Category Archives: Garden Advice

How to Grow Shallots

Shallots are the small, sweet cousins of bulb onions. They’re elongated in shape and feature a milder, sweeter, more refined flavor than many of our bulb onions. They’re a speciality in French cuisine and are delicious raw, roasted, sautéed, or pickled. Unlike bulb onions, shallots are perennial, and we start them in the fall from sets.

Soil Preparation

Shallots will grow in a range of soil types, but do best in loose, well-drained soil like sandy loam. Unfortunately, most gardeners aren’t blessed with this ideal soil, so the important thing is to focus on soil structure. Work to add organic matter to the soil by adding amendments like compost, aged manure, well-rotted sawdust, or peat moss. In areas with poor, soggy soil, raised beds are another excellent option.

If you have time, you can also add organic matter by growing cover crops like buckwheat during the summer.

When to Plant Shallots

You can plant shallot bulbs in the spring or fall, but you will have significantly reduced yields from spring planting. However, a harsh winter may kill fall-planted bulbs, especially if you plant them improperly or fail to protect them. We strongly recommend holding some bulbs for spring planting as insurance against losing your planting stock. If you plant in both spring and fall, plant the largest bulbs in the fall and save the smaller bulbs for spring.

Fall planting: In areas with mild-to-moderate winter weather such as Virginia, plant shallots from mid- October until about mid-December. Planting too early encourages disease and damage from rodents. Planting too late prevents the roots from becoming established before winter. 

We plant large bulbs earlier, and small bulbs later. Early to mid-November is usually the best planting time. Farther north or in mountainous areas, plant at least 2 to 3 weeks earlier. In warmer areas, plant 2 to 3 weeks later. Fall-planted onions will often grow enough to produce green onions for mid-December harvest. This top growth may be winter-killed, but growth will resume in the spring.

Spring planting: Plant as soon as the soil can be worked (often late winter). Spring-planted bulbs may mature 1 to 2 weeks later than fall-planted bulbs. Shallots are less likely to bolt if spring-planted, but yields will be smaller.Shallot Plants

How to Plant Shallots

Fall Planting: In Virginia and further south, plant shallots with ½–1 inch of soil above the bulbs. Adding a 2-to 3-inch layer of mulch controls weeds and protects against temperature extremes.

We recommend deeper planting in mountainous areas and northern latitudes. Plant bulbs in rows with soil hilled 2 to 5 inches deep. In spring, scrape away some of the soil; otherwise the bulbs will elongate and may not store well. Scrape the soil carefully to avoid exposing the shallow roots. Use 4 to 8 inches of straw mulch in extreme northern areas, but remove it promptly with the arrival of the first spring thaws. 

Well-mulched plantings can be shallower than the recommended depths, provided that the mulch is deep and a snow cover develops.

Spring Planting: Plant shallots shallow with about 1/3 of the bulb above the soil. Plant small bulbs (less than 1 inch diameter) so that the soil barely covers the bulb.

Watering and Weeding

Maintenance is critical if you want a large harvest. Alliums, including shallots, don’t tolerate weed pressure well at all. Letting your garden get weedy can significantly reduce yields, so we recommend keeping them well-mulched during the growing season.

The same goes for watering. You need to keep the soil consistently moist for good production. If the soil dries out just once, growth will be arrested, resulting in smaller bulbs and reduced yields. Heavy mulch between rows and plants will conserve moisture and control weeds. Keep well weeded: alliums and weeds don’t mix!

In the last two weeks before harvest, discontinue watering and pull back the mulch to allow the bulbs to dry. This will prevent rotting and allow the skins to harden.

Pest and Disease Issues

Rotate your shallots to new beds when possible to reduce pest and disease problems. Like other alliums, shallots are susceptible to disease issues like Fusarium basal rot, white rot, and Botrytis neck rot and pests like onion thrips. Rotating your crops and planting in well-drained soil can help prevent these issues.

Harvest

Harvest dates vary. In Virginia, we harvest shallots from late May through June, but harvest dates vary from year to year according to the weather, and also depend on if you planted in the fall or spring.

The shallot leaves will wilt when they’re ready to harvest. Use a fork to gently lift the bulbs from the soil. If the soil is too hard and dry, lightly irrigate the night before harvesting. Handle the shallots gently at this stage. The bulbs have a high water content after harvest and are easy to bruise and susceptible to rot.

