Shallots

[tracie]

Hi All,

My shallots arrived yesterday in a slightly sweaty plastic bag.

When is it time to plant out, My garlic is in already having been started off earlier in modules and is about 4inches high.

Thanks

Tracie

[alan refail]

Hi Tracie

Out of the bag and plant now.

[tracie]

Thanks very nuch for your reply, lets hope we have reasonable weather this weekend and I will add it to my growing list.

Regards

Tracie

[Johnboy]

Hi Tracie,
I would say out of the bag NOW and allow the Shallots to actually dry-off prior to planting. This is not as daft as it sounds because if they have become sweaty in transit they may well be harbouring some disease which when dry would maybe be averted.
Alternatively send them back to the supplier as not fit for purpose.
May I enquire who the supplier was?
JB.

[tracie]

Hi Johnboy,

the supplier was marshalls.

I have now taken them out of the bubble wrap and net bags they came in and they are in the kitchen waithing to be planted out.

Regards

Tracie

[Johnboy]

Hi Tracie,
I am not surprise who the supplier is. I no longer use them on several counts of bad service. One time they sent me 50 Chinese artichokes and they were all rotten and they refused to make a replacement. I am now retired but at the time I was in the trade.
I then reported them to trading standards for supplying seeds grossly under the stated amount. They stated in the catalogue 100 seeds and the seed count was under 30 in every of the 10 packets I bought. I undid 4 packets and trading standards unopened the rest and one packet had only 4 seeds in it! Within two weeks I had my seeds and since then I dropped them as a supplier.
JB.

[tracie]

Dear johnboy,

I have also had problems with potatoes this year. My main crop arrived in about october/november and I have had to constantly chase for the earlies, which arrived the other week. I think next year I will buy my potatoes from a local garden centre as there are more places selling them now and the choice is large.

Has anybody else had problems!!


Tracie

[Ian F]

I have also had problems with onion sets and shallots from Marshalls, and have taken my business elsewhere for those products. They pack them into bubble wrap lined packages, with no way of breathing, and they arrive as a sweaty smelly mess.

I have had to have products replaced in the past, which they have done without complaint, but you cannot replace lost time for crops that should be in the ground now, such as shallots.

My problems with potatoes this year were recorded elsewhere on the forum ( left at the wrong house for a week in the snow). All in all Marshalls need to get their act together, or risk losing a lot of business.

[Johnboy]

Hi Tracie,
I take it that your potatoes were from the same supplier?
This how it works ; if the supplier can distribute seed potatoes as soon as they get them then they do no have to go to he expense of storing them. This means that you have all the worry and they don't.
They simply do not value their customers!
You are right to buy locally and then you can see what you are getting and you can get them when you want or are ready for them.
JB.

[tracie]

Dear johnboy,

yes you were right, they were from marshalls again. I have some heated onion sets on the way it will be interesting to see what they are like

regards

Tracie

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Tracie, bear in mind that heat treated onion sets do arrive a little soft to the touch.
They also always seem to take a little longer getting going than normal sets, for some reason.