Shallot harvest

[cazsudz]

Hello

Growing shallots from sets for the first time. How do I know when they are radybto harvest?

Thanks

Caz

[rustylady]

Same as onions - when the leaves go straw-like and fall over.

[Shadylane]

The leaves flop over just like onions

ETA Oops sorry, rusty - beat me to it

[cazsudz]

Thanks - I've never grown onions either! The leaves are a bit brown at the top but mainly green - guess they're not quite ready yet??

[Shadylane]

The leaves flop right over with a definite bend in them. You'll know when you see it. Some of mine have flopped, some haven't. I expect they will soon.

[skell43]

My first year too , when you harvest them , what do you do next ?

[AntonyM]

Spread them out in a sunny, airy place (ideally on a rack of some sort) to allow them to dry and the skins harden. Then string them together and hang in a cool, dry place to store.

[maytreefrannie]

I'm growing a few shallots as well - not my first attempt, but the first time I've actually had a result.

Thanks for asking the question, Cadsudz, I was wondering the same thing.

[TallGirl]

You can also pull out individual ones as you want to use them. We're doing that with the bigguns though the whole crop isn't yellowing and falling over yet. They're delish, and we're using the tops like an extra-robust spring onion (in soups and omelettes so far).

[Veggie Mackem]

I was about a month late with my shallots but the leaves have started to look a bit sorry already while the onions are still going strong (planted same time both from sets), should I expect harvest to be delayed by a month also? as the leaves are a little worrying!!

VM