Shallots (family): what they are, how and when to plant, what they look like, the best varieties

Photos and descriptions of shallots present an easy-to-grow and healthy crop with tasty green feathers. Before planting, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the species and popular varieties.

Origin story

The first mentions of shallots are found in the works of naturalists who lived before our era. The exact homeland of the plant has not been established - various researchers believe that the culture originates from the Mediterranean, Asia Minor or the Middle East.

Shallots came to Europe only in the 13th century with the Crusaders. The culture appeared on the territory of the CIS in 1958 - it was bred through selection in the Kharkov and Kuban regions.

Description and characteristics of shallots

Descriptions and photos of family onion varieties, or shallots, are very similar to each other. Plant varieties have the same structure and differ only in size and yield.

Appearance

Shallots, or Ascalonian onions (Allium ascalonicum), are a perennial herbaceous plant of the Allium family with a fibrous and shallow root system. It has tubular, hollow, cone-shaped leaves up to 25 cm in length, green feathers, often covered with a waxy coating. When sown with seeds, in the first year the crop forms a whole-separated bulb, similar to a garlic head, with the rudiments of vegetative shoots. In the second season it forms 4-20 daughter small turnips. Because of this feature, the species is also called “family”.

Shallots are capable of growing daughter heads not only in the ground, but also during storage

The shape of the shallot heads can be round, oblong or oval, the weight is mainly about 50 g and rarely reaches 100 g. The outer dry scales are white, yellow, red or purple, and the inner ones are milky, sometimes greenish or pinkish shade.

During the decorative period, the culture produces arrows up to 1 m high with umbrella-shaped light or dark purple inflorescences. After this, it produces seeds that remain viable for up to two years.

Ripening period and yield of shallots

You can eat not only the feathers of shallots, but also their heads. The ripening period directly depends on the variety. It is customary to distinguish the following types:

• early - 85 days;
• average - 85-120 days;
• late - 120-150 days.

The most popular is the early shallot. The crop yield is on average 6 kg per meter of planting.

Disease resistance

Shallots are relatively resistant to fungal diseases and insects. The danger for him in the garden is:

• peronosporosis - yellow spots appear on the feathers of the crop, over time gray-violet fungal spores become noticeable, the plant quickly dries out;
  
  

  Shallots affected by peronosporosis are removed, and the remaining plantings are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture

• rust - light stripes and marks appear on the leaves of the shallots, the greens gradually become thinner and wither;
  
  

  In case of rust, it is necessary to treat the beds with a solution of wood ash

• fusarium - the fungus attacks the roots of the crop, after which the feathers become covered with yellow spots and dry out, their edges become watery;
  
  

  With fusarium, spraying with copper preparations and reducing the number of waterings helps

• onion fly is an adult pest, its larvae feed on the underground parts of shallots, the leaves turn yellow and begin to emit an unpleasant odor;
  
  

  Onion flies are well repelled by a weak solution of ammonia - 50 ml per bucket of water

• aphids - numerous small insects spread along the entire length of the crop feathers from bottom to top and suck out plant juice.
  
  

  A solution of apple cider vinegar or pepper helps eliminate aphids on shallots.

It is necessary to combat fungi and pests primarily preventively. Shallots can be protected from disease by regular loosening and weeding. It is also recommended to disinfect crop planting material before sowing in the ground and control the level of soil moisture.

Growing regions

Shallots belong to the category of heat-loving plants. It is recommended to plant it, first of all, in the southern regions - in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus, near the Black Sea.Growing the crop in the middle zone and in the north in open ground is often associated with significant difficulties. At the same time, there are frost-resistant varieties of shallots, specially designed for cultivation in temperate climates.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Shallots are popular among gardeners due to several benefits. The advantages of culture include:

• high amounts of vitamins and minerals in green feathers;
• fast growth;
• good yield;
• short growing season;
• high drought resistance;
• versatility - both the feathers and underground parts of the plant are edible.

However, shallots have their drawbacks. Among the disadvantages are:

• high soil requirements;
• low frost resistance;
• small turnip sizes.

Shallots are not suitable for winter sowing. Even in the southern regions, during cold weather, a significant part of the planting material dies.

Varieties of heirloom onions with photos and descriptions

Family onion varieties are represented by a large number of varieties with early and late ripening periods. There are several of the most popular ones.

Emerald

An early variety of shallots produces up to 1.4 kg of round turnips in pink-brown husks with white flesh. Each fruit weighs about 20-30 g. The taste of the variety is semi-sharp and pleasant.

Emerald shallots keep for about ten months

Snowball

A juicy and healthy variety of shallots brings up to 1.9 kg of yield per square meter. Each egg-shaped turnip weighs about 35 g. The shelf life of the bulbs is not maximum, but quite long - up to seven months.

Shallots of the Snezhok variety have a pronounced pungent taste

Albik

The semi-sharp variety of shallots is distinguished by flat-rounded turnips of 20-30 g each.The culture produces 4-8 heads per nest and matures in an average of 60 days. The harvest can be stored for up to ten months.

Albik shallots are most often used fresh in salads.

Belozerets 94

The southern variety of shallots with pale lilac flesh and husks has a pleasant pungent taste and is highly juicy. The fruits are small, only up to 30 g, round or oval.

The yield of shallots Belozerets 94 is 1.4 kg per meter of garden

Bonilla F1

Hybrid shallots with oblong-rounded heads are covered with yellowish-brown husk. The weight of the fruit is about 30 g. The yield of the crop is average - within 1.6 kg of turnips per meter of planting. The feather can be cut off every three weeks.

