Shallots

Shallots (popularly - family onions, bush, bush, magpie) are a type of onion. It has been cultivated for over 2 thousand years. Its Latin name Allium ascalonicum it got from the name of the city of Ascolon in Palestine, where it was bred in large numbers in antiquity. From these places in the 13th century, the crusaders began to bring it to Europe.

Outwardly, shallot plants are smaller than onions. Its leaves are also tubular, but narrow, subulate, dark green, with a waxy bloom. It is not in vain that shallots are considered an aristocrat - his bulb is tender, juicy, tasty and fragrant. Especially appreciated by gourmets, because it is not believed to drown out the delicate flavors of other foods.

Outwardly, shallots differ from onions in smaller bulbs (20–50 g), strong branching, and most importantly - high early maturity and high keeping quality of the bulbs, which lie without problems until the new harvest. It ripens a month earlier than onions and almost does not shoot. Shallots are exceptionally hardy. Even a frozen bulb sprouts and produces a good harvest.

Among the people, shallots are highly valued for juicy and fragrant greens and medium-sized, well-stored bulbs, which, even in a city apartment, are stored until the new harvest. Its taste is very pleasant, spicy, but softer than that of onions. And his pen is very delicate and does not coarse for a long time. And growing it is much easier than onions.

Shallots

Most often, when growing shallots, gardeners pay much less attention to the variety than when growing onions. They are usually looking for just "family bow". Nevertheless, there are quite a lot of shallot varieties, including excellent varieties of the Ural and Siberian selection. And to make it easier to navigate in them, a very brief description of the most common shallots is given below.

• Ayrat - a mid-season semi-sharp variety for cultivation in a two-year culture. Productivity 1.6 kg / sq.m. The bulb is round, with yellow dry scales, weighing 15 g. Forms 5-6 bulbs in the nest.
• Albik - early ripening variety. The bulbs are round-flat, weighing 20–30 g. Up to 8 bulbs are formed in the nest. Differs in a consistently high yield and good keeping quality of bulbs.
• Andreyka - mid-season semi-sharp variety with dark brown dry and pinkish juicy scales. The bulb is cross-elliptical, weighing 25 g. Productivity 1.8 kg / sq.m.
• Atlas F1 - mid-season hybrid. The bulbs taste great and keep very well. Dry outer scales are bronze-brown.
• Afonya - mid-season semi-sharp fruitful variety (2.0 kg / sq. M). Bulb broadly ovate, weighing up to 30 g. Dry scales are dark red, juicy reddish. Forms 4–5 bulbs in the nest.
• Belozerets 94 - early ripening variety, spicy taste. Ripens in 76–85 days. The bulbs are round and round-oval, weighing 21–27 g. The color of dry scales is light lilac with a yellow tint, juicy - purple with a lilac tint. Marketable bulbs, shelf life.

• Bonnil F1 - refers to mid-season varieties of semi-sharp taste, grown in one place for up to five years. The yield of a turnip with leaves is 1.5 kg / sq. m. It is grown in an annual culture from seeds. The growing season is 82–87 days. In the nest there are 4 or more round-shaped bulbs weighing 30–39 g each. Dry scales of the bulbs are yellow-brown. The variety is mature, gives stable yields of greens and bulbs.
• Vitamin basket - an early ripe variety with a spicy taste. From germination to harvesting on a green feather 19–22 days, to mass lodging of leaves 65–70 days. The color of dry scales is yellow, juicy - white. Bulbs weighing up to 30 g. The keeping quality of bulbs is high.
• Vonsky - late-ripening onion variety. Small to medium sized bulbs (30–70 g), usually 3–4 bulbs per nest. The color of the outer scales of the bulbs is red, the inner juicy ones are white with a light purple tint, the taste of the bulbs is semi-sharp. It stands out among other varieties for its resistance to unfavorable growing conditions, pests and diseases.
• Guarantee - mid-season variety. The bulbs are round-flat, weighing 25-30 g, semi-sharp taste. The color of dry scales is yellow. The variety has a high yield and bulb preservation.
• Miner - a mid-season variety with a semi-sharp taste for growing in a two-year culture. The bulb is round, weighing 16-18 g. There are 5-7 bulbs in the nest. Dry bulb scales are yellow. Productivity 1.6 kg / sq. m.
• Guran - a mid-season semi-sharp variety for cultivation in a two-year culture. The bulbs are round, weighing 26 g. Dry scales are light brown with a grayish tinge. Forms 4–5 bulbs in the nest. Productivity 1.7 kg / sq. m.

