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Posted by Lynn Byczynski on 5th Jan 2023

Last year I conducted a side-by-side comparison of onions grown from Franchi seeds with onions grown from plants purchased at a local garden center. The seed-grown onions were so successful that I will never again be tempted to grow onions any other way! If you’ve never grown onions from seed, you will be amazed at how much fun it is — they grow vigorously and quickly.I started Borettana onion seed in mid-January, one of the first vegetables I se… Read more

Posted by Lynn Byczynski on 22nd Dec 2022

In recent years, garden centers have been offering plants in ever-larger containers - with proportionate price increases. The upscaling of plants has been in response to consumer demand for immediate gratification. Which is fine when you need only one plant. But if you want multiples of one variety, or you want something unusual, you are better off starting from seed.For example, I want to plant 30 lavender and 30 rosemary plants. (I have a grand… Read more

Posted by Lynn Byczynski on 24th Jul 2022

Braiding is an easy, traditional way to store onions. Here are a few tips to help you get started:As the onions are curing (as described in the previous article), check the stems frequently — you want them to be mostly but not entirely dry. The stems must be flexible when you work with them.Lay out three of the biggest onions with the tops facing toward you and cross the stems over each other. Tie a knot with twine around this first step of the b… Read more

Posted by Lynn Byczynski on 24th Jul 2022

Onions are ready to harvest when the tops are falling over on more than half of them. That’s the sign that the bulbs are done growing and it’s best to get them out of the ground while they are in optimum condition. Pull the onions if the soil is loose or use a trowel to gently lift them if they don’t come out easily. Always handle onions gently because bruising will cause them to rot in storage. The next step is to cure the onions, which m… Read more

Posted by Lynn Byczynski on 24th Jul 2022

When planning your fall garden, you first need to write down two dates: the date when there is a 50% chance of a light frost (32*F) and the date when there is a 50% chance of a freeze (28F). You can find this information by putting your zip code into this calculator. If you have row cover like our  fleece blanket or fleece easy tunnel, you can expect about 2 degrees of frost protection, so you can move your planting dates back a bi… Read more