Gardening Blog

Courgettes are easy to grow with two plants producing ample courgettes for most families. Courgettes are best picked small for best flavour, these plants are...

Lovely long slender stems, this variety makes a lovely, tasty baby leek for harvesting from mid summer onward. The flavour is no less impressive when eaten ful...

'Cavolo Nero' or 'Nero Di Toscana' is the only kale grown in Italy, simply because it is by far the best tasting kale. Its large strap like leaves are fantast...

How to grow red kale, the variety we use most often in our nurseries is Red Russian, this is a frost hardy variety with a sweeter taste than other kale. A...

Kohlrabi sports a rosette of blueish-green leaves above a swollen stem. This almost globe-like stem makes it appear like a turnip growing on a cabbage root, i...

Tatsoi is an oriental mustard green and is also called spinach mustard. Its a popular salad green in Aisan cuisine. Soil & Water Tatsoi greens prefer rich,...

Rocket is very quick growing, Rocket Cultivated Rucola Coltivata is a vigorous, robust plant with pungent leaves. Use as a main ingredient of a mixed green sal...

Onions are one of the most popular vegetables for growing in home gardens and are one of the first crops of spring. They can be stored over winter thus making...

Parsnips are easy to grow members of the cow parsley family. This family includes carrot, dill, fennel and parsley among others. These seeds tend to have a sh...

Peas are well-suited to cooler temperate climates. In fact, when temperatures exceed 20C (70F), most varieties of peas will stop producing pods. Peas are p...

Chard is basically a beet without the bottom. It's a biennial that is grown as an annual for its big crinkly leaves. The stalks are red or white with large, d...

Swede is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and is well-suited to the novice gardener. They also crop over a very long time because they can be left in the...

Unlike other countries in the world, we just don't get the weather to grow chilli peppers successfully outdoors. It is possible but the results and cropping lev...

Spring onions tend to be treated as an afterthought by most gardening books yet they are a popular crop and very useful, possibly because they are really easy...

Perpetual spinach is actually a chard (beet family) but is very similar to true spinach in flavour. We prefer it as it is much easier to grow and far more vigo...

Pumpkins have a special appeal for both adults and children, especially at Halloween. The carved pumpkin outside the front door - or being carried house to...

Radishes are a cool season vegetable that can mature very quickly. The small, round varieties will get woody if grown in hot temperatures.Planting Radishes...

Sowing French Bean - Climbing Recommended varieties: Cobra. You can sow climbing french beans indoors from the middle of May to plant out later or sow outdoor...

Soil and Site Any moderately fertile moisture retentive soil is good. A sheltered semi shade position is ideal. Rotation Oriental salads are part of the...

How to grow endive, a popular salad vegetable on the Continent there are two types: curly endive (chicorée frisée), which is more heat-resistant, and Batavian...

Winter Savory is part of the Lamiaceae family, it is not used as much as summer savory anymore because of its more bitter taste. As well as many medicinal pro...

In our culture of instant gratification, it can sometimes be difficult to do something in the garden now when it won't give you any reward till next year. Fru...

Milan Purple Top has distinctive flat-topped roots, white with purple crown. Quick maturing, useful in frames and under cloches. They are a fast crop, being...

Camomile (also spelled Chamomile), it is a herb most commonly used for its relaxing properties, it has long narrow leaves with attractive daisy-like flowers....

Chervil is a very under-rated and under-used herb. It has a very refreshing and slightly aniseed like taste. It's dark green leaves make the perfect addition...

Caraway, also known as Persian Cumin or Meridian Fennel, is part of the carrot family and similar in appearance too. It has aromatic leaves and tasty seeds wh...

Corn Salad has a delicate flavor, which resembles a nutty, concentrated butterhead lettuce. The leaves provide a nutritious boost of vitamins and minerals, es...

A member of the onion family, chives are well worth cultivating in the vegetable and flower garden. They take up very little space, and the whole plant can be...

Gooseberry Bushes How to grow gooseberries. Ranging from huge, juicy, red dessert fruit to tiny, sparkling, golden drops of sweetness, gooseberries are a great...

Dill leaves are very aromatic and can be used to flavour a wide range of foods, particularly fish and pickles. Once it is dried out it quickly begins to lose...

Raspberries are one of the most popular summer fruits and are very easy to grow. Different training techniques mean raspberries can be grown in gardens of any...

Lettuce is a favourite in the garden because it is relatively easy to grow, is one of the first crops that can be planted, and is one of the first crops...

