For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

How to Plant and Grow Shallots

shallots
Image Credit:
Joanna Tkaczuk
Botanical Name
Allium spp.
Grown as
Biennial
USDA Zones
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
10a
10b
Toxicity
Toxic to Dogs and Cats
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
Under 1 foot
Spread
Under 1 foot
Soil pH
Neutral
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Plant Type
Vegetables
Written By: Andy Wilcox Master Gardener and Gardening Contributor

A mix of mild garlic flavor and oniony sweetness, shallots are a small member of the allium family — but they pack a flavorful punch in the kitchen! Whether you want to grow shallots for salads, carmelized sauces, or homemade mingonette to top off a platter of fresh oysters, this guide will teach you all you need to grow and harvest your own tasty crop.

Planting

When to Plant Shallots

Shallots are biennial plants that bulb out in their first year and go to flower and seed in the next. Most growers purchase shallows as sets — just like onions — but they can also be grown from seed depending on your patience level.

I’ve always had the best success growing shallows from sets, which can be set out in the garden either in late fall or early spring. Fall plantings work well in zones 5 to 8, but are not recommended for chillier spots. In these ultra-cold areas, it’s usually best to plant shallot sets in spring, although this may yield smaller and slightly less flavorful harvests.

  • If you’re planting shallots outdoors in spring, plant sets or seeds outside 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost date. 
  • If you’re growing shallots from seeds indoors, start the seeds about 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost date and transplant them outside when the weather warms.
  • If you’re planting shallots in fall, plant them around the same time as garlic or roughly 1 to 2 weeks after your first fall frost date.

Where to Plant Shallots 

Shallots like bright sunshine and loose soil with a relatively neutral pH. Having good drainage is key too as soggy beds can cause shallot bulbs to rot.

Although many growers keep shallots in in-ground gardens or raised beds, they can be kept in containers too. Just make sure that any pots you use are made of food-safe materials and at least 10-inches deep.

How to Plant Shallots

Planting shallot bulbs is easy and quick. If your soil is soft, they can be poked in instead of digging a trench or hole.

To plant shallot sets:

  • Work the soil with a garden fork to about 6-inches deep and mix in an inch-thick layer of compost.
     
  • Separate shallot bulbs into individual cloves.
     
  • Plant each clove roots-down, spacing the bulbs about 6-inches apart in rows roughly 1-foot from each other. When you’re done, the top of the shallot should slightly show above the soil if you’re planting in spring, but it should be buried 1-inch below the soil line for fall plantings.
     
  • After planting, water shallots well and apply a light covering of straw mulch. If you’re growing shallots in fall, use a thicker 4-inch deep mulch layer and remove some of the mulch in spring when the snow begins to melt.

To plant shallot seeds:

  • Sow seeds 1/4-inch deep in seedling trays or pots. I like to plant several shallot seeds together and thin them out later.
  • After planting, place the seeds under a bright growlight and keep them evenly moist until it’s warm enough to harden them off and transplant them outdoors.
shallots growing in soil
Shallots growing in soil. Credit: S. Pimpo

Growing

Watering

Shallots don’t like to dry out and should receive about 1-inch of water per week, either from the rain or your hose. During hot, dry spells, water them a little more. Testing the soil with your finger before watering is recommended — it should feel cool and damp about 2 to 3-inches deep at all times.

Fertilizing

Working compost or aged manure into the soil before planting helps shallots grow better. If your soil is lacking, you may want to add a balanced granular fertilizer or a bit of bone meal too.

Once shallots start to sprout in spring, sidedress the bulbs with a balanced fertilizer or a bit of compost tea. But remember to stop fertilizing about 3 to 4 weeks before harvesting, and don’t fertilize shallots with high nitrogen fertilizers in fall. This can cause bulbs to leaf out prematurely and become frost-damaged.

Pruning and Maintenance

Weeds can easily outcompete shallots, so it’s important to keep your garden beds weed-free. Be gentle with weeding though as shallots can become dislodged from the soil if you weed roughly or hoe too closely nearby.

Seasonal Care

Spring-planted shallots benefit from a light application of mulch, but fall-planted shallots should be mulched more deeply to ensure they survive the winter. Just remove the mulch in spring when the snow melts and the shallots start to sprout.

Harvesting

When to Harvest

Spring-planted shallots should be ready to harvest about 100 to 120 days after planting, while fall-planted crops take about 7 to 9 months to mature and reach a harvestable size sometime between late spring and early summer.

You’ll know it’s time to harvest when most of the shallot tops have bent to the side and begun to die back.

How to Harvest

To harvest, gently pull shallot tops from the ground or use a gardening fork to lever the bulbs free. Take care while you work to not accidentally damage the bulbs. 

