You can grow shallots year-round warm climate gardens if you time your plantings right. Zones 8 through 10 give you enough mild months to run two crops per year using staggered planting dates. True year-round production takes planning, but it's doable with the right approach to heat and timing.
I tried growing a spring batch in my zone 9 garden and watched the plants stall out in June when temps hit 85°F (29°C) day after day. The bulbs went dormant early and came out about half the size I expected. Shallots in hot weather just don't perform well since the heat shuts down their growth cycle too soon. My fall-planted batch did much better because it had cool weather to bulk up before summer arrived.
The core problem is that these plants prefer moderate temps between 55 and 75°F. They also respond to day length like long-day onions. Shallots in hot weather face a double hit. The heat stresses the roots and the long summer days can trigger early bulbing before the plant has grown enough leaves to support a big cluster. This combo means summer is the worst time to try growing in warm zones.
Fine Gardening notes that zone 9 may be too hot for the usual spring-to-summer growing window. But they miss the big upside for warm zone growers. Your mild winters give you a planting window that cold-climate gardeners can only dream about. While growers up north wait for spring thaw, you can have sets in the ground from October through January and harvest fat bulbs by April or May.
Your October planting is the main event for warm climate shallot growing. Put your sets in the ground as soon as nights drop below 70°F and they root fast in the cooling soil. These fall-planted sets grow all through your mild winter and bulk up into large clusters by early spring. This is the crop that gives you the biggest bulbs and the best storage life.
A second planting in late January extends your season even further. These sets have less time to grow than the fall batch. But they still produce decent clusters if you get them in the ground before your last frost date. I tried this second batch last year and pulled good clusters in early June. Harvest by June at the latest or the summer heat forces early dormancy and cuts your yield short.
Keep shade cloth ready for warm climate shallot growing during spring temperature spikes. A 30% shade cloth draped over hoops protects your plants when temps jump above 85°F (29°C) for a few days at a time. Pull it off when temps drop back to normal. Mulch the bed with 2 to 3 inches of straw to keep root zone temps down.
Water your warm-zone crop in the morning so foliage dries before the hot afternoon sun hits. Wet leaves plus heat is a fast path to fungal problems. I lost a small batch to downy mildew one spring because I watered too late in the day during a heat wave.
With two crops per year and smart heat management, your warm climate garden keeps you in fresh bulbs for 10 months out of 12. You also get plenty of sets to save for replanting each cycle. The warm zone advantage is real once you stop fighting the summer heat and start working around it. Plan your schedule, protect your plants during hot spells, and enjoy harvests that cold-climate growers can't match.
Read the full article: Growing Shallots: Key Tips for Success
