I've got them in bigger pots than usual as I don't want them to become too pot bound before planting out in April. Dave Thornton gets huge shallots and he puts this down to having strong plants to plant out, plants that have carried on growing to give a smooth transition once planted out into fertile soil.
It was once a school of thought that shallots don't need a lot of feed but in truth it's a balancing act with early season nitrogen, which you need to give strong tops to produce large bulbs come harvest time. Dave works 'hydro-complex' into the soil a week or two before planting which gives some nitrogen as well as have high levels of phosphate for root production and potash for ripening later in the season. I cannot source this product so I'll put a double dusting of Q4 down with a bit of dried blood for extra nitrogen.
4 comments:
My local private nursery does a high nitrogen fertiliser from Vitax. Might be useful?????
My shallots have a little more top on them than yours. I have also put them in bigger pots (1 ltr pots) I have managed to get a fertiliser from a farmer friend 10-26-26 which I'm thinking will be good for my shallots
My shallots needed potting on to 5in pots, but the weather has been so dry and mild i planted them in the plot. Maybe a bit early, but they can get frosted there as they would in my cold frame. They now have about 4in of top on them.
Hydro Complex is 12%N - 11%P - 18%K
Q4 is 5.3/7.5/10......hence why i'm giving a double dusting with added dried blood.
And my shallots are already in 1L pots.
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