Last season I trialled sending trays of some of the more unusual cosmos varieties as seedling plug plants. The exercise went an absolute bomb, with the whole lot sold and people still talking a ... … A Guide to Growing Cosmos

What is a Microclimate? A microclimate is a small localised area that differs somewhat from the surrounding weather conditions, for example being warmer, more humid, windier etc. A ‘localised ... … Creating a Microclimate in your Garden

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-Dig Way' by Charles Dowding. Both are f ... … Mulching is the key to a healthy garden

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 health benefits of home fermented produc ... … Korean Kimchi and Fizzy Milk

I don't know what the season has been like for you but thanks to a warm and dry early summer followed by some welcome rain, my garden is looking vibrant and green. Despite the fact that the ... … July 7th - Quickcrop Vegetable Garden Update

Square Foot Gardening is an easy to understand method of planting vegetables which splits a gardeners plot into square foot areas rather than into rows. This system is especially good for beginners a ... … New Square Foot Garden Plans

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, but knowing your compost will become ... … A Guide to Seed & Potting Compost

We talked a couple of weeks ago about how adding well rotted organic matter to your garden soil is the number one way to grow the best vegetables. One of the key ingredients is your own home produced ... … Making your own 'Black Gold' with the new Subpod Wormery

Easy compost making: throw some organic matter in a pile and wait. But of course we never let it be that easy. For years, composters all over have been monkeying with the "how to compost" puzzle to ... … Fast Composting vs Slow Composting

The transition from May to June is a fantastic time in the vegetable garden as the crops you have planted or sown start to put on some proper growth and the garden starts to fill up. As you know I of ... … What to sow in late May and early June

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. She was doing an article on raised be ... … A drop of Powers: an interview with Jane Powers

A greenhouse is very effective at what it does, but to keep it working to the best of its abilities you should keep on top of any maintenance issues that may arise. Keep a sharp eye on things l ... … Greenhouse Maintenance

There's something quite pleasant about raking up autumn leaves: it feels like such an ancient, seasonal practice that it connects you not only with the current yearly cycle, but to the same dependabl ... … 5 Uses for Autumn Leaves

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 size and in containers.Preparation ... … How To Grow Raspberries

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 than others, a sudden freeze can do a lot ... … Types of Frost Protection in the Garden

Get the soil conditions correct and carrots are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the cooler climates. Incorrect soil conditions lead to misshapen carrots - these may well cause a chu ... … How To Grow Carrots

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, it is an ideal addition to healthy jui ... … How To Grow Wheatgrass - 5 Easy Steps

We are nearly at that time again when we sow some tiny seeds in compost and see them magically transform into large tomato plants bearing 15-20 kg of fruit each. The whole thing is incredible r ... … How to Start Seedlings Indoors

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 evolved series of defences designed to ... … Functional Nutrition Basics Part 5 – Immune Function

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 a general purpose fertilizer once or t ... … How To Grow Fennel

I gather that while the whole country is experiencing some warm and dry June weather, us culchies on the west coast are getting the highest temperatures (for a change). Of course, last week I had de ... … Gardening tips for dry weather

If you're looking for a composting solution that's somewhere between a traditional static pile and the larger insulated composters, The Thermo range of composters have a lot to offer. Produced by Ger ... … Thermo Compost Bins

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 foot long. They have a crispy texture, ... … How To Grow Diakon Radish

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 by frost. In a lot of ways though, it' ... … How Frost Affects Your Plants

I feel a bit guilty about my post last week where I said there was nothing to do in the November garden so I thought I would offer a few tips today. It is true that there are very few vegetables to s ... … November Tips in the Vegetable Garden

We understand it can be difficult for teachers without gardening experience to choose the correct vegetable plants for school growing. Our seeds packs are designed for growing within the term date ... … Recommended Seed Varieties for Schools

Home composting is a fantastic way of killing two birds with one stone. You can process garden and kitchen waste (and reduce your bin collection costs) while at the same time producing your ... … Hungry Bin vs Hotbin (Composter Comparison)

One of the stereotypical images that might spring to mind when you think of someone gardening is someone on their hands and knees with a trowel. After all, the soil is at foot-level and that’s where ... … Waist high garden beds

Growing garlic is both easy and satisfying: it's well-suited to both the first time gardener and the more experienced. A haul of freshly harvested garlic is a beautiful thing, especially wh ... … How To Grow Garlic

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 county Cork. The idea was to have an id ... … The Quickcrop Garden in Mid June

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 selection of plants can be mixed for a div ... … How to Create a Raised Bed Herb Garden

If you read any of the guff I write you will probably have heard me mention Charles Dowding before. He's a bit of a hero of mine basically because his book 'Organic Gardening - The Natural No Dig Way ... … Charles Dowding's Garden

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 divided into black, red and white types wit ... … How to grow bare root soft fruit part 2: How to grow Currants

