dries up. When the leafs start showing signs of yellowing you should stop watering so as to hasten the maturation of bulbs. This way the bulbs will form a tough protective skins. When it is ready for harvesting most of the tops should have browned off and fallen over.

When you harvest, avoid damaging the bulbs by your tool. You can loosen the soil carefully using a spading fork and then gently lift the bulbs.

During harvest do not expose them to direct sunlight for long time. Also do not wash the shallots after harvest. The bulbs will absorb water and will unnecessarily lengthen the curing process, which will in turn result in fungal growth.

Curing of Shallots

Some people braid the dry leaves like garlic and hang them in shade for curing them.

We spread them as a single layer in a bed of newspapers on our basement. It will take about 2 to 3 weeks for them to complete the curing process depending on the temperature. Completion of the curing will be indicated by the outer skin becoming dry and paper like. We then store them in a well-ventilated dry location.

You should not refrigerate shallots for storage.

Growing Shallot Onions

Extended Storage

If you are storing them for extended periods, then store then in a well-ventillated area. Periodically inspect them for rotton bulbs. If you find any then remove them immediately so as not to damage the healthy ones. If some of them start sprouting, use them for cooking.

Shallot Recipes

Please Rate

Did you like this article? If so, please rate it. Also, if you have a question on Shallot, please post a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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6 comments to Growing Shallot Onions in Your Backyard

Growing Shallot Onions in Your Backyard | Your Home And Garden Blog | Home Improvement blog.

May 4th, 2009 at 1:35 am · Reply

[...] Read more: Growing Shallot Onions in Your Backyard | Your Home And Garden Blog [...]
Les Faulkner

June 20th, 2009 at 10:34 am · Reply

Hi: I am growing shallots in my backyard. I have never grown them before. They are about a foot out of the ground and I notice that they are starting to go to seed. Should I just leave them. They are not ready to harvest yet. They have only been in the groune about 8 weeks.
Jay

June 24th, 2009 at 10:16 pm · Reply

Hi Les:

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Shallots like most bulbs prefer milder temperature. If the weather is hot shallots may tend to bolt (early flowering and seeding). In general, you can prevent this by planting only smaller sets when you plant. Smaller sets are less likely to bolt.

Some people recommend, nipping the growing flower heads off to stop them from bolting. This will help only if the weather also gets cooler. You can still harvest and eat the bulbs underground but they may be tougher and less tasty. As with most of the onions, you can also harvest the flowers and eat them.

At this point, I would suggest cutting the flower buds and eating them. After that let the plant grow through its cycle and once the greens die back, harvest the bulbs.

Next year, you can plant them in late fall (depending on which zone you are in) for a spring harvest. I am in zone 7 and I am about to harvest my shallots which were planted last year.

By the way if you don’t mind, email me some pictures of your shallots, I will post them along with your comment.

Thanks,

Jay
MichaellaS

July 22nd, 2009 at 7:08 pm · Reply

tks for the effort you put in here I appreciate it!
DiusCuplilm

July 31st, 2009 at 12:34 am · Reply

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Howard_Birnbaum

I have just found hydroponics gardening to grow my lettuce all year long. I used to grow my vegetables outdoors in my backyard, but had problems with kids & pests. Now I have moved my hydroponic garden in-doors and began cultivating my garden with hydroponics. The plants grow faster and the organic results are stellar. I would steer you towards hydroponics gardening to anyone looking to grow fruits all year. Hydroponics gardening is a lot better than traditional soil gardens in my opinion. Just my 2 cents. I hope this helps…

hydroponic gardening
Ahmed

February 11th, 2012 at 3:10 pm · Reply

My kids are the pcekiist eaters, but I saw your videos cooking with your children so I tried out this receipe and they LOVE it! I was so suprised, but hey… they are eating veggies I will take it! I never thought I would see them eat broccoli.|