The more I delve into gardening, the more it teaches me about building a food supply. Even with a small garden area, productive plants produce an unlimited supply for my household.

My husband and I are home alone, so there will be plenty of extra harvest. I've already shared the harvest with my neighbors and friends around our rented house. And I didn't expect to have so much leftover. Yes, I'm learning how to preserve the harvest.

Especially the shallot harvest. Luckily, with the right method, shallots can be stored for months until the next harvest cycle arrives. That's great.

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Preserving Shallots for Kitchen Stock

Preserving cooking stock or storing them for seeds is certainly a different matter. So, it's planned before the shallots are harvested.

For my kitchen stock, I usually grow shallots only from bulbs, not seeds. This yields a quick harvest.

I usually harvest shallots that will be used for cooking stock in the kitchen two months after planting. This is when the shallots still have green leaves, not completely yellow.

Like the shallots I planted in this round planter bag, it only takes two months. A few bulbs produce a lot of shallots. ♥️

After harvesting, it's important not to cut the leaves immediately. This causes the shallots to quickly deflate and rot when stored in the kitchen.

So, I dry the shallots in the sun for about two days, only in the morning sun.

While drying, cover the shallot bulbs with the leaves to protect them from direct sunlight.

After two days, I tidy up the shallots. I bundle the shallot leaves one by one.

Store the shallots in the kitchen, in a place with good air circulation, so the shallot bulbs don't get damp and rot over time. Store the shallots in a bundle.

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Preserving Shallots for Seedlings

For shallot seedlings in the next planting phase, I usually harvest the shallots later than the shallots that will be used for cooking.

The shallots for seedlings will be harvested at 3 months old, when the leaves have completely turned yellow.

The drying process will take longer, but with the same method as before.

After drying, they can be stored until the dormancy period is over before planting again.

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It's really fun learning new things every day. And my goal is to get closer to food self-sufficiency. ♥️ Happy gardening everyone.

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Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari

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