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Are You Growing Your Own Onions? If Not Then Why Not?

Posted by Andrew Lees on

Are You Growing Your Own Onions? If Not Then Why Not?

One of our favourite onions for planting now is Senshyu - an original Japanese overwintering variety. Their success has been proven for many years, yielding semi-flat bulbs with straw-coloured yellow skins that are ready for harvest in early July.

Senshyu was bred specifically in the 1970’s in Japan so growers could gain the highest yields when overwintering onion crops.

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National Eat Your Vegetables Day

Posted by Bolly Bulbs on

National Eat Your Vegetables Day

National Eat Your Vegetables Day is celebrated each year on the 17th of June. We celebrate it in June as this is when our late spring crops are ready for harvest. The day is celebrated to create an awareness of the nutritional benefits of the humble vegetable.     History of National Eat Your Vegetables Day The exact origins of National Eat Your Vegetables Day are unknown but the history of vegetables starts with the history of mankind itself. We have consumed vegetables since our hunter gatherer beginnings. After having to travel further and further to get specific vegetables, we...

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Taking Cuttings From Young Dahlia Plants - Common Q&As

Posted by Andrew Lees on

Taking Cuttings From Young Dahlia Plants - Common Q&As

Why take cuttings from dahlias? As dahlias are easily cross pollinated they are more labour intensive for growers to grow specific varieties as opposed to growing them from seed. The added cost is inevitably passed on to buyers. Buying dahlia tubers can become expensive when you are buying lots of individual varieties as opposed to mixed packets of tubers.  The good news is, you can get a real bang for your buck by taking dahlia stem cuttings to grow new plants. Taking cuttings from dahlias can net you five to seven plants from a single tuber, plus you get to grow...

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Broad Beans In Your Garden

Posted by Bolly Bulbs on

Broad Beans In Your Garden

road beans are often prefixed with the word 'humble' in food magazines but these small, oval-shaped legumes are actually quite extraordinary. Thought to have originated in the Mediterranean basin - although botanists have never once found any in the wild - this veg has a fascinating history that stretches back for millennia. In 2015, carbon dating of seeds found at an archaeological dig in Israel revealed that Neolithic farmers cultivated broad beans more than 10,000 years ago. also known as fava beans, they went on to play a starring role in the diet of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, along...

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What Are Onion Sets?

Posted by Bolly Bulbs on

What Are Onion Sets?

Onions are one of the easiest crops to grow. They have few pest issues, they don’t take up much room and they can be grown anywhere in the garden where there is well-drained soil and full sun exposure.  What are onion sets? An onion set is simply an onion grown from seed which has not been allowed to grow to its full potential. Our growers plant onion seeds very close together so the resulting onions grow very small because they are so crowded. They are then lifted and stored ready for replanting in your own vegetable garden / allotment.   When...

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