Shallots

Just returned from a week in Berlin so now need to crack on with the work(wouldn`t have mattered anyway as it was hard frost all week I was away!) First job was to plant my shallots. This year I am growing 120 large Hative de Niort and 36 for the pickling class. With the large shallots I plant the bulbs into 3 litre pots of Levington M3 compost - I know a lot will say thats big pots - but I need them in these pots as I really have no guarantee weather wise up here as to when I will be able to plant out - hence the reason for the larger pots to allow them to remain in them if required.

The first step is to make sure the bulbs are still sound and are of the shape that you want. I then trim the necks to allow the new growth to come out easier( Be careful not to cut any growth in the bulb - you can normally feel it so cut above it). The bulbs are just gently pushed into the compost and sit on top - not covered or pushed right in.After that I give them a gentle water. They are currently in a cold greenhouse but

will be moved to a polytunnel in the next couple of days. The pickling shallots will be potted into smaller pots and in a less rich compost - as I am trying to keep them down in size.