How to grow Shallot in Australia

Where to plant

Choose a sunny bed with free-draining soil improved with compost. Shallots rot in wet, heavy ground, so use a raised bed if your soil stays wet. Their thin leaves cast little shade, so weeds compete easily: start with a clean bed.

Rotate them like other onions and garlic, and never plant where white rot has appeared.

• South East Queensland, the Northern Rivers, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth: plant bulbs from March to June.
• Hobart and Canberra: plant from March to May, as for garlic. They root before winter, stand through the frosts and are lifted in early summer when the tops fall.
• North Queensland: plant from April to July in the dry season; bulbs rot if they sit through monsoon rain.
• Darwin: plant from March to July. The NT Government sowing calendar gives about 12 to 14 weeks to harvest.

How to plant

1. Buy firm, healthy shallot bulbs from a garden supplier. Separate any clusters into single bulbs.
2. Push each bulb into the soil, pointed end up, so the tip is just showing at the surface.
3. Space bulbs 15 to 20 cm apart, in rows 25 to 30 cm apart. Crowded shallots give small bulbs.
4. Water in. Check the bed for the first couple of weeks, as birds often pull newly planted bulbs out; push them back or net the bed.
5. Shallots can also be grown from seed sown in punnets and transplanted, but bulbs are quicker and more reliable.

Watering and feeding

Keep the soil lightly moist while the plants are growing and the bulbs are forming. Stop watering once the bulbs have swollen and the leaves begin to yellow; wet soil at this stage spoils storage quality.

Compost dug in before planting is usually enough food. If growth is pale, a light side dressing of a balanced fertiliser early in the season helps. Avoid heavy nitrogen later, which gives soft bulbs that store poorly.

Pruning and care through the year

• Weed by hand regularly. Shallots do not shade out weeds and hate competition.
• Snap off any flower stems as soon as they appear, so the plant puts its energy into the bulbs.
• Do not mound soil over the developing bulbs; they like to sit partly above the surface.

Harvesting

Shallots are ready when the leaves turn yellow and flop over. This is about 10 to 14 weeks in warm areas and can take until early summer in cold ones.

Lift the clumps with a fork, separate the bulbs and leave them to dry in a warm, dry, airy spot out of the rain for about two weeks, until the skins are papery. Then trim the tops and roots and store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place in mesh bags or trays. Well-cured shallots keep for six to eight months.

Growing in pots

Shallots grow well in a trough or pot at least 20 cm deep with a free-draining potting mix. Plant bulbs 15 cm apart, keep the mix lightly moist, and give the pot full sun.

Using it

Shallots have a milder, sweeter flavour than onions and are the classic base for sauces, dressings and vinaigrettes. They are also good roasted whole, pickled, or sliced and fried until crisp. The green tops can be used like chives while the plants are young, but take only a few leaves from each plant.

Saving bulbs to replant

Keep some of your best, medium-sized, firm bulbs from the harvest as next season's planting stock. Store them cool and dry until autumn. Do not keep bulbs from plants that showed disease.