Medwyn Williams is lifting and drying his shallots
Give them a feed of high potash food prior to lifting to harden bulbs off
Ihad a disastrous season with my shallots last year, due to the drainage holes getting blocked up in the steel containers I grow them in. Due to the very wet summer, a high percentage of the plants couldn’t cope with their feet continuously in water. As a result of that disaster, we went to a great deal of trouble to drill larger holes in the base of the tubs, as well as grinding slots in them. The result is the shallots this year are very good indeed and I now have the unenviable job of lifting them – all 800 of them!
Two weeks ago I gave them a liquid feed containing a high ratio of potash using Peters Professional (9-9-36) to harden off the plants prior to lifting them. I do this because the two exhibition varieties I grow, ‘Aristocrat’ and ‘Hâtive de Niort’, are very poor keepers and prone to rotting in storage.
I lift each clump with a hand fork and remove the soil. If we have a nice warm, dry summer the green tops will quickly die back and after a couple of weeks I’ll turn the bulbs over. They need a long time to dry out properly until the foliage gets crispy dry and breaks down when you handle it. I dry out the bulbs on steel benches in my large polytunnel. With the polythene of the side panels rolled up, as well as a large fan set up in the roof, there should be plenty air around them.
If we have a really hot summer I’ll cover the bulbs with fleece to prevent them from burning. During the process of drying I’ll be looking out for the largest and best-shaped bulbs. These will be selected and kept together at one end of the bench and from mid-August I’ll start cleaning them up in preparation for storing them in a dry shed in wooden boxes. Follow me on Twitter – @medwynsofangles.