The cauliflower is not the easiest of the brassica family to grow but a large white cauliflower with tight white curds is a thing of beauty and producing one...

Land cress is also known as American cress and is a tasty and fast growing watercress substitute. It is ready to eat seven or 8 weeks after sowing so is an ex...

Growing Peppers Peppers and chillis are expensive when bought in the shops so growing your own is an economical exercise which also brings great pleasure. They...

Marigolds are grown in gardens as natural insect-repellents. We grow them at Quickcrop to repel insects from our polytunnel. Marigolds are prolific annuals th...

Basil is one of the most well-known and well-used herbs in the UK and Ireland. It is used as a key ingredient in Italian dishes including pizza and pasta. It...

Growing Dwarf French Beans Dwarf French Beans are a compact habit plant that don't need staking like runner beans or peas. They are easy to grow and withstand...

Squash plants are closely related to cucumbers, courgettes and marrows, and are a member of the same family, curcurbit. Squash plants come in a variety of sha...

Choose a sunny open site in which to plant your rhubarb crown as rhubarb does not grow well in shade. November is the perfect time to plant a rhubarb crown. M...

When most people hear the word 'broccoli' this is the crop that they will see in their mind's eye. The large green heads, made up of tightly packed florets, are...

Mizuna is one of those strange oriental vegetables which arrived in the West in the last 20 years or so. The name for this leafy green comes from the Japanese...

Growing Oregano in the herb garden. The three varieties normally grown are 'wild marjoram' (common oregano), pot marjoram and sweet or knotted marjoram. They a...

Rosemary is one of the most decorative herbs and is well worth growing for its appearance alone. Dependent on the variety, it has small, profuse flowers appear...

Sage is very slow to establish itself, so be prepared for a wait if you grow it from seed. When established however, common sage is reasonably hardy and tolera...

Thyme deserves a place in all herb gardens. Its foliage is attractive, the long-lasting flowers are very pretty and it is a compact easy-care plant. On top...

Grow Your Own Oriental Salads Spicy Chinese Mustard. Mustard greens are very popular in China for stir-fry, and mostly used cooked. The oriental mustards are a...

Claytonia is also known as winter purslane or miners lettuce, it tastes quite like spinach and is full of vitamin C. It is a tough, cold resistant salad for g...

Variety is important! Coriander (Cilantro) can be either grown for its leaves or for its seeds. Varieties have been bred to be better at producing one or the o...

Celeriac is a cool-season biennial grown as an annual. It is similar in growing habit and requirements as celery. Celeriac is best when it comes to harvest in...

How to grow daikon radishes. Daikon is a long, white variety of radish. Also known as white radish, mooli or Oriental radish, daikon radishes can grow over a f...

Parsley is a biennial edible herb grown for its leaves which are commonly used in cooking and for garnishing salads and other cold dishes. Parsley is also know...

Blueberries are delicious and extremely high in antioxidants which is why it is regarded as a super food. Plants are easy to grow provided you use an acidi...

Salad Burnet, also called Garden Burnet, Small Burnet or simply just burnet, is a perennial herb of the Rosaceae or Rose family. It's edible leaves have a sli...

Summer Savory is probably the most used of the savory species, part of the Lamiaceae family it is closely related to rosemary and thyme. It is not as bitter t...

Borage, also known as a starflower, is a mediterranean annual herb that also grows well in the UK and Ireland. It has hairy leaves and stems with a 5 point...

Mustard greens are very popular in China for stir-fry, and mostly used cooked. The oriental mustards are a very large group of rather coarse-leaved brassicas,...

Fennel is easy to grow. They prefer full sun and a well drained soil. They will do best in rich soils.Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week. Add...

Tarragon is a very easy to grow herb. It has a peppery slightly anise flavour to it. This is a much used herb as it goes well with most types of dish. Site a...

Mint is an aromatic perennial herb with oblong to lanceolate leaves. Mint plants are easily maintained and if left untended they can spread quite rapidly, mak...

Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding crops for the home gardener to grow, simply because their flavour is so much better than their shop-bought cousins. Tomat...

Know Your Broccoli! In Italian the word broccoli means 'little sprouts'. It is part of the Brassica family of vegetables, which also includes cau...

Get the soil conditions correct and carrots are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the cooler climates. Incorrect soil conditions lead to misshape...

