Shallots & Shallot Seeds (not sets)

[Father'sDaughter]

Two years ago I ordered French Red Shallot sets from two different vendors.

One vendor sent me long, pointed sets that were still joined in clumps of three of four at their base.

The other sent me larger round lumpy things that were a darker red, some also still joined.

Looking for on-line images for French Red Shallots I came up with some that resembled both, plus more that looked nothing like either one. So I planted both in the fall and the following summer harvested a decent amount of each, both looking just like what I had planted.

I replanted a smaller amount of both versions last fall. The long ones didn't survive the winter. The round ones did and grew just like they did the year before, except two put out huge flower stalks. I left them and they both bloomed, but then one broke off, the other I cut last week right before I pulled the shallots. Now I'm sitting looking at this partially dried thing full of seeds and trying figure out if they're worth saving and planting.

I still don't know if this or the long one are the "true" shallots, and if not, what are they? The information I've found on line so far is either very vague or very contradictory.

One site says true shallots do not produce seed. Another says that all shallots will go to seed in year two.

Some tell me that all shallots that throw flowers are hybrids and seeds won't grow true or are sterile; then I find sites with instructions on how to harvest and grow shallot seeds with no mention of hybrids.

And yet another site says that if shallot seeds grow, they will only produce one bulb, like an onion. So, does that mean they're hybrids?

Last year I was gifted a pack of seeds from an unknown variety of shallots which flowered. The tray the shallot seedling were sharing with my onion seedling was blown over this spring, and I couldn't tell what was what when I planted them out. They are all close to harvest time, but all I see are single bulbs--nothing seems to have divided which makes me think the hybrid single bulb theory might be correct.

Anyone ever grow shallots from saved seed? What happened?

I'm doing a germination test on a few seeds to at least rule out the sterile theory.

[swamper]

I have read that true shallots will produce seed and it is probably virus that inhibits flowering in some cases. The french gray shallot may be different from most shallots. I have a few favorite red shallots Sante and Camelot that flower and set seed freely.

You'll typically get a single bulb that if replanted will divide the second year.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by swamper

I have read that true shallots will produce seed and it is probably virus that inhibits flowering in some cases. The french gray shallot may be different from most shallots. I have a few favorite red shallots Sante and Camelot that flower and set seed freely.

You'll typically get a single bulb that if replanted will divide the second year.

Thanks for the input! I was wondering if they behaved like garlic rounds grown from bulbils and usually not divide until the second year.

[bower]

A friend and I ordered a yellow shallot from William Dam this year - I planted mine later so mine are not as far along. But I was in her garden yesterday and hers are all gone to seed. I was amazed to see that, and I sure hope the seeds are viable because a much easier way to increase your stock..

I have read, about 'multipliers' in general I think (or maybe it was just for potato onions) , that if you plant a small bulb you will get one large one, but if you plant a large bulb you will get many small ones. Sooo... the idea would be to plant the large to get small ones for planting, and plant the small to get large ones for eating.

Maybe true shallots don't follow the same pattern.

[Father'sDaughter]

The seeds did germinate so I'm waiting for the flower head to dry before I harvest the rest of the seeds from it. I'm going to start a good number of them next year and see what they do!

[ilex]

All shallots can produce seed. Some do so very rarely, others very frequently. There are seed selected varieties, and there are hybrids. I agree with the virus accumulation idea.

Plant the seed and see what you get. I would wait for second year before deciding what to keep or eat. Some will do a big round the first year and you want to see how they divide.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by ilex

All shallots can produce seed. Some do so very rarely, others very frequently. There are seed selected varieties, and there are hybrids. I agree with the virus accumulation idea.



Plant the seed and see what you get. I would wait for second year before deciding what to keep or eat. Some will do a big round the first year and you want to see how they divide.

That's exactly what I'm planning to do. Thanks for confirming I'm on the right track!

