Shallots

Hi guys
When is the best time to lift Shallots mine seem to going on and on they have started to fan out but the leaves are still green. Any advice welcome. Also any advice on stopping those nasty stingers my hands are killing me as i keep finding those crafty ones that hide.

Terry

 

If your shallots are "fanning out" Stinger then let them do it.
You can put a little fork under them, ease them gently towards the surface or run your finger round them to clear some earth away and let them dry on the surface.
If the top growth is still green then they are not quite at their maximum - but if you just want a few for using then have them up and use them now. Shallots are shallots. It depends on if you are growing for maximum size for storing, or just want shallots to use now.
About those little stingers. Are you talking about field nettles ?
Well you only get those in good ground so if you have them be pleased.
To avoid stinging your fingers put your specs on or wear gloves :D

 

I've got the little blighters every where, and i did spray the area before with round up. prior to moving the shed ready to prep the ground no stingers then. Goin to be harvesting most of my beet this weekend so i'll have to put the gloves on. Wots the best way to store the shallots and if the smell from that part of the patch is anything to go by then they are going to very very strong.

 

Thanks for the info JWK when they all die of over the winter i'll really turn the ground over and hopefully i'll get rid of the blasted bind weed aswell.

 

Like JWK said, they could be coming from underground roots, or if they are tiny plants, newly germinated seed. I pull em up with finger & thumb, rarely stings like that & if it do then I rub the juice from a rhubarb or sorrel leaf in straight away.

 

I second JWK on the treatment of shallots.
As for nettles - I think it would be better treated as a separate question.
Ask away.

 

I like Firsttimer am having the same thing with my shallots this year. normally by now the leaves have died, the shallots lifted and dried. by the last week in July they are normally pickled. At the moment the leaves are showing no sign of dying and the shallots are enormous. Should I lift them to make the foliage die off?

 

Hi JWK. That was my first thought, to leave them. But what if he wants smaller ones ? I grow a few shallots for pickling and other use, but I've noticed over the past few years (since I got back into gardening) that mine have also grown to quite a size ! (maybe it's the varieties?) So much so that I can only get a few into the jar. I've thought about pulling them early to get them at a more useable size but figured that even though they would be pickled, they might not keep so well ? Any thoughts ?

Cheers...Freddy.

 

There is an unusual thing about Shallots. If you want SMALL bulbs then you plant LARGE sets. If you want LARGE bulbs then you plant SMALL sets. Simples.