miscellaneous

If you walk into your typical garden centre - or the garden section of a big retail store - you will no doubt have seen a shelf full of colourful plant food con...

We would all like to bring a little bit of our garden to the office with us, wouldn't we? Offices can often be drab, somewhat sterile places where the sound of...

Growing your own mushrooms can be a fun challenge for any gardener. Mushrooms are unique in that they are grown in a different way to the methods that we are al...

Everyone seems to be talking about trees these days and with good reason. They are one of the single most effective ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere an...

Previously on the blog we've talked about the Vigo Fruit Press, and how you can make your own scrumptious, nutritious homemade juice from your fruit harvests. H...

Food waste is a significant social issue with far-reaching consequences for the environment. According to the EPA, Ireland generated 835,000 tonnes of food wast...

Birkdale Durapost FencingAs part of the Durapost Fencing System, a durable alternative to traditional timber or concrete fence posts, we supply two (soon to be...

The rewilding movement has picked up pace and momentum in recent years. In short, the idea behind rewilding is that we humans take a step back and allow nature...

Forest gardening aims to mimic the natural balance found in forest or woodland ecosystems. Woodlands are known to support a diverse array of plants, wildlife an...

There are many claims made about seaweed in terms of it's beneficial effects for the gardener. It is known to improve soil structure and invigorate soil...

Whether you're moving into a new build or you're looking to improve an existing boundary that has deteriorated, the thorny (pun intended) question of fenci...

Honestly, do you ever think about how weird it is that ‘pond life’ has become a derogatory phrase and insult, when actual pond life contains some of...

Maintaining a garden pond fosters a healthy ecosystem, providing the suitable environment for fish and plants to thrive. It's important to practice regul...

As winter approaches in the second half of the year it's important to consider protecting your plants from cold weather - and the damage that can be caused...

As you will know if you read last week’s mail, we kicked off our winter plant biology series with roots (I was going from the bottom up), but, in retrospect...

As we slip into the cooler weather of October there is very little we can sow now (apart from some cold tolerant Asian salads) so, as per last week's...

A neat, well-maintained lawn is still considered a cornerstone of an appealing outdoor space. It provides a space for children to play, pets to chase after a ba...

If you’re new to the whole world of ‘sitting in a heated room to relax’, it may not be immediately clear what the difference is between a sauna and a steam...

The sauna can be a terrific place to unwind, rejuvenate or socialise. It’s a place you want to retreat to so you can take your mind off daily stresses. Having sa...

Kicking back and relaxing in your home sauna is going to be much easier once you know that everything is working smoothly and the structure is in good cond...

Once you have your home sauna set up, you may be wondering what else you will need to optimise your sauna bathing sessions. The answer is not a whol...

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of using a sauna, you’ll know that it can be a serene experience. The heat relaxes your muscles and eases body tension....

Look, we don’t blame you if you get a bit sceptical when someone goes on about the positive health effects that a particular activity might have. This is d...

Barrel saunas are a stylish, modern type of wooden sauna with a distinctive, rounded barrel shape. The curved walls actively help to trap the heat inside...

Edible landscaping or foodscaping is the practice of interspersing ornamental plant displays with edible crops, often in a way that creates a lush and colour...

In a perfect world, there’d be plenty of room for gardens, greenery and foliage to exist in harmony with us as we go about our day-to-day lives. However, urbanis...

I am not someone who is very keen on getting up at 5 am on a Sunday morning but last weekend I found myself sitting blinking in the car three and half hour...

A finish generally refers to a coating which you can apply to your garden furniture to add extra protection, improve its weather resistance or retain its v...

Outdoor or patio furniture makes for a great addition to your garden, allowing you to spend time in the fresh air with family or just sit and soak in the s...

Whether you're (a) looking for a gift for the gardening enthusiast in your life or (b) you want to leave some heavy hints lying around about what you yourself...

The humble cucumber is perhaps the single most popular food to use for pickles, so much so that over in the States the word ‘pickle’ pretty much means ‘pic...

I am excited about this week's post because I am covering one of my favourite subjects, fermented food. To be fair, I am a lot better at eating it than making it...

As the garden is currently in the process of springing into life and we have 'work' to do, it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the essential garde...

I'm not sure what the weather is like where you are but it has been dry in the Quickcrop garden for the last week, which means the soil is dry enough to work. A...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Hi there and a Happy New Year to you all! So, Andrew asked me to do a series of articles about nutrition and everyday health, I’m a Nutritional Therapist so I gu...

As someone who makes a lot of mistakes, I have to say I absolutely love a clean slate. I can literally drag myself to the end of the year yet emerge completely t...

As you may know from last week's communication I have been having a very enjoyable time reading Jane Powers' new book 'An Irish Nature Year'. The book is a compi...

Last week I filmed the first in a series of over 200 videos which will become the backbone of our new Quickcrop vegetable growers course. This epic lea...

Victory gardens are fruit and vegetable gardens grown by the public both at home and in a community setting. In times of war huge pressure is put on the fo...

You might remember from a post a few weeks back that we are now manufacturing the fabulous 'Gro-Grid' weed control planting mat. We have the machinery set up in...

The Painted Lady is a very interesting butterfly due to the vast migratory path that it traces and the fact that record numbers have been reported in the UK and...

I thought we'd do one last 'Friday Facts' on unsung pollinator heroes before moving on to another subject next week. Today I am taking a quick look at moths as t...

This Friday I thought we'd continue looking at pollinators as we had such a good response from our article on solitary bees. Solitary bees tend to be overlooked...

