Collecting autumn leaves may seem like another garden tidying task to add to the list, but they are actually a valuable resource for the vegetable gardener. When rotted they make an excellent mulch, ... … How to Make Leaf Mould: A Free And Natural Soil Improver

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

Try saying that blog title quickly! Slugs have always been a challenge for anyone trying to grow their own vegetable crops, but 2023 seemed to see higher numbers than ever in gardens across the coun ... … How Do I Protect my Seedlings from Slugs and Snails?

We recently decided to tackle some of the gardening FAQs that we get asked most frequently on this blog. Can I grow vegetables indoors? is one of those questions that pops up all the time and the sho ... … Can I Grow Vegetables Indoors?

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

Not too chilly for growing chillies! You don't need me to tell you that we are having a wet and windy February. So far we have dealt with high winds and heavy rain and, if the forecast is correct, ... … Sowing Chillies in February - How to Grow Chilli Peppers.

Slug control is an on-going battle for us gardeners, and it seems that you are never quite free of them. It doesn't help at all that they are hermaphroditic, or that their eggs can lay dor ... … Natural and Non Toxic Slug Control Methods

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 good photography and also a bit of a no ... … An interview with Fionnuala Fallon.

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 workable medium suitable for cultivation. … What Type of Soil do I have?

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 our warehouse and have been building ... … The Gro Grid Fabric Mat: Planting Made Easier

If you're staring off your vegetable plants in early Spring you'll need to give them some heat as temperatures will be too cold for the seeds to germinate. If you're growing in a greenhouse or pol ... … Germinating Vegetable Seeds in a Heated Propagator

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

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

'Brigitte F1' has to be the best and most reliable brussels sprout variety with fantastic results every time. We recommend using an F1 hybrid sprout like Brigitte because the sprouts stay closed l ... … How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

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

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 outdoor sowing in September, naturally ... … September Seeds & Super Soil

Cultivating home grown vegetables is a simple pleasure that anyone can experience, even if you have limited space. We don’t all have the benefit of a large garden with room for a greenhouse and a r ... … Growing your own Dwarf Vegetable Varieties

Plant protection is the practice of managing weeds, 'pests' and diseases that could otherwise damage or inhibit the growth of your crops, as well as mitigating the effect of weather extremes. Strate ... … A Grower's Guide to Crop Covers and Plant Protection

As we all know growing vegetables takes a lot out of a garden, because when we remove our nutritious crops we remove nutrition from the soil. This has to be given back. The really good stuff in ... … Envirogrind Compost - Black Gold from Killybegs

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 in your favour and avoid some common ... … Tips on Vegetable Seed Sowing Times

Corn Salad has a delicate flavor, which resembles a nutty, concentrated butterhead lettuce. The leaves provide a nutritious boost of vitamins and minerals, especially iron. Producing attractive an ... … How To Grow Corn Salad

Leeks are a very easy and rewarding crop to grow. They are such a welcome vegetable in Autumn and Winter and add interest and colour to your garden with their blue/green spiky leaves. You ca ... … Sowing Leeks in February

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 appearing in late spring which range from da ... … How To Grow Rosemary

In recent years more and more households - both rural and urban - have decided to keep backyard chickens or poultry. As well as being a source of ‘homemade’ fresh eggs, it’s something tha ... … A Beginner's Guide to Keeping Chickens

It is conventional wisdom that you should discard used potting compost but, given that we are all trying to be more sustainable, I think we should review this advice.  Unless your pot ... … Can I Re-Use Potting Compost?

Towards the end of summer and into autumn, activity in the vegetable garden slows down as crops are fully grown and their fruit begins to ripen. Winter brassicas are bedded in until spring, and work ... … How to Grow Microgreens Indoors

Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say. So while your growing season shuts down around now, another window opens as we enter bare root fruit season. Growing your own fruit has to be the easies ... … A Guide to Planting Bare Root Fruit

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 tomato, chilli and sweet pepper plants ... … The Polytunnel in mid April 2021

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

When doing a quick (or maybe not so quick; I like to make sure I'm fully informed) spot of research for this article, I came across a blog from Pumpkin Beth (very seasonal) which extols the v ... … ​The Wildlife Benefits of Autumn Leaves

Where you position your polytunnel will ultimately depend on the space you have available, but there are some important factors to take into account. Good positioning will increase your chances of g ... … What Is The Best Position For A Polytunnel?

