DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM

Also know as eschallots, shallots are prized by chefs for the amazing depth of flavour they can add to a dish, especially to sauces. They have a lovely sweet, aromatic, yet still pungent/onion flavour. They also go nicely finely sliced in salads.The deep fried ones used in Asian cuisine are also a delicious way to add flavour and texture to meals.

Often in Australia, you hear people call spring onions 'shallots' (I'm from Sydney originally and I think N.S.W is one of our states where this tends to happen!)...but the long green stalked, white bulb-based spring onions or scallions are NOT true shallots. 

Tim with a golden bundle!

There are a number of ways for plotting out your planting beds and seed rows. We mainly rely on our drip irrigation 

tape, to form the straight lines and then plant at the intervals we want each seedling to grow at along the tape, marrying each seed/plant with a drip hole.

The small-seeded rocket isn't sown on a 'plant-by-plant' basis, just more thickly in general rows and so absorbs the required moisture from the soil saturation.

 

The shallots have been largely irrigated by the winter rains but now need to be watered via our low-set overhead sprinklers when required.