Shallots and garlic

I want to plant some shallots and garlic but need help. If I understand right these are usually grown from sets - the bulbs which we usually eat.

In the case of garlic I can see how that works: plants one clove - get a whole bulb with lots of cloves. Good so far.

1) is that how shallots work too? Plant 1 - get a load?
2) can I use supermarket garlic?
3 can this be done from seed? Shallots we’re something like £5 for 10 bulbs today in the GC which seems pretty painful in the wallet.

Thanks in advance

 

Hi JimmyB, I think that the bulbs you buy in the supermarket are treated with an inhibitor to stop them sprouting on the shelves, so they're not ideal. I do stand to be corrected, though, if anyone else has succeeded with doing it that way
Yes, shallots are expensive to buy as sets, but they do split to give between 4 and 6 bulbs per set. Probably more in ideal growing conditions, which mine aren't!
The good news is that once you've bought the certified sets the first year, you can use your own produce to plant in following years, assuming you've got enough and they're healthy.
There are two sorts of garlic, one of which is a far better keeper than the other. If you Google 'softneck' and 'hardneck' you'll get a far more coherent explanation than I can give

 

OK! Thank you. I'll have a google. The shallot thing is really expensive! I have to wonder why they aren't grown from seed? I searched the shelves and found none...but effectively these are onions so I wonder why not?

 

You can get shallot seeds , a variety called Ambition from D T Browns and Marshall’s seeds.
You will get one shallot from each seed , if you buy a bag of shallots you get , as Noisette 47 says , several shallots from each one planted.
If you save your seed raised shallot and plant next season it will multiply. ( hope this makes sense ! ).
For garlic , organic garlic from the shops will not have been treated , but try and get a variety that has been grown in the UK so that it suits our growing conditions.
£5 for 10 shallots is quite steep !.

 

OK! So to save a few quid I wait a year...hmmm. Doesn't sound ideal. Maybe I'll try to find some cheaper sets. And yes - getting some organic garlic should be possible... actually - I thin all the supermarkets sell it these days. Great advice - and thank you!

 

Shallot sets are indeed more expensive than onion sets. Like onion sets, size of the bulb will depend on what you pay. The larger the bulb, the more expensive they are. We sell them by weight, 500g is the norm to the general public but bulk of my sales are 20kilo bags to the trade.

Also, bulk of my sales of onion sets and shallots will be from mid to late Jan to mid Feb, which is when they are ready for spring planting. I do sell some autumn planting onion and shallot sets, not many though as there is not the market for them, which is probably what you have seen in the GC.

 

@gks do you have Elephant garlic available ?

 

They will not be available until January. I service allotment societies and GC with seed potatoes, onion & shallot sets garlic etc etc. They already have been placing orders with me ready for delivery from mid/late Jan. As with the sets, I only tend to sell garlic in bulk, which come in 5kg bags.

 

I usually grow onions from seed and have grown those long shallots from seed, forget the varieties now, but as I usually grow them in cell trays with 4 or 5 seeds per cell then plant out, without breaking them up, you get growth very similar to planting a shallot set.

This is the types I mean.Echalion (Shallot) 'Elista' - Seeds
Shallot Seeds - Zebrune

 

Shallots were £2 for a bag of 30 in Wilco's recently but it's getting late for planting now so you might not find any.
As mentioned, once you grow them successfully it's economic thereafter because you can save your own for the next season.

 

Garlic is a no brainer....
We planted some in autumn 2020 and harvested about 5 times of what we put into the ground this year.
So I ate a lot of it and planted the rest in October this year. Also I seem to have missed some during the harvest. They started sprouting and are now fully green.

Just find a type of garlic that tolerates frost. something not every supermarket variant grown in Spain is suited for.