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 year-round growing, so I figured I migh ... … What to Grow in the Polytunnel in Winter

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

Soil is the foundation of any vegetable garden, if it is treated well it will reward you. Year by year soil needs to to accommodate the demands of cultivation and the weather. Here are some suppl ... … Ten Ways to Improve your Soil

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

An Introduction to School Vegetable Growing School vegetable growing is becoming more popular with the increased emphasis on healthy eating both at home and in the educational system. A ... … An Introduction to School Vegetable Growing

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 the most delicious treats in the vegeta ... … The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame

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 the most fascinating and beautiful cr ... … How To Create a Wildlife Friendly Pond

A greenhouse can open up possibilities for you and extend your growing season. It mainly does this by increasing levels of heat and light: an effect brought about by the inherent design of the greenh ... … What Do I Need To Start an Unheated Greenhouse?

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 learning experience will cover all the cr ... … New Quickcrop Vegetable Growers Course

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. Fruit bushes are a good example, you go o ... … How To Grow Blackcurrants

Why not plant an exotic variety of cucumber in your garden this season and perk up those summer salads! Cool, crisp cucumbers from the garden are perfect in summer salads - or on their own with sour ... … How To Grow Cucumbers

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 today as we prepare our gardens for a ... … Soil health, plant feed & pruning fruit.

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

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 looks fantastic in the vegetable garden ... … Growing Rhubarb

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. It is quite an easy plant to grow for ... … How To Grow Camomile

While a greenhouse shouldn’t need to be cleaned quite as much as a 'human house', it is very important to schedule a good cleaning session once or twice a year. Ideal times for carrying out ... … How to Clean a Greenhouse

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 something 'active' about them with their ... … How to Grow Climbing Peas and Beans

I was over at the nursery yesterday morning (pinching a few trees to replace some of my ash that had to come down) and took a few photos as it all looked so bright and colourful. I must say that J ... … Quickcrop Nursery Visit

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

My apologies for not posting last week, I am afraid drawing up planting plans and adding them as products to the site has taken a lot longer than I thought (this will come as no surprise to ... … New Wildlife Friendly Flower Packs and Planting Plans

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

It's no secret that bee populations are under threat due to issues like habitat loss, pesticide usage and shortages of food. More than half of Ireland's bee species have shown a marked decline in th ... … Bee Friendly Plants

One of the key differences between growing plants inside and growing them outside in your garden is that indoor plants don’t benefit from rainfall. As such, irrigation becomes even more importa ... … Greenhouse Irrigation

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

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 tasting as winter savory and as such is ... … How To Grow Summer Savory

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 house as a lantern - is an establishe ... … How To Grow Pumpkins

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 a versatile crop. They are used in a ... … How to Grow Onions

Greenhouses and polytunnels are both structures that allow for regulation of climate and enable you to grow a wider range of vegetables, fruits and plants than you would be able to outdoors. Tempera ... … Greenhouse or Polytunnel, Which To Choose?

It is still early days for sowing but there are a few plants that you can start off now, especially if you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse or polytunnel. Sowing times will differ dependin ... … Getting the season under way

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

This week I thought we would take a break from vegetables and look instead at the flowering garden. Some of you may remember my ambitious plans earlier in the year to create a number of flower beds a ... … Planting Perennial Flowers in Autumn

Garden Sorrel, also known as Spinach Dock or Narrow Leaved Dock, is a commonly grown herb or leaf vegetable, it has tall juicy stems and edible oblong leaves. Sorrel has a sharp almost sour taste ... … How To Grow Sorrel

Spring cabbage is delicious and tender and will be one of the first proper crops you can enjoy in the Spring. Remember Spring cabbage needs to be planted the previous Autumn to over winter and pro ... … How To Grow Cabbage (Spring)

Using the right tools really does make life in the vegetable garden a whole lot easier. I'm a little bit of a tool nut myself and do find myself gravitating towards the hardware shop to buy myself ... … New Tool Time

Cabbage is a demanding plant both is the amount of nutrients it needs and the space it takes up in the garden. It really is easy to grow if you feed your soil properly to begin with and take preca ... … How To Grow Cabbage (Summer)

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 large bushel of carrots or a bowl of ... … Growing Sprouting Seeds

If you are thinking about building some raised vegetable beds to make you kitchen garden a whole lot easier to manage you might want to consider our revolutionary new raised bed joining brackets. … Making Crop Protection Tunnels for Raised Beds

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 a source of much satisfaction. Variety ... … How To Grow Cauliflower

Cabbage is a demanding plant from the amount of nutrients it needs and the space it takes up in the garden. It really is easy to grow if you feed your soil properly to begin with and take precauti ... … How to Grow Cabbage (Winter)

Hello and welcome back to the Quickcrop garden. Well, it’s a beautiful day in mid September and today we are going to build one of our large New Zealand Box composters. This the area where my old ... … How do I make my own wooden compost bin?

