hmmm interesting...

at the moment, the shoots do look very thick and lush, so perhaps the shallots will indeed be big and chunky. As for spacing, I have five in the ground, about a foot apart, and a few in 1ft diameter pots (with a couple of lettuce for good measure).

They all started life in 5 inch pots and were planted when the green shoots were about four inches high. So my next question is...

was the number already determined by the time the green shoots came up? I haven't counted the number of early shoots before, so I don't have any info to compare.

Would starting them in 5 inch pots (they were well looked after and by no means pot-bound when I planted them) have affected the yield?

Any offers?