Shallots , onion , and ail are all members of the allium family , and shallots have a mild flavor that fall somewhere between onions and garlic . shallot bear a strong kin resemblance to onions , but the bulbs produce in clusters . Still , shallot bulbs do n’t cluster so tightly that they form clove as garlic does . With these three , it ’s the same , only different , including harvesting and storing .
When Shall I Harvest My Shallots?
In climates with mild wintertime , you canplant your shallotsin the free fall for a mid - summertime ’s harvest time . In climate with colder wintertime , you ’ll have to wait until spring for planting .
When you harvest your Allium ascalonicum depends on whether you are harvesting the leaves for use in salads , soup , and sweat or whether you are harvesting the medulla . If it ’s the leaves that you need , you could get down glean them about thirty days after the begin grow . Thebulbstake about ninety days to get on .
You should glean your shallot bulb when two - third to three - quarters of the leave begin to strike over , whither , and turn yellow or brown . The leaf should experience dry when you impact them . The bulbs will begin to protrude above the ground , and the outer skin around the light bulb will become papery the way an onion plant or garlic tegument would .
How Shall I Harvest My Shallots?
To reap the leaves , use scissors hold to cut back off a few firm , immature stems from each cluster as you need them throughout the grow season .
When it ’s time to harvest the bulbs , do n’t pull them up as you would green onion plant . Dig them up instead , but wait until the ground is dry . Clumps of damp soil clinging to the electric-light bulb could keep up the drying that ’s postulate before you could store your shallots .
How Shall I Store My Shallots?
you’re able to use some of your shallots now from the garden , but before you canstorethe remainder , you will need to cure them , or let them dry .
Curing Shallots
weather condition countenance , you could spread our shallots out in a shaded region of your garden , but to be safe , it ’s good to spread them out on a flat country someplace where it will be warm and wry , such as in your service department .
Curing shallots makes the flavor more mellow and lengthens their storage life . It takes one to four weeks . The skin around the eschalot should be all ironic and find crackly when you match it .
Do n’t moisten or rinse off your eschalot before curing because that could prolong the curing menstruation and give mold a probability to grow .
Storing Shallots
When your shallots are dry , use scissors to remove the stem and prune the roots . Avoid buck the protective hide . set the shallots in mesh bag or loosely compensate ventilated containers and keep them in a cool , dry position where the temperature continue between 32 ° F and 50 ° F ( 0 ° ampere-second and 10 ° 100 ) and where the humidness remains at 60 pct to 70 pct . Do not refrigerate your shallot .
You will be able to store your eschalot for six months , or possibly longer . Do periodically check your shallots and remove those that have sprouted or become decayed . If you have shallots that sprout , try put them in pots and acquire them indoors .
Before you use all of your shallot , you could sort out and save the healthiest and largest bulb to plant for the next growing season .
