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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-178
Shallot
Allium cepa var. aggregatum
Shallots grow in clusters of small, mild-flavored bulbs instead of a single onion, multiplying underground so each planting leaves bulbs behind to replant the next year. The leaves are edible too, with a stronger onion bite, though most growers who plant shallots skip that second harvest. It needs full sun and a fertile, well-drained bed, and tolerates alkaline and even lime-heavy soil. In any quantity it is toxic to dogs, cats, and other livestock, so keep beds fenced off from animals.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–10
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 12–18 in
- Mature spread
- 6–12 in
- Plant spacing
- 6 in
- Root type
- Bulb
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
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Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
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African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
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Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
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Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera is a stemless, clump-forming succulent with thick, spiny-edged leaves that store a clear gel used to soothe burns, wounds and skin…
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Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
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Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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