Shallots

I put in shallots in the fall and just went out to harvest them as the tops seemed ready. They have done nothing! Just the one little bulb I planted in the fall. Very disappointing. Where did I go wrong? I'm not holding much hope for the 90 garlic bulbs I planted also. Those tops do not look dried enough so I wasn't planning to harvest them yet. I planted both soft and hardneck garlic.

Both the garlic and shallots bulbs I bought from either the nursery or reputable and successful garlic growers. I have them in an area where they get plenty of sun. I prepared the bed for a year before putting them in! No bugs or pests. The leaves were all growing as they should. Nothing to suggest things weren't going well below the soil.

I'm so frustrated and disappointed.

Gwen

Perhaps they just need more time????

The tops were all dried out, tho, which I thought was the sign that it was time to harvest them. They don't look like they were on the way to doing anything either.

Gwen

My shallots pooped out last year, so I tilled them under. I have tons this year!

You know, I was wondering if maybe they were 2-year things. I just couldn't believe they did nothing. I'm not going to even both pulling up the garlics unless they do something exciting!

I have potatoes that I obviously missed at last year's harvest time sprouting all over the place and doing great. So they apparently overwintered just fine. I had read that I could even store them in the ground over the winter and pull them out as I needed them, but I ended up putting them all in our shed which stays at a nice temp and they lasted until we ate them all. I didn't care for the varieties we put in last year so we adjusted that this year!

Gwen

Here is a pic of my shallots that I just planted in May. I don't know what your watering is like, but they do require a lot of water.

kanita

Mine don't look anything like that - very disappointing! And I planted in the fall. I can't believe yours look like that since only May!

I live in the PNW and we had an esp wet winter this year, so I know they got enough water!

Gwen

Hmmmm, maybe they just need more time based on the variety of shallots you are growing?

I have been growing both garlic and shallots for years. I agree with whoever said they need a good supply of water, but I think they also like rich soil. I find, they do best in a place that I have composted for years. If you add substantial amounts of compost or poo every year, and water, I bet you will find that your shallots and garlics grow to a normal size. BTW, I purchase hardneck garlic but I am not putting in a few sprouting bulbs from the store and I mostly grow sprouting bulbs from the store for shallots.