Topic: shallots

[stanley]

made a boo boo, going on holiday tomorrow for a week and lifted my shallots on Saturday, in hindsight I should have left the things in the ground, however in a non coherent moment I decided to lift em.
At present they are drying flat on chicken wire cradles, tonight I am going to have to make a decision what to do with them.
My thoughts at present are to either leave them where they are or string em up on the washing line, (no indoor options available)
HELP ! :'(

[katynewbie]

 ???

Mine are drying out on a spare bit of space in the greenhouse, have been for a week or so. What's the worry Stanley?

 ;)

[stanley]

I dont have a greenhouse!

[katynewbie]

 :-[

Sorry, misunderstood! Garage? Shed? Spare bedroom? They should be ok outside in this weather though! Think they can take about 2-3 weeks to dry out, but they may be ok in less because of this weather

[laurieuk]

If you have any of the net bags that you buy oranges and the like in, they are very good to put shallots in and thean hang up in the garage,it will allow plaenty of air.

[Paulines7]

I harvested quite a few that had come out of the ground and were lying loose on the soil.  As rain was forecast, I put them in a seed tray and left them to mature indoors on a sunny window ledge.  They ripened very quickly and were able to be used in a week or so. 

[stanley]

or maybe take them with us and hang them in the tent?

[cleo]

Well they might deter mozzies, but it`s only garlic for vampires ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Even if you leave them outside, they'll come to no harm. You don't need to worry unless you're likely to get kleptomaniac visitors.

[jonny211]

Quick question from me.... how do you tell when they've dried out enough? Most of the 'tails' on mine have shrivelled to nought but when I tried one last night it was quite green inside, which I've taken as not being dried enough. Shall I take them back to the greenhouse for another baking?

Many thanks.

Jon

[tim]

DON'T bake!!

[jonny211]

dry gently?

[Curryandchips]

The reason for drying is to deter mouldiness in storage? Therefore when the outsides are crisp and dry then they should be ready for storage. The best method is gentle drying with good airflow. Excessive heat will only tend to make them sweat, which will not assist in drying the outsides.