After harvesting, lay the shallots out in a sunny spot to cure for several days. Then, brush off any excess soil and bring the bulbs indoors to finish drying in a well-ventilated location.

Storage

Before storing, cut the shallot leaves off 2-inches above the bulb top when the leaves are dried and brown, or braid them just like garlic. Then, store the bulbs in a cool, dry, and dark space — like a root cellar — for the winter. Fridges have high moisture levels and can cause shallots to spoil faster.

Shallots with thick necks tend to have shorter shelf-lifes and should be used ASAP. 

Be sure to save the biggest and best cloves to replant in the fall!

Shallots, Red Sun variety, freshly dug with a garden fork.
Credit: rigsbyphoto

Pests and Problems

Common Problems

  • Poor bulbing may occur if shallots are planted too thickly together, don’t receive enough fertilizer, or become temperature-stressed. Bulbing is also tightly linked to daylength and shallots may not bulb out if you grow the wrong variety of shallot for your growing region.
  • Rotted bulbs typically indicate that shallots were growing in overly damp conditions. To avoid this problem in the future, reassess your watering schedule, make sure beds drain properly, and consider growing shallots in pots if your soil is overly damp or compact.

Common Pests

  • Onion maggots are small, white larvae that can tunnel through shallot bulbs and cause plants to yellow and wilt. Row covers can thwart these pesky pests, but you can also avoid most onion maggot problems by growing shallots from sets rather than seeds.
  • Thrips are small, winged, and sap-sucking insects that can cause leaf distortion or leave silvery streaking on shallot leaves. Companion planting shallots with flowering plants that attract predators like ladybugs should naturally deter thrip issues, but thrips can also be managed with organic soap sprays if needed.

Plant Diseases

  • Downy mildew can produce a greyish mold on shallot leaves and is most common in cool, wet weather. Spacing bulbs out properly, watering at the soil line, and destroying infected plants is your best line of defense against this common problem.
  • White rot also thrives when conditions are cool and moist, but it produces cottony white growths on shallot bulbs. If white rot has invaded, be sure to clean up and destroy all infected plant matter and rotate shallots into a new section of your garden next year or grow them in containers.

Types

Shallots bulb out according to day length and grow best in northern areas where long-day onions thrive. If you live in the south, you may have difficulty growing shallots unless you can track down specialized day-neutral varieties that can form bulbs in warmer areas. Here are a few of our favorite shallot selections to inspire your gardening!

  • ‘Ambition’ is a long-storing traditional French shallot.
  • ‘Monique’ is a day-neutral shallot, perfect for those not gardening in the north. It produces one larger bulb and stores exceptionally well.
  • ‘Gray Griselle’ is the traditional gray French shallot prized by chefs.
red and yellow shallots
Red and yellow shallots. Try several kinds and see which ones you like best.

Wit and Wisdom

  • Like most Alliums, shallots are naturally resistant to deer and rabbits and growing them around the perimeter of your garden may help keep pests out.
  • Shallots can be forced indoors in a container during the winter to have a crop of onion greens.
  • Shallots were first introduced into Europe by the Crusaders in the 11th century who brought these tasty bulbs back from the Middle East.

Vegetables

About The Author

Andy Wilcox

Andy Wilcox

Master Gardener and Gardening Contributor

Andy Wilcox is a freelance writer, flower farmer, and master gardener with over 25 years of experience in gardening, horticulture, and forestry. He is the co-owner of Stone’s Throw Flowers, a business...

Read more from Andy Wilcox

More Like This

Comments

<span>Elizabeth Kane</span> Wed, 10/15/2025 - 21:56
Still cannot print or save to my computer. You said will get the problem fixed! When I wonder? It's been many months now.
<span>Georgis</span> Wed, 10/11/2023 - 07:45
After much back-and-forth about fall vs. winter planting, the following appears: "A late fall harvest is ready in early summer. An early spring harvest is ready in late summer." Surely those sentences should have referred to *planting*, not harvest.
<span>Judith Francis</span> Fri, 08/08/2025 - 12:16
No Georgis. You PLANT in winter and HARVEST is early summer. That is correct. And it is great fun to plant as the weather turns cold and the garden looks so empty. It is delightful to see the green stems as spring arrives and to cut the scapes (and saute them) in June. Yummy and fun. Great crop for the northeast, especially on the rainy side of the Hudson.
<span>Donald Soracco</span> Sun, 04/20/2025 - 14:36
ONly one verity of shallots grew ehrough the winter doing great in zone 5 my others did not survive what is the best shallot for fall planting in my zone I cover with 4-6 inches of straw in fall in remove as early as i see growth in spring your selection please
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 04/25/2025 - 10:11

Hi, Donald. French Grey is a good shallot choice for Zone 5 gardening. You can also try Red French.