Veg4Show

Most of my shallots at the weekend were thinned down and to be honest most didn't require it as they had only split into 3-4 bulbs anyway. The shallots are really benefiting from the calcified seaweed and seaweed meal that was incorporated into the lightly manured soil and seem to be growing away very fast.

I normally thin the shallots to 4 bulbs per plant spaced evenly and gently tease the shallot bulbs away from each other over the next few months so they have room to grow without touching to avoid any flat sides. Some growers prefer to thin even more than this, but i find the bulbs go out of shape quicker and are less refined. I suggest a mixture of 2,3,4 bulbs per plant and see which suits your ground and your preference.



Here we see the thinning's, don't let them go to waste (or let anyone eat them) if they have roots still left (even 1 strand) they will keep growing and produce some nice picking shallots. I tend to just shove all ours in a pot until they root and pot them off when i have time into 3inch pots which is where they will stay for the rest of the season. I already have 3 pots like this and some that are already in there 3inch pots.