Is it too early for shallot 'leaves' to be losing colour?

[Piglet6]

I noticed this evening, on my rounds, that my shallots stalks are beginning to lose their lush green-ness. Is this too early? Or does it sound about right to you.

I didn't think they'd be ready until at least July. Will they take that long to 'ripen'?

Thanks guys.

[Colin_M]

How big are the bulbs at the base of the plant? It does seem a little early for them to be mature (unless you planted sets last autumn)- most of the ones people have in the allotment I go to are still lush and green.

Have yours had much water in the past month? Down here in Bristol we've had the odd bit of rain but it's been pretty dry for the rest of the time. I've watered mine several times since Easter.

[Piglet6]

Hi Colin, I water them quite often. They are still green, they've just lost that 'sheen'. I weed them regularly as I read that they don't like competition.

Maybe I'll have a very careful exploratory dig around one this weekend to see how big they are. Thank you.

[Beryl]

Try giving them some feed. I find Chicken pellets work well with all the onions.

Beryl.

[Colin_M]

I second Beryl's suggestion.

Unless you added bonemeal or some other P&K feeds before planting these, they will probably be more than ready for feeding by now. Since Chicken pellets might take a week or so to break down and become available, I'd consider watering with tomato feed in the meantime (which would also dampen the pellets, helping in their uptake). Some gentle hoeing round the shallots will also help work this all in.

Let us know how you get on!

[Piglet6]

Thanks for your replies. I'll give them some tomato feed today, and put chicken pellets on my shopping list.