[Goldfinger]

i'm not sure which to grow, onions or shallots. So I thought I would run a little poll to help me decide. 

[mumofstig]

can't be bothered peeling little onions 

[compostqueen]

I love shallots, to eat and to grow. They are hardier and store better than onions.  I like the long ones and always grow a few different varieties

[DD.]

There really ought to be a "both" option, as each have their own uses.

Therefore at this time, I'll abstain.

[Goldfinger]

DD, sorry I've edited it and added a 'both' option.

I hope it's not too late. 

I've never done/knew how to do a poll on here before, sorry.

[arugula]

Well like DD, I like both as they have different uses. That's why I'm growing both this year.

[DD.]

DD, sorry I've edited it and added a 'both' option.

I hope it's not too late. 

I've never done/knew how to do a poll on here before, sorry.

You posted the poll fine, just that I really think it was missing that third option.

[Yabba]

Both for me as well

¥

[New shoot]

I grow quite a lot of Red Sun shallots as I prefer them for pickling.  I plant overwintering onions because I like to use them as giant spring onions in the spring, but maincrop onions I don't usually bother with.  I've tried seed and sets and honestly, I can't tell the difference between shop bought and home grown.

Horses for courses, but I prefer to grow stuff that either you can't buy, is expensive or just tastes a world away from shop bought when freshly picked.

[Lee1978]

Both for me too, they each have their different uses. i grow quite a lot of both 

[Trillium]

Both for me as well. Shallots are so much more delicate tasting for marinades and such, and the bulbs keep very well, unlike some of my maincrop onions 

[compostqueen]

I grow many varieties of both but I wouldn't be without shallots and the long ones in particular.  Sometimes a recipe calls for a bog standard onion where a shallot would be too posh  so you need, if poss, to grow both

As there are so many varieties it would be a shame to limit yourself to just one 

[JaK]

Onions here. This is just because we don't have a great deal of growing space and that I use more onions in my cooking. Hav'ing said that though, if I had more growing space I'd grow shallots too.

[Colin of Oxford]

I too grow both, and two kinds of shallots as well - the conventional sets (saving the larger ones for the following year) and 'bananas' from seed.

Apart from the different flavour I also find that shallots keep more reliably than onions.
We  have done well with stored onions, lasting until February or March, but often there are some soft ones that have to be discarded.

Most shallots seem to stay firm until they get impatient to start growing for the next season.

Remarkably when we moved house I had nowhere to plant my shallots and they stayed in a paper bag for a year.  An astonishing number survived to produce a new clump when eventually planted - and typically each bulb produced 12 new ones!

Additionally I am trying Welsh Onions (a heritage variety thereof) to see how they grow.

[paintedlady]

Both for me too - shallots keep for much longer so when I've run out of onions or they've gone past their best in store, I switch to shallots until the Japanese onions are ready.  Also I find they have a lovely taste of their own that only a shallot will do  

Also, one shallot bulb will produce several whereas one onion set or seed produces one bulb.  So you don't need to plant that many shallot bulbs to have a handy back up to the onion crop