cultivating

Cultivating Shallots from Your Garden

Dan Fruits & Vegetables, This Land of Ours

cultivating

Cathy Isom has a few great tips for you today about growing, and cultivating your own shallots . That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Cultivating Shallots from Your Garden

If you’ve grown onions, you’ll have no problem cultivating shallots. These gourmet onion-like veggies resemble small onions. Cook them, and they’ll infuse a delicate onion flavor into whatever dish you’re cooking.

While shallots and onions have a few notable differences, they both grow in mostly the same way. Like onions, shallots can be grown from seed or sets. Sets are more common since they’re easier and quicker.

The most common type of shallot found at the grocery store is the red-skinned variety, but there are a few other kinds of note. Such as the French-Italian, Welsh shallot, Gray shallot, and Dutch shallots.

Shallots grow best in zones 3 through 10.  They need full sun to partial shade and do best in loose, well-drained fertile earth.  It’s also possible to plant transplants from a nursery or grown indoors. Start seedlings at least a month prior to transplantation in the spring. If you’re short on space, consider planting shallots in a container. A small 8-inch container can accommodate at most three sets.

Shallots are an ideal companion plant for a multitude of garden fruits and vegetables, including:  Cabbage, Beets, Chamomile, Mint, Sage, Thyme, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Celergy, Carrots, Strawberries, Cucumber and Dill. Don’t plant shallots next to Broad beans, bush beans, pole beans, parsley, asparagus, and Gladiolus.

I’m Cathy Isom…