Definitely agree about roasting first.

As well as soup, they're invaluable in curries or in a Paella.

At a pinch I reckon they could be used in gnocchi too

..have just seen some very long (up to 3") specimens on a vegetable market stall. Are these a different variety or just very large ordinary shallots? There seem to be quite a lot of Banana shallots on sale nowadays. Certainly Tescos have had them & I also see them in a local greengrocers. ...

What a wonderful memory.

Johnboy wrote:Hi Colin,
I'm afraid the pigs didn't really have that much to eat that day.
JB.

Nice one

I've mentioned this before, but if you're able to get down to Somerset for the day, he runs courses that I found both really interesting and full of practical tips that I could put into practice. His website can be found here and if you click on the tab for "courses" you can find out more....

Thanks JB, no they grew well and were earlies so had lost all foliage by midsummer. Interesting to hear what you said about using peelings. I've heard other people discussing how in countries like the US, it's common to use "slips", which I take to be a whole potato, cut into two or more p...

Hi Gavin, in addition to Felix's reply, you might want to check the recommended advice for growing from year to year. I believe in some cases, it may help to lift & replant. The reason for saying this is that I bought a bunch of saffron corms a few years back,. The flowers were beautiful and I g...

Thanks Plumpudding.

I've just tracked down this thread which comes to a similar conclusion that many people have done this.

Thanks Sally and OH. However this was a slightly obscure variety & I forget where I ordered it from. Thus I am quite happy to keep some to sow this year, if this is recommended. So does anyone else have any views on whether it is a good idea of trying to use these, or would you recommend not? Af...

Hi Snooky, I got my wife one for her birthday. When her mum came over, she fell in love with it. Despite not being "like" a real book, she liked it because: - Her eyesight is going, so she needs large print books . These tend to be hardback, so are big & heavy - She has arthritis, so c...

I have quite a few spuds I haven't eaten yet and some are starting to show sprouts. Do any of you ever re-sow last year's spuds? I've always bought new "seed", but because they're sprouting I suspect I can't now use these spuds to eat. Any risks or special steps I should follow when doing ...

Tigger2shoes wrote:...I would never eat a kitkat either , its chocolate covered cardboard .

Thanks Tigger2s - you've captured the description perfectly.
Not sure Wasabi is going to overcome that.

I got the shock of my life when I opened our allotment newsletter and saw that the Parish council has bought some land & intends to put 50 more allotments on it.

It seems like we have been blessed, when so many places seem to be looking to how they can cut costs or services.

Is it worth bringing it back into the house to try to get it to flower in warmth or is it just bin fodder Hard to tell whether the fungus will be a problem. However Strelitzia can be fickle plants. We grew several a few years back - several flowered, but others did nothing. The flowers were initial...

...has anyone else got this book or planted in tune with the moon. I think you've got a fair range of responses so far. I've never tried it and the acid test may be "is it too complicated & is it worth it". Nature'sBabe's suggestion will be the one to tell you (and you could try on ju...

Down here in Brizzle, our garlic always does fine overwintered and in fact I can't remember the last time I tried a Spring sowing. It's good to see the results for each of these shallots. I only grow the "long" type - generally Banana, Longor or Jeremor. For the last couple of years we've ...