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Frost, or even the spectre of frost, is something that all gardeners are wary of. While some plants are more able to withstand a spell of cold temperatures … Read more

We build a relationship with tomatoes unlike almost any other plant in our vegetable garden as they need such constant and varying care. We start off seeds when … Read more

Following on from last week's post I thought we would continue with more planting tips, this time on tomatoes as I put some in my tunnel at the weekend. As regar … Read more

Brace yourselves folks, we are now entering the busiest time of year in the vegetable garden. The soil has warmed sufficiently for sowing and planting out but ha … Read more

Depending on your location early potatoes are planted in mid March once the days begin to warm. To be fair, the soil is probably warm enough to plant now in m … Read more

I have a soft spot for peas. They are easy to sow, look beautiful, are fascinating to observe as they climb and, of course, have a delicious sweet flavour. They … Read more

I have two books which are my vegetable growing bibles. One is Joy Larkcom's 'Grow Your Own Vegetables' and the other is 'Organic Gardening - The Natural No-D … Read more

I guess it is important to say from the outset that herbs are very easy to grow. Considering what they add in flavour - and how often you will use them - they a … Read more

As you can see from the image above our seed potatoes for this year have now arrived and are looking forward to going out to their new homes. We have the usual b … Read more

Growing your own fruit has to be the easiest, most satisfying and most joyous gardening pursuit. Yes, I am delighted when I fork out some nice straight carrots o … Read more

Flowering bulbs are ideal for container gardening or as part of a vibrant garden border. They are one of the easiest plants to grow and with a little careful pla … Read more

Climbing peas and beans are some of my favourite crops in the vegetable garden. They epitomise summer with their attractive flowers and lush growth. There is so … Read more

A raised bed can provide the perfect environment for creating a herb garden. It can be positioned anywhere that suits you and can be maintained easily. A sele … Read more

Why Compost in the first place? Composting is the best thing you can do for your vegetable garden. It is the natural process that returns the nutrients … Read more

A plant seed is created to grow, and will perform that task admirably once given the opportunity. For successful germination seeds will need:  a suit … Read more

The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is a support system designed for growing your own climbing garden peas and beans. Freshly picked home grown peas are one of t … Read more

I thought I'd quickly try to explain the difference between open pollinated and F1 seeds this week as I was asked about it twice over the last few days. There … Read more

Garden soil comes in many forms depending on consistency and nutrient content. By identifying and understanding the type of soil you have you can create a wor … Read more

The unwelcome garden visitors that come back every year. Here's a rundown of who they are and how to send them away. SlugsThese garden molluscs, al … Read more

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 … Read more

Top ten list of the easiest vegetables to grow for the beginner gardener. Our list of easy to grow vegetables all have a good chance of first time success and … 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

Growing garlic is one of my favourite jobs in the vegetable garden. It is pretty much trouble free to grow and adds wonderful flavours to our home cooking. … Read more

Onions are some of the easiest things to grow and require very little looking after. As our friend Dermot Carey (last head gardener of Lissadell House) says if y … Read more

Wheatgrass is regarded as a superfood, it is the young grass part of the sprouted wheat seed and is packed full of nutrients and vitamins. Because of this, … Read more

While it is most commonly visualised as a bright red vegetable, there is a delightful amount of variety when it comes to growing your own radish. For simpl … 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

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 … Read more

My vegetable growing career took a serious shot in the arm when Niall and myself started Quickcrop. This was mainly due to our association with two of the bes … Read more

Rhubarb is a very easy plant to grow. If you get the conditions right at the start it will be relatively trouble free for many years. It is a plant that lo … Read more