Shallot Bonilla F1 is characterized by a semi-sharp taste

When to Plant Shallots

The timing of planting shallots depends on the purpose of cultivation and the region. In most areas, the crop is sown in the spring in early or mid-April, after the soil has warmed to 8-10 ° C.

It is allowed to plant family onions before winter in the south. If the temperature does not drop below -20 °C, the plant will survive the cold safely. The crop is planted in mid or late October. Shallots can be cut into feathers in April, and the heads will ripen in June.

Shallot planting technology

To grow large family onions, you need to choose the right plot for it in the garden. The place should be open and well-lit, with loose, moderately moist soil, neutral or slightly acidic in composition.

It is recommended to plant family onions in areas where legumes, potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers or tomatoes previously grew. In this case, you should avoid places where beets, garlic, carrots, corn and sunflowers were grown in the previous season.Shallots share diseases with the latter plants and can therefore suffer if the soil is contaminated.

Planting shallots in open ground with sows

The easiest way to grow family onions in open ground is with sets. About a week before the planned planting, the material needs to be prepared - sorted and disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. You can also simply heat the shallot sets for ten hours at a temperature of about 42 °C.

The algorithm for planting a crop looks like this:

1. In the prepared bed, dig grooves up to 3 cm deep, leaving 10-20 cm between the rows, depending on the size of the shallots.
2. The soil is pre-moistened, and then the seedlings are planted with intervals of 10 cm between individual specimens.
3. Fill the grooves with soil and mulch the beds with peat or humus.

To speed up the germination of the seed, it can be cut “to the shoulders” or by about 1/3. But the yield of greens and turnips in this case will decrease somewhat.

For spring planting, a medium-sized set is best suited, and for autumn planting, a smaller one is best.

Growing shallots from seeds

When using seeds, shallots are usually grown through seedlings. The crop sowing scheme is as follows:

1. Planting material is pre-soaked in a fungicide or a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.
2. The seeds are dried and sown at a distance of 3 cm from each other in shallow boxes with loose nutritious soil with the addition of peat and humus.
3. Cover the crop grains with soil and spray them generously with a spray bottle so as not to erode the soil with watering.
4. Cover the container with film to create a greenhouse effect and place it in a warm place with moderate lighting at a temperature of about 22 °C.
5. When seedlings appear, remove the cover, moisten the soil again and move the box to a sunnier corner.

Planting of family onions in the spring in the ground is usually carried out in April, after the formation of the third leaf of the seedlings.

When using the seedling method, the turnip harvest ripens by the end of summer or early September

Shallot care

Agricultural technology for shallots from seeds comes down to a few simple steps. During cultivation, you need to monitor the moisture of the crop and the quality of the soil:

1. Watering. Shallots need plenty of moisture immediately after planting and during dry periods. The rest of the time, watering is carried out as needed. If the crop is grown for turnips, then about a month before harvesting, they completely stop moistening the onions, otherwise the heads will turn out small.
2. Feeding. The first time the plant is fertilized after the formation of three feathers, you need to use bird droppings or mullein solution. The second time, it is necessary to fertilize the crop after the appearance of the fifth leaf or at the stage of bulb formation. Potassium chloride and superphosphate are usually used, which are dissolved in water for irrigation. A month before harvesting, stop fertilizing shallots. Otherwise, the crop will grow greenery to the detriment of turnips.
3. Thinning. To successfully grow shallots from seeds or sets, you need to remove the shoots as soon as they appear.In July, the nests are thinned out - the smallest heads are removed along with the greenery, leaving only 5-6 well-developed buds for each plant.

Shallots react sensitively to lack of oxygen. The crop should be loosened twice a week, simultaneously removing fast-growing weeds.

When propagated by feathers, shallots can be watered throughout the entire growing season.

How to propagate shallots

To propagate shallots, two methods are used - seed and vegetative:

1. Sevcom. The method allows you to accelerate the development and maturation of the crop, and also provides higher yields. It should be taken into account that after 3-5 years of life, shallots begin to lose varietal qualities and produce lower-quality sets.
2. Seeds. To propagate an adult plant on a site, the method is used less frequently than the vegetative method. The crop produces few grains, and they germinate poorly. To improve the characteristics of planting material, you can specially select several large, healthy bulbs and keep them for about four months at a temperature of 4-12 °C. Then the material is sown, waiting for abundant flowering and collecting the seeds.

From shallots sprouted using grains, in the second year you can get numerous small heads and use them for vegetative propagation.

When to dig up heirloom onions

It is necessary to harvest different types of shallots at the moment when the feathers of the crop turn yellow and lie down on the ground. This usually occurs in mid or late August.

If the feathers are green, harvesting cannot be done - rot often develops in unripe turnips, even after prolonged drying.You should not overstay the crop in the garden, as the bulbs will begin to grow roots and prepare for winter, and their shelf life will greatly deteriorate.

How to store shallots

After harvesting, the withered leaves of the shallots are cut off and the turnips are dried for several days in a shaded but warm place. After this, the crop is sorted, the heads are separated if necessary, they are placed in wooden boxes or cardboard boxes and placed in a cool room. You can keep shallots in the cellar or attic; the latter option is better due to its lower humidity.

The shelf life of shallots, subject to proper conditions, is 5-12 months, depending on the variety

Freezing is also used to store heirloom onions. The heads are peeled and, if necessary, cut into pieces, then moistened a little and put in the freezer. Turnips retain their valuable properties for up to a year and do not lose their taste.

Reviews

Conclusion

It is interesting to study the photo and description of shallots before planting the crop in a summer cottage. The plant is represented by many varieties. When caring, you need to control the soil moisture in the garden bed and prevent it from becoming overgrown with weeds.

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