Shallots take about 90-120 days to ripen. Once they have reached the desired size and the leaves begin to wilt, harvesting can begin. A warm, dry day is particularly suitable for this.
When and how do you harvest shallots?
Shallots are ready to harvest when their foliage turns yellow and wilts, which takes about 90-120 days. Remove flower bases to direct the power into the bulbs. Harvest on a dry day by pulling the shallots out of the soil by the leaves. Hang them up to dry and then store in a cool, dry place.
The right harvest time
In August the shallot leaves begin to wilt. The green shoots lose their fresh color, turn yellow and dry up. The shallot has now finished ripening and can be removed from the ground. A sure sign of maturity is checking the onion neck. If the shallot can be easily squeezed with your thumb and forefinger, it is ripe.
Treading over the leaves
A measure that is still frequently carried out today is turning over the onion greens. This is supposedly intended to accelerate the maturation process. However, the opposite is true. Trampling will prevent the shallots from ripening and will negatively affect their storage life. The only action required is to remove flowers that may develop every now and then. The flower heads must be removed, otherwise the plant will put its energy into the flower instead of into the bulb.
The Harvest
Once the onion leaves have wilted, the harvest can begin. To do this, choose a day that is as dry and sunny as possible and pull the shallots out of the dry soil by the leaves. Although the onions are relatively dry, they need some time to dry. To do this, several plants are always tied together and hung in an airy and dry place. Even if the weather is cool and humid, the shallots must be removed from the ground, otherwise they will begin to rot. If the onions are wet when harvested, as much soil as possible should be shaken off. Post-drying usually takes a little longer.
Storage
The freshly harvested shallots are tied together into several plants and hung up to dry in a dry, airy place. After a few days, the onions are so dry that the leaves and peels rustle. Now they can be removed and stored. To do this, the excess soil is shaken off and the dry leaves are cut off to about 5 cm above the bulb. The onion neck, which remains standing, prevents the appearance of head rot during storage, which completely destroys the onion.
