Yes, you can regrow shallots from grocery store bulbs and get a fair harvest from them. The results won't match certified planting sets from a seed company. But this is a cheap way to start growing without placing an order online and waiting for weeks.
I tested grocery store shallots planting next to garden center sets in my raised beds two springs ago. The store-bought bulbs had about a 60% sprouting rate while the garden center sets hit close to 100%. Several of the grocery bulbs turned soft and mushy within three weeks of going into the ground. The seed company sets grew fatter clusters with 8 to 12 bulbs per set and showed zero disease through the whole season.
The big problem with store-bought bulbs is what hides beneath the skin. Many supermarket bulbs get sprayed with sprout inhibitors that keep them looking fresh on store shelves for longer periods. These chemicals slow root growth once the bulb hits soil. Store-bought bulbs can also carry soilborne diseases like white rot or fusarium basal rot. These pathogens stick around in your garden dirt for years after one bad planting. Disease-free sets from seed companies go through lab testing that grocery produce never gets.
Organic options from farmers markets work much better than the ones in plastic bags at your chain store. Market bulbs have no sprout inhibitors on them in most cases. I've watched organic varieties send up green shoots within 7 to 10 days of going into the ground. Treated supermarket bulbs can sit in damp soil for a full month and still show no life at all. The sprouting gap between treated and untreated bulbs is hard to miss once you see it with your own eyes.
Picking the right bulbs at the store makes a big difference in your success rate. Look for bulbs that feel firm and heavy in your hand. Skip any with soft spots, dark patches, or mold near the root plate. Tight papery wrappers mean the bulb held its moisture during storage. Organic options cost a dollar or two more but sprout faster and bring fewer hidden risks into your garden beds.
Soak your chosen bulbs in lukewarm water for 8 to 12 hours before putting them in the ground. This overnight bath helps break through any leftover dormancy from cold storage at the warehouse. Plant each bulb with the pointed tip facing up about an inch below the soil surface. Give them 6 inches (15 centimeters) of room between each one so the clusters have space to form and spread.
Water the bed right after planting and keep the soil damp but never soggy for the first two weeks. You want to see green tips poking through within 10 to 14 days if the bulbs are in good shape. If nothing shows up after three weeks, those bulbs were likely treated or had gone dormant past recovery. Pull them out and replace them with fresh organic ones if you have extras on hand.
Your best long-term plan is to grow shallots from bulbs you save from each harvest. Start with store-bought bulbs to learn the basics this season. Then invest in certified disease-free sets for your second year. Save the fattest, healthiest bulbs from that crop and you have free planting stock for every season after that first good harvest.
The gap between grocery bulbs and certified sets is too big to miss in a side-by-side test. Certified sets give you stronger roots, bigger clusters, and far fewer losses to disease. Once you see both crops growing in the same bed, you won't go back to the grocery aisle for planting stock again.
Read the full article: Growing Shallots: Key Tips for Success
