Last year was my first attempt at growing shallots and I was so surprised and pleased with the results. I had read somewhere that shallots planted in the fall yield larger and sweeter bulbs. The one thing I couldn't find was if shallots were hardy to zone 4.
There were some of the smaller bulbs leftover from several tasty meals and I figured that I'd give a fall planting a try. About 20 shallots went into the garden along with the garlic. The whole business was mulched and left to enjoy it's winter.
Now, the garlic went great guns. There was no question when I pulled the mulch back a couple of weeks ago that it had done its thing. The shallots however were nowhere to be seen. Aside from this lone shoot, you'd never even know I planted any.
I didn't worry about it too much because it was an experiment and I had ordered a new batch of shallots for this year's garden.
Yesterday afternoon, I took my new bulbs and headed for the garden to plant them. Much to my surprise, the shallots survived the winter after all. As I dug around, I uncovered shoot after shoot slowly pushing its way to the surface. I discovered about 10 in all which is about half of what I planted.
I'm very excited about this whole prospect. Will they really be bigger and sweeter? Will I have even more shallots to save for next year's planting? Will I be able to tell the difference between bulbs planted in the spring and the ones planted in the fall? I can't wait to find out!
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2 comments:
I planted a package of shallots from Hannaford's last year, and just left them. They were one of the first spots of green in the garden.
There is another new Maine blog on the tips directory, I am on my way to look at it!
From Hanniford, you say.
Hmmm.... I may have to give that a try.
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