Shallots from Seed.

I grew shallots from sets the year before last and although I had success with about half of the sets, the other half did not amount to my expectations. Last growing season we started shallot seeds indoors and transplanted the seedlings in the spring. We did all our onions from seed last growing season. If your soil is well amended then seed onions may be your  best bet. They are less likely to bolt than sets since sets are basically, already a year old.  The onions formed from seeds are a different shape than sets, and can potentially grow to be a larger onion. They take longer to mature but some say they store longer. The shallots performed extremely well. We harvested several shallots with 2-3 bulbs per casing that are delicious, store extremely well and  have proven to last even longer in storage than garlic. The problem with garlic is that by the end of January if the garlic hasn't already sprouted it is probably about to. This bitter green shoot, which takes up a large portion of the inside of the garlic bulb, cannot be used in recipes and needs to be composted. We often use up our garlic first, then switch to shallots. By the time we are done with the shallots, I am usually trying to dig chives up from under the snow. Shallots are often described as having a mild garlic flavour and can easily be used instead of garlic in any recipe. Many find shallots easier to digest than other onions, almost everyone finds them delicious.