[joseph]

I have grown shallots from seed. About 3/4 of them sent up seed stalks the second year. I culled them. I saved bulbs for replanting from the plants that didn't go to seed. Cause I want shallots that rarely, if ever make seed.

When I was growing onion seed this summer, about 1/4 of the plants didn't make seeds, they just divided and made huge bulbs. Ha!!! Potato Onions!!!! I wasn't intending to grow potato onions, but since I was paying attention, and liked what I saw, I might as well grow them now that they are in my garden.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by joseph

I have grown shallots from seed. About 3/4 of them sent up seed stalks the second year. I culled them. I saved bulbs for replanting from the plants that didn't go to seed. Cause I want shallots that rarely, if ever make seed.

When I was growing onion seed this summer, about 1/4 of the plants didn't make seeds, they just divided and made huge bulbs. Ha!!! Potato Onions!!!! I wasn't intending to grow potato onions, but since I was paying attention, and liked what I saw, I might as well grow them now that they are in my garden.

I'm kicking myself for pulling my accidental potato onions two years ago.

Worth

[zipcode]

So what happened to your shallot seeds? Did they grow as only one shallot? And nice and big?
I can't seem to find much info about this anywhere. I was thinking to plant from bought seed next year instead of the shallot, because I can space them closer. All shallots that you buy look nice and round, which suggests they didn't come from sets, which results in a 'tapered near the roots look.', So I'm thinking their method must be more productive (commercial growers always are). I have very limited space, so I try to optimize.
Also, how close did you space them?
This year I used some shallots I got from my aunt, they grew pretty well, most of her sets had visible cut scapes inside, however I didn't get any on my plants, it must probably be related to storage conditions and growing conditions as well.

[Father'sDaughter]

I only started a few seeds and they are out in the garden growing amongst the rest of the onions. They're at least a month away from harvest time.

I also planted some of the shallots I harvested last year (because they were good and worth growing), and every single one tried to flower again. This time I cut all the flower stocks off.

I'll report back once I see what I get.

[Father'sDaughter]

I never did post back last year... all the red onions and shallots got mixed together last year, so I had no idea what was what. Nothing divided n any way, so we just ate them all.

This year I planted no onion seeds, just shallot seeds. Seven germinated and were planted out. They grew normally, sent up no flower stalks, and surprisingly four of the six divided! I never expected this in the first yeR grown from seeds! The other three grew the expected single rounds. We're in a wet stretch of weather so I decided to pull them tonight. I got two sets of triplets and two sets of twins.



I also planted back seven of the shallot sets from last year. Five made it, and all five sent up a flower stalk again. Since I've already been through this with them for a few years already, I cut the stalks early and harvested decent sized bulbs. I'll probably plant a couple next year to refresh the seed supply since they seem to like growing flowers.

Next year I'm going to plant back the ones grown from seed and see what they do.

[bower]

Those are nice looking!



I'm also growing shallots from seed this year. These were a commercial variety of shallots, planted as bulbs, that produced seed, and someone saved and sent them to the swap. No idea if they were a hybrid or not, so I thought it might be a mix of onion/shallot segregating, but there are more dividing than not! I'm pretty stoked about that. Still a long while to harvest though.
It's also possible that going through winter in June has triggered them to do the second year thing...

[Father'sDaughter]

Those look nice and healthy. When did you start the seeds? I started mine indoors back in February and planted them out in late April, I believe.

I guess shallots are not like garlic and don't need several years before they'll divide. It really is a pleasant surprise.

[bower]

These were started in February too, and were planted out during warm weather in mid May. But we then had a spell of really nasty weather lasting nearly a month, including numerous frosts and even snow on the ground in June. My poor little seedlings got smaller instead of growing, and I did lose a few, although most survived. So they've only been getting bigger for the past month or so.

I should probably give them a boost with some fish ferts. They are mostly a nice dark green though. It would be nice to get some full sized shallots.


Are shallots usually ready earlier than onions, or are they about the same? I'm hoping to get to my friend's farm this weekend, and I will compare the progress here with the onions that we weeded last time.