  The supermarkets have helped to confuse the issue of what is broccoli and what is calabrese by calling both by either name. The large green head you see in the photo (generally referred to as ... … How to Grow Broccoli (Calabrese)

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 slather, scrub and rub into our skin o ... … Functional Nutrition Basics Part 4 - Skin Health

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 waste in 2023 - or 162 kg of food waste pe ... … Reducing Food Waste

The Quickcrop Garden Irrigation System can be adapted to suit a range of vegetable garden design layouts using a selection of connectors, hoses, valves and timers which can be arranged and connect ... … The Quickcrop Garden Irrigation System

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 of useful information. If there is a me ... … Fish for Small Garden Ponds

A bird friendly garden is a garden that feels more alive. The ambience of birdsong and the flutter of wings lend a serene air to our surroundings, as well as adding colour and interest for children. … A Guide to Bird Nesting Boxes

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 compilation of 366 entries (one for every d ... … An Irish Nature Year - Jane Powers

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 but also I hope you find it more engagin ... … The Vegetable Garden in March 2016

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 have a good snoop about without getti ... … The Quickcrop Vegetable Garden in July

I quite like February, it's a bit of a renegade. Not only does it have a different number of days than any other month but it also reserves the right to change that date on a leap year. It is the m ... … February in the Vegetable Garden

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 how easy they are to grow. We'll be look ... … What's so great about kale?

Gooseberry Bushes How to grow gooseberries. Ranging from huge, juicy, red dessert fruit to tiny, sparkling, golden drops of sweetness, gooseberries are a great, easy to grow choice. This section al ... … How To Grow Gooseberry

I had the pleasure of a few very sweet pints of the black stuff with vegetable gardening genius Dermot Carey the other night. Growing food runs deep in Dermot's blood (as did the Guinness by the time ... … Irish potato varieties

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 has more negative effects on our healt ... … Functional Nutrition Basics Part 3 - Sleep

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 seems to be some confusion between F1 ... … Heirloom, Open Pollinated and F1 Hybrid seeds.

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, I should really have started with se ... … The Science of Seed Germination

Those of you who are subscribed to our newsletter may already be familiar with this A-Z guide that I've been gradually putting together. It's easy to find sowing times for vegetables but sometimes it ... … The Ultimate Guide to Vegetable Harvesting

Bees are essential to the health of our ecosystems, food supplies and economies. These quietly industrious insects have a mutually beneficial relationship with countless wildflowers and food crops, ... … Bee Friendly Gardening

A new year brings with it the temptation to try something new in the garden, overhaul your growing space or simply fine-tune the way that you do things. Garden planning is something you can d ... … How to plan a vegetable garden

When setting up your polytunnel, it's important to make sure that it's fixed securely to the ground. It's a long-term structure and you want it to be able to withstand all kinds of weather ... … How To Secure A Polytunnel To the Ground

I don't think I ever showed you my garden did I? It was originally put together as the shared Quickcrop garden but since the business moved from my house this Spring (it used to be housed in my ba ... … My Vegetable Garden in October

Timetable for growing tomatoes: a summary of a decade of learningI started growing tomatoes in the wet summer of 2009 and was (quite frankly) not very successful. It probably took me until 2013 to ... … Growing Tomatoes in NW London with Rhys Jaggar

What is Square Foot Gardening? Square foot gardening is a method of growing vegetables which centers around planting crops in blocks rather than rows. The system divides the growing space up int ... … Square Foot Vegetable Gardening Using Timber Raised Beds

Whatever about sowing onions, broad beans or other early crops in February, it isn't until tomato sowing time that I get properly excited. That is when the season really gets going. It is possible t ... … A Guide to Our Favourite Tomato Varieties

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. However, in the case of large apple har ... … How to Make Cider from Your Apple Harvest

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 ball or stick, or for you to chill in th ... … Lawn Care Tips

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 calling on a Sunday morning" says Dermot "N ... … How to Plant Tomato Seedlings

Having some kind of automatic system set up to irrigate your plants is beneficial for a number of reasons: It frees you up to take care of other garden tasks, as you no longer have to traip ... … Automatic Garden Watering Systems

We pay them scant attention and know so little about them, yet fungi are critical to our survival. They support us indirectly by recycling carbon rich organic matter and by using their undergro ... … Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms.

If you’re just thinking about starting your first vegetable garden, you might feel like you’ve missed the boat or that it’s the wrong time of year. Fair enough: many gardeners see ... … Is It Too Late To Start A Vegetable Garden in August?

