Square foot garden spacing for shallots?

[Jared77]

Anybody?

Going to do 1 raised bed for carrots since our soil tends to produce twisted knotty carrots & my daughter REALLY wants to grow nice straight carrots. I figured I'd do onions & shallots in there too. To help keep it simple/successful I figured I'd use the SFG planting recommendations but I haven't much info on spacing recommendations for shallots.

Figured I'd ask here see what everybody else thought. I tried them a few years ago but it was brutally hot & dry that year So I got a very small onion crop & zilch for shallots. I haven't tried them again because I used that space for other things. But with the raised bed this year I figured I'd give it a go.

Thanks

 

[digitS']

Are you thinking shallot seed or sets, Jared? And, do you pronounce it "shal'-lets" or "shal-lots'?"

Okay, it doesn't much matter. With the seeds, you can be harvesting the small green plants as scallions. That will allow the remaining plants to have more room to grow to maturity.

From seed, they may not form a "clump" the first year. Even the big hybrid shallots aren't very big plants. At maturity, they won't require more room than your hand, with digitS' extended.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

Shal-lets

They will be sets sorry I didn't clarify that. Good to know that's honestly more info than I've found so far thank you.

 

[digitS']

The only sets I have bought have been the smaller, non-hybrids.

They seem to still be the only choices for sets. That may be because they won't bolt to seed. At least, they have never done that for me. I had never seen a shallot flower until the hybrids came out. I still don't know what I'm looking at when I see those things!

Anyway, small plants, Jared.

Steve

 

[hoodat]

Shallots don't need a lot of room. You can space them quite closely. The advantage of that is they help hold each others leaves up. Shallot leaves are kind of sprawly compared to onions and if they lie on the ground it could encourage pests.

 

[Wishin']

The general rule for square foot gardening is to place all plants at the plant distance stated on the packet/planting instructions. For example if your planting peas, and the packet says place seeds 3 inches apart, and rows two feet, you would place your seeds 3 inches apart in rows 3 inches apart. A quick google search says shallot sets should be placed 6-8 inches apart, so in one square foot you could plant 4 shallot sets.

 

[Jared77]

Huh....must not have put the right search criteria in for shallots I couldn't find that info. I appreciate the effort.

At the nursery where I get mine at they are in a whicker basket next to the bins of onion sets. They have a price on them & that's it. They figure at the price for sets you know what your doing with them.

I've never done SFG before I just thought with 1 raised bed it would be easier to follow their template as it's a proven method.

 

[Wishin']

Huh....must not have put the right search criteria in for shallots I couldn't find that info. I appreciate the effort.

At the nursery where I get mine at they are in a whicker basket next to the bins of onion sets. They have a price on them & that's it. They figure at the price for sets you know what your doing with them.

I've never done SFG before I just thought with 1 raised bed it would be easier to follow their template as it's a proven method.

Your welcome, I searched the distance between shallot sets, but the rest of the info was from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all...-mel-bartholomew/1100472249?ean=9781591862024 my gardens have always been square foot gardens so I've got several books on the subject.

 

[Jared77]

Thank you for the link.

 

[Smart Red]

I planted my shallots about 4 inches apart. Unfortunately, I forgot the shallots were there and planted onions in the same area. I got a fine harvest of both.