A comprehensive article on How to grow Artichokes (Jerusalem variety). Artichokes area very easy crop to grow but be careful as they are very hard to get rid...

Most people think of a small, round, pink variety when picturing a radish, usually either sliced or added whole to a garden salad. You may also remember th...

If you were alive 144 million years ago, you wouldn't need to worry about providing winter food for wild birds, because you would have been on the menu yourself...

This week I would like to talk about succulent plants and flowering perennials, as both give me something to do while the vegetable garden sleeps. First though,...

I know I mentioned feeding your soil in some detail at the end of August, but it really is the best thing you can do for your garden at this time of year. Layer...

As September is one of the busiest harvesting months, this week I thought it might be helpful to talk about preserving or storing vegetables over winter as, if y...

As you know, September is about the final act in the vegetable garden when we harvest many of our crops and prepare the soil for winter. This week I have had a q...

September in the Vegetable Garden Following our article on Autumn sowing for the polytunnel (17th August), we have had a number of requests for information on o...

This week we are back in the vegetable garden to look at growth towards the end of the season and to make sure we get the best possible harvests before the cold...

We had a number of questions recently on polytunnel growing: particularly whether polytunnels are worth the investment and whether it is true that they enable y...

I can't believe I am already writing about the vegetable garden in August, where has all that time gone? I don't know what the weather is like where you are but...

In general tomatoes are easy to grow plants and will usually produce something no matter what you do to them but, for good yields of high quality fruit they do n...

Keep sowing those seeds! I know I said it in a previous mail/blog post, but I feel I should again remind you to keep sowing seeds for late summer, autumn...

Pollinating Sweetcorn As you may know from previous mails, I am growing sweetcorn in the polytunnel this year as part of our video project. I thought you might l...

The vegetable garden was beginning to get very dry over the last few weeks - so much so that I found myself out with the hose watering crops, which can be a ver...

Well folks, I am back from my week's holidays loafing around with the day to myself. If anyone is interested, I was in Oysterhaven, a pretty spot on the sea in c...

Mental health is clearly just as important as our physical health, yet is unseen and can be so difficult to manage, it can affect every aspect of our daily l...

Firstly, thank you to anyone who mailed me last week to let me know you found our most recent article on plant feed for container growing useful. It is always gr...

Hi folks, I hope everyone had a good weekend. I don't know what the weather is like with you but we finally had a beautiful summer weekend with plenty of heat an...

Firstly, thank you to anyone who replied to last week's mail expressing interest in information on plant feed for container growing. I am a bit tight for time th...

I can't tell you how much of a relief it is that the weather has warmed a little and that there is no frost forecast for this week. As you may know I am filming...

When my daughter Anna (21, not living at home) called to tell us she had adopted 2 kittens I started a countdown in my head to see how long it would take for the...

We are now very close to being able plant out seedling plants outdoors or to be able sow directly in the garden soil. Please be aware, however, that despite the...

This week I thought I would concentrate on the polytunnel or greenhouse as there is a lot to be done in April both in terms of sowing new seed and in potting on...

Hi folks, I hope you all had a good Easter break. I don't know what the weather has been like for you but we have had a very pleasant few days with warm sunshine...

Seed sowing dates This week I thought it might be helpful to include some more detail on seed sowing dates as, with some minor planning, you can skew the season...

Pricking out tomato and chilli seedlings This week I have started pricking out and potting on my tomato seedlings, you can see the tomatoes happily growing away...

March can be a deceptive month. The season is clearly starting to turn with warmer days, grass beginning to grow and buds opening on fruit bushes, yet it i...

Your Immune System The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body. It is a highly...

Regular readers will know that I included my outdoor garden succession planting plan in one of our January emails. I also said I would follow with my polytunnel...

When you see someone with glowing skin, it stands out but not all of us are blessed with radiant, flawless skin. There are millions of products available we can...

While we are heading in the right direction in terms of day length, February is still a very cold month with little we can sow or plant outside. There are a few...

I thought it might be a good idea to follow last week's article on sowing seeds with some notes on seed and potting compost. It might seem like a boring subject...

Although it is still too early to sow anything I thought I would run through some seed sowing notes this week for any new growers who are unsure when or how to s...

Sleep is something many of us take for granted and don’t give a second thought to, but for others it’s a huge obstacle in their life. Sleep deprivation actually...

‘You are what you eat and absorb’ is more accurate than the saying ‘you are what you eat’. More than 2,000 years ago Hippocrates stated that all disease starts i...