• Firebird - a mid-season semi-sharp variety with a vegetation period of 49–52 days. The bulbs are round-flat, weighing 25–30 g. The dry scales are yellow-brown.
• Star... One of the earliest ripening varieties with a growing season from germination to lodging of leaves of 55-60 days. The bulbs are small, weighing 25–50 g, and have a spicy taste. The color of raw scales is yellow with a pink tint, while the inner juicy ones are white. The variety is drought-resistant, fruitful.
• Emerald - early maturing semi-sharp variety. The bulb is rounded, weighing 18–22 g. Dry scales are brown with a pink tint, juicy - white. There are 3-4 bulbs in the nest. The yield of the turnip is 1.2–1.4 kg / sq. m. Stored up to 10 months.
• Cascade - an early maturing shelf-life variety with a pungent taste for growing in a two-year culture from seedlings. In the nest there are 5–6 bulbs weighing up to 35 g each. The bulb is broadly ovate. Dry pink scales,
• Koinarsky - the variety is mid-season, semi-sharp. The growing season is 83 days. In the nest, 2–4 bulbs of round-flat and round-oval shape, weighing about 26 g, are formed. The color of dry scales is brownish-pink, juicy - pale lilac with a white tint.
• Sturdy - a medium late semi-sharp variety with a vegetation period of 52–69 days. The bulbs are oval in shape, with pink dry scales. In the nest there are 4 to 7 bulbs weighing 23–52 g. The keeping quality of the variety is high. Resistant to shooters and rot. Suitable for winter planting.
• Large bulbous - mid-season variety. Bulbs are large, with an average weight of 50-60 g, straw-yellow color. The variety is fruitful, there are usually 3-4 bulbs in the nest.
• Kuban yellow - mid-season onion variety. The bulbs are small, weighing from 20 to 35 g, their shape is from round to round-flat. The color of dry scales is yellow-brown, the inner juicy ones are white with a weak green. The taste of the bulbs is semi-sharp. The variety is very productive, there are usually 4–6 bulbs in the nest.
• Kubansky Kvochka Is a multi-primordial, long-term cultivar with beautiful pink-red bulbs.
• Kunak - early ripening onion variety with a growing season of 70–75 days. The bulbs are flat-rounded, weighing 25–35 g, very dense, semi-sharp taste. The color of dry scales is yellow, the inner juicy ones are white.
• Kushchevka Kharkovskaya - mid-season variety with a growing season of 65–70 days. The bulbs are small, weighing 25–30 g, with a semi-sharp taste. The color of the outer scales is yellow-brown with a purple tint, the juicy inner ones are light purple. The nest usually contains 6-7 bulbs. The variety is resistant to low temperatures and lack of water in the soil.

• Marneulsky (Bargalinsky) - late-ripening shallot variety. The bulbs are elongated-oval, weighing 50–90 g. The color of dry scales is pink-yellow, the inner juicy ones are white. There are usually 4–6 bulbs in the nest. The variety is very productive, it is propagated mainly by seeds.
• Off-season - an exceptionally productive variety intended for growing on greens in winter and spring greenhouses and indoors. The variety is early maturing. The leaves are bright green, up to 30 cm long. The bulbs are flat-rounded, small, weighing up to 20 g. The color of dry scales is yellow, the inner juicy ones are white. There are 8-10 bulbs in the nest.
• Russian Purple - mid-season variety with a growing season from germination to lodging for about 100 days. Round-flat bulbs, weighing 25–40 g, semi-sharp or sweet taste. The color of the dry outer scales is violet-brown, the inner fleshy ones - from light pink to pink. A large nest contains up to 15 bulbs. The variety is extremely productive, propagates mainly by bulbs.
• Earring - a new mid-ripening multi-primordial variety for cultivation in a two-year culture from seedlings. The bulbs are round, dense, weighing 25 g, with a pungent taste. Dry scales are yellow, juicy, white. Stored for 8 months.
• Siberian Yellow - one of the best early maturing varieties. The growing season from germination to lodging of leaves is 60–70 days. The bulbs are small, weighing 20–25 g, with a spicy taste. The outer dry scales are yellow, the inner juicy ones are white. There are up to 7-8 bulbs in the nest. The variety is very productive, has a high keeping quality of bulbs, disease resistance.
• SIR-7 - early ripening variety of shallots. The bulb is dense, small, weighing 20–35 g. The outer scales are yellow with a pink tint. The number of bulbs in the nest is from 4 to 7 pieces. The variety is very productive, keeping quality of the bulbs is good.
• Snowball - early ripe variety with spicy bulbs. The bulb is ovoid, weighing up to 32 g. Dry and juicy white scales. The yield of a turnip is 1.9 kg / sq.m. Stored up to 7 months.
• Shrike - a productive winter-hardy variety. The bulbs are elongated and form a large nest of 5–7 bulbs. The color of the outer scales is brownish-purple.
• Sophocles - mid-early semi-acute variety, 59 days pass before lodging of leaves. Very productive. Dry scales are brown with a reddish tint, juicy - pale purple. In the nest there are 4 to 8 rounded bulbs weighing 25 to 50 g. Lying, resistant to fusarium rot.
• Sprint - an early ripe variety, forms ripe bulbs at the end of July. Good for greenery. Spicy bulbs weighing 20–35 g, light yellow with a pink tinge.
• Uralsky 40 - an excellent early ripening variety of shallots, the bulbs ripen at the end of July. Beautiful oval bulbs weighing 35–55 g. Differs in high and stable yield and keeping quality.
• Ural Violet - medium late semi-sharp variety for growing turnip onions. The color of dry scales is reddish-violet. The mass of flattened bulbs is up to 58 g. The variety is resistant to shooting and rotting.
• Chapaevsky - a mid-season variety, universal use, maturing, semi-sharp taste. The growing season is 66 days. Forms 3–8 bulbs in the nest. Bulbs are round or round-flat, weighing up to 40 g. The color of dry scales is light purple with a pink tint, juicy - light purple.

"Ural gardener" No. 13, 2016