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 unfortunate as for the most part they are ... … How To Grow The Best Tomato Seedlings

Small Garden Ideas Vegetable growing should be available to anyone even if you have have a very small urban garden or worse, no garden at all! Small urban gardens can be just as productive as larger ... … Urban vegetable planters

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. Other types of soft fruit include straw ... … How to grow raspberries

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 most gardens but what you need to be ca ... … Planting Potatoes in March

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 of that it is one of the most useful ... … How To Grow Thyme

Aphids are the source of much frustration in the garden. Also referred to as greenfly or blackfly, these small sap-sucking insects feed on ornamental plants and edibles alike. They can cause ... … Aphid Pest Control

Cleaning: not the best fun in the world, but it has to be done. Fortunately a polytunnel doesn’t have to be cleaned too often. Once a year is generally sufficient, and the best time of year to ... … How To Clean and Maintain Your Polytunnel

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 and help slow global warming. Trees also ... … A Guide To Planting Bare Root Trees

Growing Oregano in the herb garden. The three varieties normally grown are 'wild marjoram' (common oregano), pot marjoram and sweet or knotted marjoram. They are all easy to grow, well-suited to co ... … How To Grow Oregano

Beetroot is one of my best friends in the garden as we get so much out of it: using it for juicing, grating it for salads, roasting, baking and - my favourite of all - pickling.  This cr ... … How to Grow Beetroot

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 the one cow. I was hoping for a bit of ... … Cows aren’t the problem, Agriculture is!

In answer to a number of queries on how to get started as a new vegetable gardener here's a few of my top tips to get you going: What do you like eating? This might sound like a silly ques ... … Getting Started - Top Tips for new growers.

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 them to become a successful (and expert ... … Letters to a Beekeeper

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. Tomatoes grown for the supermarket shel ... … How To Grow Tomatoes

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

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 which should have resulted in a quick ... … Growing Fruit in Containers

It's the start of Autumn here and we’re clinging on to a vague suggestion of an Indian Summer. It's still dry enough to spend a bit of time in the garden and there are a few seasonal jobs that are pe ... … Planting French Garlic in Autumn

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 plant seed is created to grow, and will perform that task admirably once given the opportunity. For successful germination seeds will need:  a suitable growing medium moderate moistu ... … How to Germinate Seeds Successfully

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 attached with mini cable ties. I thought ... … New Quickcrop Fruit Cage/Bird Net Kits

My weekend work for the last 2 weeks has been building our new fruit cage video location. The plan, as I think I mentioned in a previous mail, is to film a new set of videos showing how to plant, pru ... … Building a timber fruit cage

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

Rewilding is a somewhat complicated topic, suitably so for the complicated times that we live in. In simple terms it describes a way of restoring ecological balance by lessening the grip that we hum ... … What is Rewilding?

As bin charges increase and households try to be more environment friendly, we are seeing a corresponding increase in home composting. We have been interested in domestic composting for a long time ... … Compost Bin Comparisons - The Best Home Composters

For me potatoes are the backbone of the vegetable garden. If you get the seed potatoes in relatively early, there is very little to do apart from earthing up and keeping an eye out for blig ... … How to Grow Potatoes

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. Homegrown garlic comes in a wide range of ... … Growing Garlic - Frequently Asked Questions

A polytunnel can really open up a world of growing possibilities, extending the growing season, providing extra shelter and increasing your chances of success with warm climate crops.  However, ... … The Best Crops to Grow in a Polytunnel

Professional growers, landscapers, and home gardeners trust Mypex for its superior weed control capabilities. Mypex suppresses weed growth by blocking the light they need to thrive, while still allow ... … Mypex Weed Control Fabric

Our Story Quickcrop is all about making vegetable growing easy and accessible whether you live in the countryside or the city, whether you want to grow a pot of salad leaves or want to feed your who ... … About Us