Curing

Spread them out in a single layer to cure somewhere warm and dry for 3 weeks to 2 months before storing. Curing allows the skins to dry and toughen and improves the shallot’s flavor. Especially in humid climates, using a fan to circulate the air is a good idea.

Once curing is complete and the skins feel dry and papery, gently brush off any dirt and trim the tops.

Grey Griselle Shallot
Grey Griselle Shallot

Storing Shallots

Shallots will keep for several months when stored properly. Ideal conditions are a temperature between either 32–40°F or 50–70°F with 60–70% humidity. They will sprout prematurely if kept between 40–50°F (the temperature of many refrigerators). 

You can use an unheated room in your house, a root cellar, your garage, etc. Maintain good air circulation. Most varieties store reasonably well in a cool room if hung from the ceiling in mesh bags, or spread on shelves in a layer less than 4 inches deep. Inspect shallots once a month or more often. Remove bulbs which have sprouted or spoiled, or else the whole batch may spoil. 

Squash, Pumpkin, & Zucchini Seed Saving Guide

Fall is the perfect time to save squash seeds from your favorite variety! 

There are four species of pumpkins and squash, including zucchini. While they all share the same characteristics for care and seed saving, home gardeners can grow one of each species without worry. Crossing between species is rare. 

Isolate Your Plants

In our catalog, you’ll find the species names: Curcurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. mixta listed in parentheses next to each variety name.

Isolate varieties of the same species by a minimum of 1/8 mile if you save seed for home use. Pure seed requires hand pollination or a minimum isolation of 1/4 to 1 mile, depending on planting size.

Select Plants for Seed Saving

While you can save viable seeds from just one plant, we recommend saving from five to ten plants if you can to maintain a variety over many generations. If you’re working to preserve a rare variety, aim to save seed from 25 plants or more. 

If you have many plants to choose from, you can select plants based on desired characteristics like pest or disease resistance, early production, or appearance. 

Allow Your Squash to Mature

To save viable seed, your squash must be fully mature. When working with summer squash and zucchini, this means allowing them to grow beyond the typical eating size. The fruits are ready to harvest for seed when they’re oversized, may have changed color, have dry stems, and the rinds are difficult to dent with your fingernail.

Winter squash and pumpkins have mature seeds when you would normally harvest them for eating. Watch for their color to change to its mature hue and their stems to fully dry.An overlarge zucchini sliced in half for seed saving

Harvest Your Squash Seeds

You may harvest seeds immediately after picking the fruit, but it’s best to wait another 20 days or even longer if desired. The seeds will continue to mature during this curing period, but you won’t risk the fruit rotting out in the garden.

When working with winter squash and pumpkins, you can keep your fruits in storage as usual and harvest the seeds when you’re ready to cook the squash. Zucchini seeds fermenting in a mason jar.

Process Your Squash Seeds

There are two ways to process squash seeds. The first is just to scoop them out, rinse and manually remove the pulp, and dry them. While this way may be the quickest, there’s another great option.

The second option is to ferment the seeds, similar to processing tomato seeds. The fermentation helps remove the natural gel and pulp from the seeds, which improves germination. It also kills many seed-borne diseases.

In this method, you’ll scoop out all the seeds and don’t worry about the pulp. Place the whole mess into a Mason jar. Top the jar off with water, cover with a cloth and rubber band or twine, and leave the seeds to ferment for 2 to 4 days. You’ll probably notice a film or some bubbles on the surface; this is perfectly fine.

Then rinse the fermented seeds on a screen or colander. The pulp and gel should come off easily now that they’ve fermented. 

Finally, lay your seeds out on a towel, paper towel, or fine mesh screen to dry for a couple of days. On a towel, flip or stir them occasionally so they dry faster.

Storing Squash Seeds

Only store squash seeds that are completely dry. When you bend one, it should crack, not flex under pressure. Place dry seeds in airtight containers somewhere cool, dry, and free from direct sunlight. 

Read more about properly storing seeds and testing for germination. 

How to Plant Echinacea (Coneflowers) This Fall

Drought tolerant and low maintenance, echinacea, or coneflower, is among our favorite native flowers. Once established, it offers tons of color and great food for songbirds and pollinators. Unfortunately, it’s not always the easiest to start from seed.

