fruit growing

The Cucumber incident Did I tell you I'm now on TikTok? Despite not really knowing what TikTok is, I made my debut on the controversial social media platform a … Read more

So, the other week, I had an email from a customer asking for advice on what soil mix to use for planting fruit trees in containers. It was a simple question … Read more

I know I have looked at soil and plant feeds a number of times over the years but, for the benefit of new growers, I think it may be helpful to cover it again … Read more

Getting Started Unlike other countries in the world we just don't get the weather to grow chilli peppers successfully outdoors. It is possible but the result … Read more

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 … Read more

Frost is the first thought when considering where to grow strawberry plants in your garden. They are very hardy plants during the winter, but are not so hardy … Read more

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 … Read more

Cucumber plants are either vining varieties with long vines or bush varieties with shorter vines. Cucumbers may be planted in hills or grown on supports such as … Read more

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

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

If you read last week's post you will know we talked about adding wood ash around gooseberry plants. I had a couple of emails asking if wood ash can be used arou … Read more

Mackerel sky Before we get going, here's a photo I took on Monday morning while out walking the dog showing a pretty 'mackerel sky' which, as you know, signals … Read more

I am afraid we have had to close the Quickcrop site for 3 days and not taking any new orders until Friday. As I think I explained last week we are down to a smal … Read more

Due to a relatively dry end to last week I had thought the worst of the weather was over. I said as much on Facebook (and nearly caused an International incident … Read more

I sometimes throw my vegetable garden a guilty look as I skip past it on my way to the fruit cage or down to look at my young apple trees. The vegetable garden, … Read more

I did manage to do a test build of our new fruit cage system over the weekend. The photo above shows the frame without the net obviously but this is simply att … Read more

Seeing as I mentioned my new orchard in the last post I might as well add a little information on caring for new fruit trees. Getting trees established well h … Read more

How to prune Gooseberry bushes and currant bushes. Pruning fruit bushes can seem complicated but is, in fact, very simple. Many people are nervous about the proc … Read more

This article covers pruning old and neglected fruit trees, if you would like to learn how to prune younger or freshly planted trees please read ' An introdu … Read more

July in the garden is a bit of a double edged sword, Mother nature shows her muscles both in the vigourous growth from your vegetable crops but also in the vigou … Read more

If you have your own apple trees of any reasonable size you will know that despite your best intentions the only journey many of the apples make is when they … Read more

Well, it's August again in the Quickcrop garden (and elsewhere I suspect) so I thought we'd take our customary stroll around to see what's growing and hopefull … Read more

I spent a good bit of time in the vegetable garden this weekend as the skies were blue for a change which made working outdoors a pleasure. I was also able to … Read more

This March I am starting a new monthly update project which is centered more around what I'm doing in my garden. This is because it's easier for me to write bu … Read more

Fruit trees and bushes are planted in the garden with the intention of remaining for the long term, providing produce for many years. In return for this supply … Read more

Blueberries are high in antioxidants so widely regarded as a 'Superfruit' (whatever that is) but taking their health benefits apart they are also exceptionally … Read more

'How to grow gooseberries' is intended as a solid introduction to growing this relatively easy to grow fruit bush. For more detailed information on gooseberri … Read more

How to grow bare root soft fruit In general and for the purposes of this article, soft fruit refers to soft skinned, juicy fruit borne on bushes or canes. O … Read more

Currants are an excellent fruit for the home gardener as they a relatively trouble free and produce large crops of highly nutritious fruit. Currants are divid … Read more

We've had a number of mails recently looking for information on pruning apple trees, it's too early now (late September) as the trees should be dormant but I'm d … Read more

One of the things first time vegetable gardeners ask about when they call or email us is tomatoes - everyone wants to grow their own tomatoes. This is a bit unfo … Read more

I had a call from Dermot Carey (my personal vegetable guru) over the weekend as he wanted to pick up a couple of rolls of fleece. "I hope you don't mind me calli … Read more