Harvesting Shallots

This year with some trepidation I decided to try growing shallots--the aristocrats of the onion family.  This was my first attempt at any kind of onions--and my first garden in the Hill Country--so I was not sure if there would be a harvest or not.  Well, I am happy to say that the shallot harvest is now in progress.

I set aside one bed in the new garden for blackberries, but knowing that the bushes would take a season or two to grow and spread in the bed, I thought, why not fill up that space around the perimeter of the bed with shallots!  Hence the great shallot experiment.

I wish I could remember the date for planting the little shallot bulblets, but it was probably some time in March or April.  What I read about harvesting shallots seemed to indicate that one would know when the shallots were ready to harvest, as the bulbs would push out of the ground and the tops would begin to turn brown.  Sure enough, over the past two weeks, that is exactly what is happening to the plants around the blackberries.

The bulbs when dug need to be set aside to dry--but not in the sun!

Here is a basket of shallots just dug from the ground--placed in the grass for purposes of the picture, but residing at present in the warm, dry garage, out of the sun.

Here they are drying with air circulating around them.

These shallots look ready to eat, but the conventional wisdom is to allow the bulbs to continue to rest for a month or so after harvest to avoid a bitter taste,

From what I can tell, shallots are often planted in the fall, so my plan is to save several of the choice bulbs as planting stock for October.  The rest will be consumed!