Echinacea seeds must go through a cold, moist period in order to break dormancy. Thankfully, winter is the perfect time to start this process so you can enjoy bright echinacea blooms in your garden for years to come. 

Growing Requirements

Echinacea is a hardy, drought-tolerant perennial that thrives even in poor soil. When considering echinacea and selecting a spot for plants, keep these features in mind.

Perennial. Echinacea is perennial in zones 3 through 9 and will readily self-seed.

Full sun. Echinacea thrives in full sun but will tolerate partial shade, though it may not bloom as often. 

Soil Requirements. Echinacea is exceptionally tolerant of nutrient-poor soil. It thrives in well-drained areas. It won’t tolerate excessive moisture, and will often rot in poorly drained, soggy areas. 

Water Requirements. Once established, echinacea is low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. It grows a large taproot. 

Bloom period. Depending on your variety and location, echinacea may bloom any time from late spring to fall. In zone 7a, we typically see blooms from midsummer to fall. 

Deer-Resistant. We’ve found that deer typically leave echinacea alone. While they may occasionally grab a bite, deer typically prefer more palatable plants. 

In favorable conditions, echinacea can self-sow and spread. Keep this in mind when sowing in or near beds you typically use for annuals. You may need to divide or contain echinacea to keep it from taking up too much of your garden. However, the large taproot on mature plants can make them difficult to move.

Echinacea angustifolia blooms
Echinaceą angustifolia by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Echinacea Varieties

We currently carry three echinacea varieties. 

Echinacea Pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower)
Drooping flower petals are 1½-3½ in. long and may range in color from pink, purple, or white, but are typically rosy purple, with a purple-brown flower disc. Long, narrow leaves. 

Echinacea Angustifolia (Narrow-Leaved Coneflower)
The plants are the smallest of the echinaceas (8-18 in.) and the spreading pink ray petals are the shortest (¾-13⁄8 in. long). The leaves are long and narrow.

Echinacea Purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
The flowers are 3-4 in. across with pink-orange cone-shaped centers and purple-pink rays. 

Many garden centers also offer hybrid varieties, and our friends at Prairie Moon Nursery, who specialize in native seeds, also offer Tennessee coneflower, Bush’s coneflower, and Ozark coneflower. 

Cold Stratification

For good germination, you must cold stratify echinacea. This means you need to expose the seeds to a period of moisture and cold temperatures about 40 °F or below. You can do this by starting seeds indoors or outside.

Cold stratification is how plant seeds adapted to stay dormant over winter before germinating in spring. The cold, moist period followed by warmth signals the seasonal shift to the seeds.

Longer times are better, but as little as 3 weeks of stratification will give some germination for Echinacea pallida and Echinacea angustifolia. Echinacea purpurea, needs less cold stratification than other species. For it, just 7 days of stratification will increase germination rates so you can spring plant it if needed.

Echinacea pallida blooms
Echinacea pallida by wackybadger, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Starting Echinacea Indoors

Sow your echinacea seeds in flats or pots of moist soil in fall or about two to four months before your desired planting date. Place your pots or flats into a refrigerator over the winter. Check your flats regularly, spritzing them with water occasionally to ensure they don’t dry out.

Remove the flats from the fridge in late winter or very early spring. The seeds may take two to four weeks to germinate after you remove them from the refrigerator.

Sow extra seed. Echinacea typically has only a 50% germination rate.

Starting Echinacea Outside

Sowing seeds outdoors in the fall is an easy way to cold stratify them. Sow your seeds in a clean, weed-free bed or in flats in a cold frame in late fall or early winter. They’ll stay safe and dormant through the winter until the warm weather in spring signals them to germinate. 

Harvesting Echinacea

You can harvest echinacea as a cut flower or for tea and herbal medicine. Herbalists often use the flowers, leaves, and roots of echinacea in immune-boosting teas, tinctures, and other herbal products. 

Wait to harvest roots until your echinacea plant is at least three years old. Like many perennials, it needs ample time to get established before it will tolerate a major harvest.

When you’re ready to harvest roots, do so in late fall after a killing frost. Gently lift the soil with a fork and harvest a small portion of the roots. If you’re growing a large patch, you can also use this opportunity to thin the patch and sacrifice a whole plant.