Shallots' mild but piquant flavor tempts palates

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It's time to think about planting shallots.

The French shallot, probably the best known of the many varieties, has a mild and complex combination of onion and garlic flavors.

Shallots make delectable green onions in early spring and bulbs in summer. They can be eaten fresh in salads, sauteed, put in soups, added to casseroles or pickled.

Shallots also make good, if transient, border plants, producing dense bouquets of slender, rich green leaves in spring. I like to use the plants in small groups interplanted with purple and lavender pansies.

For culinary purposes, harvest them when their tops turn brown and die in July or early August. Cure them for five to 10 days in the sun or under well-ventilated cover before storing. Shallots grow much like garlic and can be broken apart into cloves.

They prefer a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Their roots are shallow, so plant them in September or October in loose soil, rich in humus, in full sun. In spring, the faster they grow, the better their flavor. Drier soil will produce hotter-flavored shallots.

Mix in about 1 1/2 pounds of balanced fertilizer for every 10 feet of wide row (about 24 inches across). That's room for about three widely spaced rows of onions.

Plant each clove 4 inches apart with the top just above soil level in rows 8 to 12 inches apart, depending on the vigor of the variety. Each clove will produce from four to 30 shallots.

They can be stored, but because they are so hardy, they can be left in the ground and dug as needed. Cloves planted in September and October will produce the following year.

Rather than battling shallot pests, outsmart them. Rotate your shallot crops with peas and beans. This rotation will help to short-circuit fungus ailments like such as neck rot and smut. If your shallots are rotated on at least a three-year cycle, you'll have far fewer pest and disease problems.

To lessen the incidence of root maggots, don't concentrate your plantings in one place, but interplant with flowers and lower-growing vegetables such as lettuce.

-- Vern Nelson
