SHALLOTS 183 



is also encased in a similar membrane. To plant a crop of garlic, 

 all that is necessary is to pull the bulbs to pieces and plant the 

 separate cloves like onion sets. Planting should be done in early- 

 spring. The care of the crop is similar to that of onions. The 

 plants continue growth through hot, dry weather. The crop is 

 usually harvested in early fall and cured for winter use by hanging 

 up the bulbs in long " strings " held together by braiding the tops. 

 Shallots. — The shallot differs in structure from the garlic in 

 that the separate cloves are not enclosed by a common sheath, 

 so that the mature plant consists of a cluster of elongated bulbs 



Fig. 115. — Garlic bulbs. 



joined to a common base. The bulbs are separated for planting, 

 and each one produces a cluster of bulbs like the original. 



Shallots should be planted in early spring about four inches 

 apart in the row, and cared for like onions. The crop will ripen 

 about the same time as onions, and may be cured in the same way. 

 The bulbs keep well and may be stored for winter use. They 

 are used principally for flavoring, and are milder than most onions. 



Sometimes shallots are planted late in the fall in the South 

 and are pulled and marketed like green bunch onions during the 

 winter. They are shipped to the North at a time when local 

 bunch onions cannot be produced. 



