[RUSTYME]

I decided to grow some shallots again this year , so as usual i just bought some shallots from Tesco ( online order by my aunt ) . In the delivery today were the shallots as ordered last night . However , the ones delivered are echalion shallots , a cross between an onion and a shallot , so it says on the bag .
They  are the long ones not the short dumpy type , banana shallots they call them now .
No variety name on the pack , bugger . Do they grow and produce bunches as per 'normal' shallots , or do they grow singular bulbs as onions do ?
Not sure whether i should give them a go , or just eat the buggers . They are really nice looking shallots , 7 = 400g @ £1 .
I just wanted ordinary shallots , why has life become so complicated ?

[Louise Gaunt]

Just had a look at various gardening sites, they suggest banana shallots are best grown from seed, and also advise that most sold in the supermarket are treated with a growth inhibitor so they may well not grow at all. Might be best to eat them! Sorry to be harbinger of bad news!

[RUSTYME]

Yep , thanks LG , I saw that too . The growth inhibitor sounds nice and healthy ? ?
I ate one tonight , with mushrooms and garlic in butter , with sausages and new potatoes ( fresh off the plot )  , not forgetting the growth inhibitor !

[Fleecewife]

Shame about the growth inhibitor, because shallot sets are expensive - about a fiver for 20 from the seed companies.

I have tried growing the echallot grise varieties you have but I found they didn't like the cold and wet up here, so tended not to grow big or just went mushy in the ground. Yes they do grow into multiple bulbs in the right conditions.    Now I just grow the rounder ones in my polytunnel and get good crops there, safe from weeds and rain.


The Co-op has round shallots - don't know if they have the growth inhibitor too 

[RUSTYME]

I may give one or two a go if they clump up then , will soon see if they sprout or not .
I would think organic ones would be inhibitor free ? , and still cheaper than sets .
 I don't go to the supermarket , £7.50 and an all day trip on the buses , and my aunt orders my groceries online while on the mobile to me .
Last night her mobile went on the blink so phoned me quickly on her landline , so it was hard to work out what was what .
I also wanted some jerusalem artichokes , but they didn't have any .
I used to grow 3 or 4 rows , about 30 or 40 plants , they were from shop bought tubers some 5 or 6 years before , but one year they all disappeared . Either cows got in and ate the top growth and pulled up ALL  of the tubers , or the same person that nicked all my rhubarb , had them as well , erm ? I wonder , lol .
The shallot tasted nice , but i am now wondering if it had inhibitor on it , and what chemical it is , and how poisonous is it ?

[benkt]

If  you've got an address I can post some jerusalem artichokes to, PM me and I'll send some down - we have masses!

[Ina]

The shallot tasted nice , but i am now wondering if it had inhibitor on it , and what chemical it is , and how poisonous is it ?

Well, you'll find out if there's any in it - if you don't grow any more in the near future, you'll know it's worked!

I used to have Jerusalem artichokes in the garden. They were always my last resort veg, when nothing else was available in winter, but I found I never got round to eating them; always so much other stuff (especially while I was working on the veg farm - usually more than I could eat). So I've been trying to get rid of them, really. If I find any surviving tubers lurking about, I'll pack them up and send them down!

[RUSTYME]

Oh god , that means i'll be a midget forever !
Tptb are at it again . Growth inhibitor on the food and you end up with a nation of midgets , who eat less , take up less room and need smaller houses ! I've got them sussed ! lol .

[Ina]

Now we know!

Yeah, I think it's pathetic the stuff they throw on our food... Anti-sprouting treatment for potatoes is another one. With the result that lots of people think sprouted tatties are only good for the bin. 

[RUSTYME]

Yes Ina , they put growth inhibitor on food , pesticide , herbicide ,  msg , aspartame , e numbers and then they have the bare faced cheek to say that sugar is bad for us and the cause of all our ills and it should be taxed , wtf? They are sick in the head , the system is out of control , or should that be under the control of the money men . Still , hang on to your hats , d-day is close . The drums are getting louder !

[RUSTYME]

I planted 6 of them today , will see how they go .
If they haven't sprouted in 2 - 3 weeks i will lift them and see if there is any root growth . The £1 they cost is gone now so nothing more to lose .

[Bramblecot]

I bougt a few of the round shallots and the 'banana' ones (lost the bag with the names on ).  Planted them about 6 weeks ago in old loo rolls packed into a cardboard box.  They have put on lots of root growth  and about 3" top growth.  Today I planted them outside  , bit of an experiment.

[RUSTYME]

I think my 6 have been in 9 days , so today i lifted one to see if there were any roots , not sprouting at top end , and yes they are rooting . Will just have to see how they do regards clumping now .
Hopefully no wasted money . They may just go to seed , in which case i shall sow them and see what i get .
If they do clump up , i will eat one or two from each clump and replant the rest , as per normal for shallots .

[cloddopper]

Rusty some of the types of  eschalots do grow in clumps of five or six when grown from seed ( cheapest way to do it if you have a glass house ) & transplanted .

Some  also grow  in clumps from sets though not all .
Of the 25 sets ( from Wilkinson's) I planted around this time last year about half produced only a big three inch long rugby ball shaped onion that had a 1.25 inch maximum diameter , most of the rest clumped but there were several complete failures to grow.

[RUSTYME]

Cheers mate , these are about 3"-4" long and 1 1/4"-  1 1/2" dia .
No glasshouse  atm , will try to make some cold frames for next year .
 Lots of other jobs in the way first though .