I have always grown our onions from seed (in clumps of eight or ten) because I want different sizes with the majority quite small rather than big ones. But every year I end up with some really big ones which take me at least a week to use up!
So this coming spring I wouldn't mind trying to grow shallots from seeds (similarly, in clumps, rather than singly). Does anybody grow shallots from seed? And does it work?
Shallots from seed
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peter
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Yes.
Yes.
French banana type.
New years day in the greenhouse in 2" square pots.
Yes.
French banana type.
New years day in the greenhouse in 2" square pots.
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Geoff
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There is another thread with the same title, on 17/01/10 I posted this to it :
Last year I grew Shallots from seed for the first time. I sowed Picador and Prisma in small pots - those flimsy ones about 2" square that you can get 15 of in a standard seed tray - 5 seeds to a pot on 12th February. Got them to just showing in the propagator then moved them to heated 45F greenhouse on 17th February. Moved them to cold greenhouse on 1st March and grew them on until I planted them out on 7th April. I planted each pot full as it was about 8" apart, tray of 15 to a 10' row, 1' between the rows. They gave an excellent heavy crop without the soft ones in the middle of the clump that I tend to get from sets in a wet summer. I was a bit disappointed with the pickled flavour initially but they have become OK, I think they are just so much harder that the vinegar takes a long time to penetrate. There were enough that we have used some for cooking and they are excellent, still hard now. I am growing them again this year.
Well I grew the same two varieties again this year sowing 30 7x7cm pots of each on 13th February, there were 173 seeds in the Prisma packet but only 138 in the Picador, more on that later! (I know, but you count them when you are sowing them individually) Both come from Seeds of Distinction. Both germinated well and were moved from heated greenhouse to cold greenhouse on 13th March and planted out on 11th April to two 10' rows for each variety. They grew very well but when I harvested them there was a bit of a problem. The Prisma were generally smaller and the bigger ones had divided so they were great for pickling, we had more than we needed so we have kept some strung for cooking. The Picador were much larger, none had divided and all were too big for pickling - mostly 2½" to 3" diameter. These are all destined for cooking but they are a great flavour, for example roasted beside meat. I wrote to "complain" (you couldn't really complain when there were 12½Kg of Picador from the packet) to SofD to see if they could explain it suggesting it could just be the lower planting density. They called back and apologised but couldn't explain the problem, they wouldn't even have expected the Prisma to split. I have attempted a couple of pictures with a ruler but you can't see the scale but you can see the comparative size and that the Prisma have divided.
As you want them primarily for cooking I would recommend them.
Last year I grew Shallots from seed for the first time. I sowed Picador and Prisma in small pots - those flimsy ones about 2" square that you can get 15 of in a standard seed tray - 5 seeds to a pot on 12th February. Got them to just showing in the propagator then moved them to heated 45F greenhouse on 17th February. Moved them to cold greenhouse on 1st March and grew them on until I planted them out on 7th April. I planted each pot full as it was about 8" apart, tray of 15 to a 10' row, 1' between the rows. They gave an excellent heavy crop without the soft ones in the middle of the clump that I tend to get from sets in a wet summer. I was a bit disappointed with the pickled flavour initially but they have become OK, I think they are just so much harder that the vinegar takes a long time to penetrate. There were enough that we have used some for cooking and they are excellent, still hard now. I am growing them again this year.
Well I grew the same two varieties again this year sowing 30 7x7cm pots of each on 13th February, there were 173 seeds in the Prisma packet but only 138 in the Picador, more on that later! (I know, but you count them when you are sowing them individually) Both come from Seeds of Distinction. Both germinated well and were moved from heated greenhouse to cold greenhouse on 13th March and planted out on 11th April to two 10' rows for each variety. They grew very well but when I harvested them there was a bit of a problem. The Prisma were generally smaller and the bigger ones had divided so they were great for pickling, we had more than we needed so we have kept some strung for cooking. The Picador were much larger, none had divided and all were too big for pickling - mostly 2½" to 3" diameter. These are all destined for cooking but they are a great flavour, for example roasted beside meat. I wrote to "complain" (you couldn't really complain when there were 12½Kg of Picador from the packet) to SofD to see if they could explain it suggesting it could just be the lower planting density. They called back and apologised but couldn't explain the problem, they wouldn't even have expected the Prisma to split. I have attempted a couple of pictures with a ruler but you can't see the scale but you can see the comparative size and that the Prisma have divided.
As you want them primarily for cooking I would recommend them.
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Thank you, Peter and Geoff. That's what I hoped somebody would say. I am printing off your answer, Geoff, and will follow a similar routine.
Size won't worry me too much because I do not want them for pickling but only for cooking and need them in different sizes.
Size won't worry me too much because I do not want them for pickling but only for cooking and need them in different sizes.
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Colin_M
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Geoff wrote:The Prisma were generally smaller...The Picador were much larger, none had divided and all were too big for pickling - mostly 2½" to 3" diameter. These are all destined for cooking but they are a great flavour, for example roasted beside meat.
Hi Geoff, I take it the Picador are the ones on the right hand side of your photos? They look great and are exactly what I'm after. A quick search showed a website called Plants of distinction - is this where you get your seeds from (eg. here)?
Usually I grow the "longue" varieties, either Banana or Longor. I no longer have any banana seed, though in some ways that's less of a loss now as I can easily buy fresh banana shallots either from Tescos (some times) or our local Indian shop (nearly all year round). Of course they aren't cheap.
In the meantime, shallots that are 2-3" and also taste good would be a godsend to us. Having to peel several small shallots instead of one onion is the one thing I find a hassle. I shall now try to follow your example!!
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Geoff
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That's two corrects Colin - you win a Shallot. It is confusing - they send out two catalogues "Plants of Distinction" and "Seeds of Distinction" but somebody seems to have hi-jacked the seeds webname.