[hanssg]

hi whats the secret to storing shallots, I have had mine strung up in a lightish cool room and nearly all the lot have turned to dust

[jambop]

I think the secret is to get them well dried off and then stored in a cool dry place. It could be that you already had some sort of mould spores on them prior to storage and they have rotted.

[Salmo]

Shallots are often not good keepers. I think one reason for this is that after a few years of saving your own for sets they get virus and things like neck rot which is carried over to the next year. If you intend to pickle them then it is best to do it in good time.

Also, shallots want to start to grow again at this time of year. That is much the same with Autumn planted onion sets which soon start to produce green shoots and go soft

[JayG]

I've lost count of the number of years I've been growing saved Golden Gourmet shallots, but this year the crop was extremely poor, so Salmo may well have a point about the build up of moulds and viruses in the stock.

To some extent you can increase the chances of the bulbs keeping if you make sure you don't try to store any which ran to seed, and also try to dry them as quickly and thoroughly as possible (I dry mine in the GH in 'mesh' plastic boxes obtained free from garden centres, using a fan heater on the cold setting to increase the air flow through them.)

I haven't found they try to sprout until early the following spring if I keep them somewhere dark as well as cool and dry - check them periodically for those which haven't read the rule book! 

[jambop]

Grew mine from seed this year Zeebrune and they were very successful too. They are dead easy to bring on but I wonder are the really shallots or just an onion that looks like a very large shallot? Anyway I am growing them again next year. As a matter of interest I have never ever lost a shallot in storage they are incredibly long keepers way better than onions and I usually grow longor.. which look a bit like zeebrune

[AnneB]

I have found the banana type shallots to be excellent keepers.  For a couple of years I have still had some going when the next harvest came in.   The best keeping variety I have tried is Longor.