Planting up shallots
Let’s hope I have a better crop of them this year!
My shallots were a huge disappointment for me last year, there were some good ones among them when they were lifted, but the majority went soft when drying out. I laid them out on one of the steel mesh top benches in the polytunnel to completely dry out as I have done for many years now. The problem became apparent from mid-August onwards as the bulbs went soft.
I think the problem was the intense heat we had during late June to mid-July last year. It was incessant for at least two weeks, with temperatures soaring to well over 37C (100F) through the thin polythene sheeting of the polytunnel and bearing straight down on the bulbs. With hindsight I should have covered them over with some fleece or cloth to break up the direct rays of the sun.
However, I need to make the best of a bad job now and plant what I can of them into 9cm (3½in) pots using Humax original compost. The pots will sit on a bench in my polytunnel and not be given a drop of water for a couple of weeks until the green shoots pop their heads through, and then they’re watered as and when required. There’s enough moisture within the bulb, within the growing medium and in the air around them to get the roots going.
There’s also enough food within the compost to keep the bulbs growing right through to planting out time towards the end of March. They will first sit on one of my benches outside the tunnel to harden off prior to being planted in the raised steel container beds that they usually grow in.
I’ll remove a third of the soil in the raised bed and replace with fresh topsoil. The whole volume will then be mixed and a handful of lime scattered on top and left until I finally fork the bed over during mid-March prior to planting. A week or so before planting I will scatter and rake in some Medwyn’s Base fertiliser and Nutrimate powder.
Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for the shows – @medwynsofangles.