Onion
They may make you cry, but onions are worth the tears! They can impart such a sweet or savoury flavour to your dishes, depending on how they’re used.
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Shallots can be grown from seed or 'sets' (small dried bulbs).
They're a versatile ingredient that adds real depth and complexity to your dishes. Shallots aren't as overpowering as onions; the sweetly subtle flavour profile is great for soup, stews, salad, stir fries and sauces, or just for lush, aromatic garnish.
Best of all, shallots are drought tolerant, space saving and easy to grow.
How to grow shallots in a garden
- Choose a sunny or part-shaded spot in your garden, with well-drained soil. Enrich with Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed.
- If growing from seed, sow in rows, direct where they are to grow, or in seed trays of Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix. Firm down and keep moist. Thin out seedlings to 10cm apart, when large enough to handle. Shallots grown from seed will form a single set in the first season.
- If growing from sets (dried bulbs), plant them direct, 5 - 7 cm deep and water them in well. Shallots grown from sets will form multiple new sets.
- Don't water again until seedlings emerge, then feed seedlings weekly with Yates Thrive Natural Fish Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate.
- Sow or plant successive crops every 3 - 4 weeks to extend your harvest window.
- Harvest in midsummer, when the leaves have withered back to the neck of the bulb, and leave shallots lying on the soil for a couple of days to dry out. Be careful not to bruise the bulbs, or they won't store well.
- Store shallots in netting bags or tied into strings in a cool, airy place.
How to grow shallots in a pot
- Choose a pot at least 300 mm wide and deep and position in a sunny or part-shaded spot. Fill with quality potting mix, such as Yates Premium Potting Mix.
- Plant the sets direct 5 – 7 cm deep and spaced at 15 – 25cm.
- Don't water until seedlings emerge, feed weekly with Yates Thrive Natural Fish Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate.
- Plant successive crops every 3 - 4 weeks to extend your harvest window.
- Harvest in midsummer, when the leaves have withered back to the neck of the bulb, and leave shallots lying on the soil for a couple of days to dry out. Be careful not to bruise the bulbs, or they won't store well.
- Store shallots in netting bags or tied into strings in a cool, airy place.
Growing tips
- As plants and ‘daughter’ bulbs develop, mound up soil around them to 'blanch' the stems by hiding them from sunlight. This means the bottom 10cm or so of the stem will turn white, so it's soft and succulent.
Comparing whether it’s best to grow shallots from sets (bulbs) or seed is complicated, because seed behaves differently to sets. Seed takes longer to grow, but it’s less prone to bolting than bulbs. Each seed produces one set (bulb), whereas each set you plant yields multiple sets at harvest time.
However, growing shallots from seed still offers very good value against buying bulbs, for patient gardeners. Buying shallot bulbs individually adds up quickly, but the payoff is at the end of the first season. Growing from seed, the payoff comes in the second season; but the yield is potentially a lot bigger than if you started with bulbs. After that, you’ll be able to keep bulbs aside from your harvest to plant out the following year…and keep increasing the size of your crop for many years.
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Shallots
Shallots can be grown from seed or 'sets' (small dried bulbs). They're a versatile ingredient that adds real depth and complexity to your dishes. The subtle flavour profile is great for soup, stews, salad, stir fries and sauces.
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Recommended products
Shallots 'Ambition'
Abundant, small coppery-red teardrop shaped bulbs. Shallots are like an elegant, cultured cousin to onions - with a more subtle flavour and sweetness, especially when caramelised.
Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate
A complete plant food enriched with natural fish, seaweed, humates, molasses and more - boosted with NPK to improve plant and soil vitality.
Yates Premium Potting Mix
A premium potting mix, ideal for all potted plants and shrubs, including ornamentals, fruit trees, vegies and herbs.
Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed
A certified organic garden input boosted with NZ Seaweed to gently nourish plants, enrich the soil and encourage a strong healthy root system.
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