I spent most of last weekend loafing around Kent and Sussex as I was keen to visit a few gardens while the season still has some life left in it. One of the high...

As you know the Quickcrop research bureau never sleeps. Our aim is provide you with the best products for your garden but also to back them up with plenty o...

I do love the colour of beetroot, its glorious deep fuschia just makes me feel good looking at it. Add chickpeas, oil, garlic, lemon and some ground cumin in t...

If you are considering building a garden pond you may want to calculate the volume of water for water treatment or if you intend to introduce fish. Water treat...

Perennial Weeds Perennial weeds come up every year from the same plant and are difficult to get rid of but not as hard as they are often made our to be. Most hav...

Common garden weeds are a large part of our gardens, and need to be identified before they manage to sow seed and multiply. If you keep a strict and thorough wee...

With so many available options causing confusion for novice gardeners here are some simple suggestions for anyone planning to grow vegetables. Herb Garden...

1 PlanningDecide what you want to do with your vegetable garden and spend time working out the best way to achieve it. There are so many choices –fruit or veg...

This is a follow up to a weekly newsletter post where I mentioned a guy who worked with me a number of years ago who was always good for a funny turn of phras...

Researching the benefits of drinking wheatgrass juice has to be one of the most challenging tasks as opinions vary wildly from one side to the other. The problem...

I'm sure most of you have already heard of G.I.Y. or 'Grow It Yourself', indeed many of you are probably members so we'll go for a brief intro for those who h...

It is rare that my wife and I agree on anything but I was pleasantly surprised when my liking for pickled vegetables converged neatly with her interest in the he...

England, like any country, has its pro's and con's but I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I discovered many pubs over there are furnished with an enorm...

Mothers Day 2015 Mothers Day 2015 is on sunday the 15th of March in Ireland. It is one of those days that lands on a different date each year, which...

Here at Quickcrop HQ we propagate large amounts of vegetable seedlings in the early spring, so we need some heat to get them going. Clearly a heated propagator...

Tomatoes are easy to grow and are becoming a more and more popular crop. A couple of tomato plants will produce hundreds of fruit and keep you in fresh tomatoe...

I rarely get out these days but myself and Niall always try to squeeze in a relaxing pint on a Friday evening. Pubs whether you like or loath them are great p...

As I've mentioned in my bee article I have accidentally ended up with a hive of bees. This is all fine and well but clearly I need to learn a lot more about t...

I asked my wife Siobhan to have a go at documenting her chutney making endeavours with the following results, go Siobhan!The English made chutneys their own afte...

"How times have changed regarding the use of wild foods in our diet, since Wild and Free:  Cooking from Nature, written by my late husband, Cyril and I was...

You may remember we reported from the West Cork Garlic Farm earlier in the year. It's a project we're very excited about as it gives us a source of Irish produce...

Ingredients 4 litres hot water 700g sugar Juice and zest of four lemons 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar About 15 elderower heads, in full bloom A pinch o...

To compliment Dorcas Barry's great energy boosting smoothie featured in this months newsletter I'm covering the leafy green part of the recipe to show just ho...

If you're getting a bit upset that the vegetable growing season is over you might like to try growing some sprouting seeds. O.K. they're never going to replace a...

When Dorcas Barry agreed to contribute to our blog I couldn't believe my luck. I met Dorcas at the G.I.Y. (Grow It Yourself) gathering in Waterford last year whe...

Fiona Dillon is, amongst many other things, an expert poultry keeper so I thought I'd give her a call to get the '123' for any first timers (or those int...

West Cork Garlic is a new enterprise which has undertaken the risky business of growing garlic commercially in the Irish climate.Axel and Marye Miret of Enniskea...

I posted an 'info graphic' (which I did myself) on facebook the other day illustrating that an acre of land could support 20 families in vegetables but just t...

I'd kind of given up including recipes in our newsletters as I can see by my sneaky control panel that not many of you read them. Still, this is a soup my lovely...

I was pleased to bump into writer and journalist Fionnuala Fallon recently as I wanted to compliment her on her new book 'From the Ground Up'. I'm a sucker for g...

This time you get a sneak peek into my kitchen where my wife Siobhan shares her recipe for parsley pesto. Sometimes the best things happen by accident and this p...

I must confess to be a bit of a frustrated artist myself, in fact my past career involved slopping paint around the canvas but sadly I can't seem to find the tim...

Potatoes are a staple, a real mainstay of the kitchen but I think we can take them for granted in this part of the world. I grew up in a household that served th...

This recipe comes comes courtesy of the very generous Domini Kemp (on the right) who has given us access to her recipe book. I'm off bread because I can't sleep...

We have a treat for you this month as Niall has put his head above the literary parapet and written an article! In answer to one of our facebook queries Nial...

I had always read Jane Powers' Irish Times articles with interest so I was quite excited when I answered the phone one day and found herself on the other end....

First prepare the "beurre d'escargots" (Snail butter if you weren't listening in school) The snails we are adding in the recipe have been simmered for 15 mins a...

With everyone trying to save a few euro on their shopping we've decided to go one better and show you where to get food for free! We're a bit spoiled as we live...

I’m a terrible man for leek and potato soup and spent a couple of days in Ballymaloe many years ago. I love Darina’s buttery cooking and could eat buckets of thi...

A satisfying vegetable supper that uses a basic risotto recipe and gives it an autumnal twist.Ingredients 1kg butternut squash , peeled and cut into bite-si...