Shallots: The Subtleties Of Planting In The Fall

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Experienced gardeners, in order to get shallots in summer, plant them in the beds in early spring. But how do you want after a long cold winter fragrant fresh greenery already with the first warm days! For this, onion lovers plant shallots in September-October. Are you not a fan of the pen and prefer a large turnip? Once again, a separate shallot bed will come in handy

What is the highlight of shallots?

Shallots are a very interesting type of onion. It is also called the shrike, because it is a multi-pronged, multi-nested bow. In the year of planting, 4-5 small bulbs are formed in one nest, and in the future, when re-planting, a good 2 or even 3 dozen bulbs will turn out.

Another highlight of the shallots is that in small bulbs there can be from two to four buds for planting next year. In large - already at least ten. And besides that - you get a huge bunch of greenery. The length of the feather reaches about 50 cm.

Among the important advantages of shallots is its excellent keeping quality. It can be stored for 2-3 years without spoiling or sprouting. And how not to mention its high nutritional value. It has a high content of vitamin C, which is extremely important for immunity weakened during the winter.

And I must also say that he is one of the record holders for growing green mass - the so-called feather. One onion is capable of producing up to 500 g of greens, which is 10-20 times more productive than onions!

Preparing a site for planting onions

A site for onions should be chosen in an open, sunny place. The beds for planting must be dug deep in advance, and large clods of earth must be broken. By the time of planting, the soil should be sufficiently loose. The onion site needs to be fertilized. Aged compost is suitable for this. Do not forget that onions do not tolerate the introduction of fresh manure. This fertilizer can be applied here one year before planting.

Don't be afraid to plant a lot of onions on greens. The peculiarity of the shallot is that it forms a record large bunch of greenery. When you need it, you collected it from the beds. But if you didn't have time to harvest this crop and use all the feathers from the garden, it doesn't matter either. When it dries up, you will have a nice set of bulbs. This is a vegetable from which you can collect both tops and roots.

Onion planting technology

For planting, choose bulbs at least 3 cm in diameter. The technology of autumn planting differs from the spring and summer for obtaining greenery in that at this time of the year, the planting material must be hidden deeper in the soil.

Planting is carried out with ribbons with a row spacing of at least 20 cm. The larger the planting material, the greater the row spacing. Between the bulbs in a row - about 5-7 cm, which also depends on the size of the planting material. You can add some ash to the hole. The onion is placed in the hole with the bottom straight down.

Tricks of planting shallots

Shallots are valuable not only for their greenery and their ability to form numerous nests. Its bulbs have a more delicate taste than onions we are used to. Many people do not like the taste that onions give to soups and broths. Children often refuse such dishes. And these nuances can be avoided by replacing onions with shallots.

But often gardeners refuse to grow shallots for turnips, explaining their choice by the fact that it gives a very small onion. However, there is one trick that helps to get from the planting material not a numerous nest of small bulbs, but rather large turnips.

To do this, the bulb is cut in half along the bottom before planting. The cut is treated with ash - this will protect against diseases. And then planting is carried out in the spring in the usual way. With this technology, you can get a large onion that is not inferior in weight to its onion counterpart.