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'Stop growing boring vegetables, try heirloom seeds'

BBC A purple corn on the cob grown by She Grows VegBBC
Heirloom seeds can produce vegetables of all different shapes and sizes

Two business owners have encouraged people to "stop growing boring" vegetables and consider heirloom seeds.

Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill founded She Grows Veg a year ago and have now won a gold medal the first time they have exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Heirloom seeds are considered to be at least 50 years old and are non genetically modified organisms.

Ms Hutchings and Ms Cotterill, who are based in Capel St Mary, Suffolk, said they were excited to see them growing in popularity.

She Grows Veg being interviewed by the Chelsea
She Grows Veg held its first exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Shower

"We are absolutely passionate about heirloom vegetables and honestly think they are the best veg you can be growing in your garden," said Ms Hutchings.

"We're very excited that people are starting to get as excited about them as we are."

According to Ms Cotterill, the seeds can "come in a rainbow of colours" and are "so nutritious".

"We want people to stop growing boring red tomatoes," she added. "Let's go for those really colourful varieties that come from heirloom.

"The lovely thing about heirlooms is they are all open pollinators which means when you're collecting the seeds it stays absolutely true to type.

"So it will grow exactly the same vegetable from its original plant."

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Heirloom seeds can often lead to vegetables growing in different shapes and colours than often seen in supermarkets.

"We're so used to seeing the veg in the supermarket and thinking that's what it has to look like," Ms Hutchings explained.

"That every tomato has to be red and round, that every carrot has to be orange so we want to show people how much more is out there for them to try."

She Grows Veg has 156 varieties of veg and said they are adding more all the time.

It had its first ever exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday and won a gold medal for its Edimental - the beauty of vegetables exhibit.

The annual show in London represents "the pinnacle of horticultural excellence, with something for everyone no matter what kind of gardener you are", according to the organisers.

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