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Feature imageGrow super trendy shallots

They are the 'new onion', a must-have ingredient for many recipes, yet so easy to grow as Andrew Tokely explains

Shallot fact file




• The botanical name for shallots is Allium cepa, and a single bulb planted will divide and multiply freely producing several smaller lateral bulbs.

• There is evidence that shallots were a common ingredient in ancient Egyptian cooking and were widely grown in both Greek and Roman gardens. The varieties we use today are probably more or less the same as those used thousands of years ago.

• Shallots have long been associated with fine French cuisine where they are eaten fresh or cooked, chopped or boiled. Shallots have a delicate onion flavour which when cooked does not overpower other flavours. Raw shallots have a pungency, which is often stronger than most onions.

• Shallots are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium but high in vitamin A, vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C, folate and potassium. This makes their nutritional value ideal for those wishing to lose some weight and maintain a healthy body.

• The majority of shallot bulbs grown in UK gardens have been produced in Europe, particularly France or Holland. Shallots can be successfully produced in gardens wherever onions have been grown in the past.

If there is one member of the onion family that has increased in popularity over the years it has to be the shallot. This is mainly due to its versatility in the kitchen; these days you cannot watch a cookery programme without one of the celebrity chefs adding a few shallots to one of their dishes.

They are ideal for cooking as they have a milder, more distinct flavour compared to some onions. I like using them because sometimes you only need a small amount of onion flavouring, making these smaller bulbs ideal. They can also be added to salads and eaten raw when the flavour is more pungent and stronger than most onions.
Gone are the days when gardeners only grew this crop to produce enough bulbs for pickling, or when they were grown by keen exhibitors for the local shows.

One advantage of growing shallots is that if you get a good strain and you look after it you should only need to buy it once. Many keen gardeners, me included, have their own strains of shallot and each year they select some of the best bulbs for replanting the following season. I have had my own strain of 'Hative de Niort' shallot for over 20 years, which originated from a few bulbs that were passed to me by my late uncle Bill. He had been growing and winning prizes with it for at least 20 years, so to my knowledge the strain I grow is at least 40 years old. I mainly grow this variety for exhibition, but it also makes a good variety for use in the kitchen along with many other more recent introductions from both bulbs and seed.
Shallots are a lot easier to grow than onions, and it is surprising how many bulbs you get from a small area, and there is still plenty of time for planting for the coming season.

Pre-Christmas planting


When I am planting bulbs outside pre-Christmas, I usually plant them into ground that had my potato crop on earlier in the year, as this ground will have previously had plenty of manure added to it and this will still have sufficient nutrients that will benefit the shallots. I also add any old compost I may have left over to the soil and lightly fork it in so the site is clean. I like to do this soil preparation in October if I can, so the soil has time to settle before planting.

A few weeks before bulbs are planted, I rake the soil level and cover it with some plastic or cloches so it has a chance to warm up before planting.
Shallot bulbs are best planted in a rich fertile soil, which has had plenty of organic matter added to it within the last 12 months.Just before planting I sprinkle on some Growmore fertiliser at 60gm (2oz) per square yard, which is raked into the surface.

Some gardeners plant shallot bulbs with a trowel, but I prefer to draw out 5-7cm (2-3in) deep drills. In each drill I place the shallots 15-20cm (6-8in) apart, with each drill spaced 30-37cm (12-15in) between them. Once all the shallots are planted I rake back the soil to fill each drill and then lightly firm using the back of my rake.

Once planted I like to cover the rows with either fleece or some cloches to give them some added winter protection from the cold and especially the wet.

Pre-Christmas planted shallots can have any cloches or fleece removed from the rows as soon as the weather conditions are more favourable in the early part of February or March.
I like to feed these early planted shallots in March once the cloches have been removed.

Sowing and planting diary

The majority of shallots are grown from bulbs, but they can also be sown and grown from seed.

December
Traditionally shallot bulbs have always been planted this month just before Christmas on the shortest day of the year. These can be planted direct outside into well prepared soil. This method and timing is often used by exhibitors. Only plant at this time of year if the soil is in good condition and not waterlogged.

January-February
If December is very wet and the soil is not workable, planting is best delayed until these months. At this time I either plant bulbs into individual 8cm (3in) pots or I plant into 8cm (3in) square cell trays filled with multi-purpose compost. These are planted and placed in a cold greenhouse or cold frame. Another reason for delaying planting until now is that many mail order companies do not start to despatch shallot bulbs until early January.

March-April
• Early maturing varieties can be planted direct outside into the soil now. This planting will still produce good sized shallots suitable for use in the kitchen.
• Sow shallots now once the soil has warmed up a little. Sow one of the seed raised varieties direct outside in a flat bottom drill.
• Shallots that were planted in pots or cell trays in late winter can be gradually hardened off before planting out into their final positions in March or April into well prepared soil. These plants can be spaced 15-20cm (6-8in) apart along each row and spaced 30-37cm (12-15in) between rows.


 

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