Shallots - sets and seed

[Cutecumber]

Having harvested my shallots for the year, I am thinking about how to approach them next season...

I have very limited space and they are not a priority - this year I planted 8 sets (I had to compost the rest of the pack, and some were a bit mouldy anyway). One shallot quickly died after planting, but seven produced sets. Sadly, the average yield was 3.2 shallots per set - hardly a big crop. There was a big discrepancy in size, too - I previously wrote on the forum how a few grew to be enormous while some stayed very small (and yet they were all Red Sun from the same pack). I haven't really had good value for money from the sets I bought, to be honest.

Now, I don't need masses of shallots, and my 23 this year will just be a nice addition to the other produce, but it means that its not worth saving some for next year - and the big ones are so weird I wouldn't want to!

I am considering the merits of some shallot seed, therefore, and whether it makes sense in my situation - little space, not needing a massive yield, starting indoors in cells, growing some to maturity in containers.

Can I start shallot seed during the winter (cool greenhouse) or must I wait until the spring? How does this differ with seed compared to sets which can be sown mid-winter? Clearly they take longer to develop from seed than sets, so I would like to get a head start. I can guarantee frost free, and probably over 5 degrees C.

Any experiences with shallot seed out there?

[Alice]

A lot of questions there Cutecumber. No expert here, but this was this years experience. I grew shallots from seed and from sets.
I got some seed from Piglet for Banana Shallots. (Thank you Piglet). I loved them, tended them, fussed ridiculously over them. Germination was poor and the wastage rate of seedlings was high. They seemed to keel over and die. It was always too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry. Real Prima Donnas. I eventually ended up with about a dozen good looking plants which are now growing nicely (but I'm not going to get that £10 Piglet is offering for the longest one)
I also planted some sets for shallots in March. No problems. They just grew on outside with no attention. They only split into 3's - but they were very big. Some have already been eaten as whole ,roast shallots, some have been made into caramelised shallot (thank you DDL, very delicious) and some are drying in the shed for ongoing use. I was pleased with the outcome. You can see the pic. That was the crop from one shallot set (is that the term ?). See the 50P for size. It only split into 4, but look at the size. Great value, I think.

[Cutecumber]

Thanks Alice.

Those I have grown from sets were ok, but it was a small crop with the big ones being too big (for us, to use in one go) and the small ones being too small! I thought I might get, potentially, a more uniform crop from seed and I would be able to manage the spacing more effectively. I suppose that's my main thought. Oh, and I did pay a lot for a bag of sets that I didn't have enough room for.