My Tiny Plot

I harvested my Shallots a couple of days ago. They had reached the stage where their leaves had flopped over and dried out and the bulbs were looking pretty big. So I took advantage of a sunny day and dug the whole harvest up.

I put them in a wooden tray to dry in the sun for a few days – with the precaution of the lid from my Victorian cloche over them. And today I rubbed off the dirt and put them in this old sieve ready for storage.

They like to have air circulating around them so anything with holes in is ideal. Sometimes I use old Orange bags, or netted shopping bags if I have a lot to store.

I’m pretty happy with the harvest. Last year I grew Longor Shallots which are more bullet shaped than these. This year I went for round ones (can’t remember the variety). Some are a little small but they make a good addition to my son, Jackson’s, meals since he won’t eat a lot of oniony flavours anyway.

I always feel a bit smug when I put away the first harvest of the season for storing. I’m always a bit sad when I see Lettuce go to seed, or a Cauliflower go over. All that effort and I just wasn’t quick enough to enjoy it. With Onions and Shallots it’s a different story – none of it goes to waste (assuming none of them rot) and it feels good to know that all my effort will be rewarded over the coming months.

We’ve had three days of solid, wall-to-wall sunshine. Which means a few things. Firstly, that my Tomatoes are ripening (more on that later) and secondly that I can start to think about lifting my Shallots and Onions. First to go are the Shallots. I planted my own saved bulbs this year and what a success they’ve been? They’re the variety Longor (which tend to be more long, missile-shaped than squat) and they’ve grown even bigger than last year!

I dug them up yesterday, making sure to tease them out gently with a fork and lightly rub most of the dirt off. Then I put them in this old sieve in the sunshine to dry. The sieve is great because it keeps them off the ground and lets the air circulate around them. Once they’re nice and papery, I’ll pack them in my wicker Onion basket and store them in my cool, dry outhouse.

I find that I have more use for Shallots than huge Onions. As there is only the three of us there aren’t many recipes that require a whole massive Onion. And Shallots definitely have a milder taste than Onions, which means they’re great for little fussy tastbuds!

Can anyone recommend some different varieties. I feel like growing some red Shallots (as well as white) next year!