show bench shallots

[michael21]

Hi all you experts out there is there any way of preventing shallots "bulbing" i have heard that if you pinch out the top leaves at the fifth pair, that would do it any truth?

[zazen999]

Why don't you want them to bulb up? I don't understand what the problem is. Do you mean 'bolting'?

[Aberdeenplotter]

What he means is how does he prevent the shallots dividing internally. On the show bench, shallots are expected to be round. If they divide internally, they become elongated. The trick is to harvest the shallots immediately they stop throwing new shoots from the centre. In a normal year, the shallots will have reached that stage by the longest day so make sure you have harvested the shallots by then and you should ensure the shallots are well shaped for the show bench. Shallots may still divide internally after being lifted so don't be tempted to keep them going to attain bigger bulbs.