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 other so the variety you choose is impo ... … How to Grow Coriander

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 haven't: G.I.Y. international was set ... … The G.I.Y. Gathering 2014

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 wife made the other day which I think ... … Curried Parsnip Soup

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 vigourous growth from your weeds. While you ... … July in the Quickcrop garden

I am sure you are sick of seeing pictures of my potatoes by now but I ended up digging out another barrow full of them on Sunday while I prepared a bed for Summer cabbage. According to the weather fo ... … Rathdooney Vegetable Garden Blog - Jan 10th

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 but all that is going to change now I ... … Fabulous and Funky Fermented Foods

I spent last summer dreading weeding my vegetable garden, as time pressure meant the hoe didn't get used as much as it should. I'm not the best weeder in the world (I find it pretty boring) and can e ... … Sow Easy Grow - Grow Grid

We can't all be blessed with a large outdoor garden space, and so it is that growing vegetables in containers can be an effective way of tackling space limitations.  That doesn't mean ... … Top 10 Vegetables to Grow in Containers

You have to hand it to garlic for it’s sheer audacity, showboating through the kitchen, loving the attention it gets as its aroma permeates everything whether being cooked or chopped. It may be the ... … The Health Benefits of Garlic

Weeding the garden is an ongoing process that never seems to end and, of all the jobs in the garden, appears to be the most time consuming.  We can hoe at speedwell and chickweed, tug ... … Sheen X300 Flamegun Product Review

We've started taking down a few old and scruffy conifers at the Quickcrop estate to make room for some beech trees and for the valuable winter firewood they provide. That's Clive in the picture who's ... … The August Vegetable Garden

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 broad selection of varieties with the i ... … Tips on sprouting or 'chitting' seed potatoes

A high yield vegetable is one that produces a large amount of end product per area of planting. ‘Output’ shouldn’t be seen as the be all and end all of growing your own food, but high yield vegetable ... … High Yield Vegetables

This might seem like an odd time of year to talk about irrigation, but if you are thinking of adding a watering system to your polytunnel or greenhouse then now is the time to get it done. Irri ... … A guide to polytunnel irrigation

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 mail, it is mostly about preparing the ... … Plant Roots and How They Work

It's one thing to have your greenhouse all set up, installed and ready to go for the new season. However an empty greenhouse is a bit like an empty house; you're best off getting some furnishin ... … Essential Greenhouse Accessories

What are the main benefits of sowing wildflowers in your outdoor space or of creating a wildflower meadow? First of all, it's best to go for a 100% native Irish wildflower mix, as non-native wildflo ... … Why Sow Wildflowers?

Preparing your soil is an important step that shouldn’t be skipped when setting up your first polytunnel. Trying to do intensive digging or soil amendment work can be an awkward task once the p ... … How To Prepare Ground For A Polytunnel

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 eaten from top to bottom - the bulbs ... … How To Grow Chives

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. As you probably know, digging saturated ... … How To Plant a Bare Root Hedge

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 and distribute it in a more even fash ... … Barrel Saunas

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 Enniskeane, County Cork, started off with a pi ... … West Cork Garlic Farm

As we are probably all itching to begin the growing season, I thought it might be helpful to talk about starting seeds off early and how to give the best chance of success. As we need extra warmth t ... … Starting Seeds Early in the Season

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 quick run around the garden to check in ... … September in the Quickcrop Garden

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 great to hear from anyone out there, wha ... … The Quickcrop Garden in Early June

Maintaining a garden pond fosters a healthy ecosystem, providing the suitable environment for fish and plants to thrive. It's important to practice regular maintenance routines, which can inv ... … Maintaining a Garden Pond

O.K., so you've managed to get your seedling plants off to a good start (or have bought in some promising looking specimens). You have hardened them off and are ready to move them out into your gard ... … Tips for Planting Out Seedlings

I had quite a few emails following my previous article on  mycogardening (gardening with fungi) and on my plans to make my garden more biodiverse, so I thought I might as well contin ... … The Benefits of Clover as a Cover Crop

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 garden tools for vegetable growing. We supp ... … Essential Garden Tools

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 visual appeal. This can be done just af ... … What Is The Best Finish for Garden Furniture?

It is has been an interesting year in the Quickcrop garden with a hot and dry start followed by plenty of rain. The overcast or rainy days have not been much use for ripening tomatoes but has been gr ... … September in the Vegetable Garden - Feeding and protecting your soil

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 Niall has agreed to impart what chicken kn ... … Poulet Vous? Ah Ha!

We always get loads of calls in August / September looking for overwintering vegetable seedlings. Of course I'm delighted as we do a great range of vegetables for autumn planting from our online nurs ... … Top 10 Great Overwintering Vegetables

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 levels aren't as good. From my own person ... … How to Grow Chilli Peppers

Growing your own can be tricky business for someone new to vegetable gardening but there are a number of ways you can stack the odds of a successful harvest in your favour. My number one would be ... … Growing Healthy Vegetable Seedlings

IntroductionAndrew and myself set up Quickcrop in 2009 when we both moved West with our families to live a more Sustainable life style. With this in mind the company was formed with Sustainability at ... … Sustainability Statement

QuickcropConsumer Terms & Conditions of Sale These terms conform to the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling Regulations) 2000 (the “DSR's”) and other relevant consumer protection l ... … Terms and Conditions