Organko composters are a line of kitchen composting units, made by Slovenian manufacturers Plastika Skaza. They provide an efficient method of processing and recycling kitchen waste. More generally ... … Bokashi Composting: Recycling Kitchen Waste

Polytunnels are designed to draw in and retain heat, and they tend to do this job very well. This means that you will need a method of cooling your tunnel down during spells of warmer weather. The i ... … Polytunnel Ventilation

Hi folks, I hope everyone had a good weekend. I don't know what the weather is like with you but we finally had a beautiful summer weekend with plenty of heat and sunshine. It has been a woefully slo ... … Plant feed for Container Growing

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 are probably the best value plants in t ... … How to Grow Herbs at Home

Whether learning by experience or by reading up, you’ll soon come to realise that - for the most part - there are no hard and fast rules for gardening. This applies to irrigation as well. Sure, there ... … When is the best time to water plants?

Growing Dwarf French Beans Dwarf French Beans are a compact habit plant that don't need staking like runner beans or peas. They are easy to grow and withstand dry conditions perhaps better than any ... … How To Grow French Beans (Dwarf)

Persuading children to eat vegetables can be a task and a half. It’s not just stubbornness either: research shows that kids’ taste buds are simply more receptive to sweet foods. And let’s be ho ... … What Are The Best Vegetables For Children?

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 a change in the weather. The old sailo ... … Recognising Aminopyralid Weedkiller Contamination in Manure

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

As you may know my preference for most plants is to sow indoors in modular trays as you have a much greater chance of success. Freshly germinated seeds sown outdoors can be demolished overnight by ... … Sowing Vegetable Seeds in Early Spring

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 phrase. To set the scene, James was an old ... … Fencing with James

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

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 dependable ... … 5 Good Things To Do With Autumn Leaves

Sage is very slow to establish itself, so be prepared for a wait if you grow it from seed. When established however, common sage is reasonably hardy and tolerant of almost all conditions as long as ... … How To Grow Sage

The unique selling point of the Vegepod is that it combines some of the benefits of raised bed gardening with those of growing under cover or in a container. You can create a  microc ... … Vegepod Self Watering Raised Bed

Growing carrots in containers can be more successful than you would expect, and it is a great way to begin growing your own food at home. Patio planters or containers make for a great wa ... … How to Grow Carrots In Containers

Most people think of a small, round, pink variety when picturing a radish, usually either sliced or added whole to a garden salad. You may also remember the humble radish cut in an 'artistic' f ... … How To Grow Radishes

The vegetable garden was beginning to get very dry over the last few weeks - so much so that I found myself out with the hose watering crops, which can be a very tedious and time consuming job. So y ... … What to Sow and Grow in July

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 are an active, friendly and tactile cr ... … Sowing Peas in Early June

When it comes to dealing with garden pests, the enclosed space of the polytunnel can be something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, your crops are protected from the outdoors - which can ... … Polytunnel Pest Control

The end of March and early April is approaching prime seed sowing time if we are starting indoors in seed trays or pots (for planting outside in May). I think we covered timing already but, a ... … April Vegetable Seedling Care Guide

We are now moving into the time of year when we start to sow seeds (for those of you not reading this article 'hot from the oven' it is the beginning of February) so I figured it may be helpful to ... … Sowing and germinating vegetable seeds

As my garden moves into autumn and I harvest and clear spent crops from my beds, I am looking at an increasing number of empty spaces. Some of these gaps will be filled with autumn or overwintering ... … What are Green Manures?

Lovely long slender stems, this variety makes a lovely, tasty baby leek for harvesting from mid summer onward. The flavour is no less impressive when eaten full size in the autumn. The leek is a g ... … How To Grow Leeks

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 used by growing plants back to the soil. Veget ... … A Guide to Making Homemade Compost

Lettuce is a favourite in the garden because it is relatively easy to grow, is one of the first crops that can be planted, and is one of the first crops to yield in the spring. It doesn’t tak ... … How To Grow Lettuce

Many of you will have noticed it is no longer Autumn, so clearly planting tulips and daffodils aren't an option at the moment. The great news is there are a whole range of Spring-pl ... … Planting Summer Flowering Bulbs

Runner beans, or 'scarlet runners', are native to central and northern South America, where they were seen as one of the 'Three Sisters', a famous companion planting growing technique.Runner beans ar ... … How To Grow Runner Beans

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

Rainwater harvesting has become more popular and more common in the UK in recent years. Whether in response to hosepipe bans and water shortages, or in anticipation of climate change and future droug ... … Watering Plants with Rainwater

I am not going to pretend that I know much about cut flowers, but what I will say is that I have a growing (excuse the pun) interest. As you may know, we are doing a lot of work this year on th ... … Cut Flower Seedlings

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 they can be overlooked in favour of the ... … Moths - The Unseen Nocturnal Pollinator

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.

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

Swede is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and is well-suited to the novice gardener. They also crop over a very long time because they can be left in the soil throughout the winter.  ... … How To Grow Swede

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

Growing Vegetables places more strain on a piece of land than flowering plants or shrubs because we remove nutrients every time we harvest a crop. Vegetables are also relatively hungry plants requiri ... … Crop Rotation

Fruit trees and bushes are planted in the garden with the intention of being around for the long haul, providing harvests for many years. In return for this supply of fresh fruit they require regula ... … How To Grow Strawberries

I suspect I'm not the only one but I am fighting a battle (and losing) with the quite unbelievable number of slugs I have this year. You can see them in the picture below having climbed my broad b ... … Chicken Moat Slug Control

If you are new to vegetable gardening you will probably be imagining yourself carefully nurturing your healthy, glossy plants, perhaps giving them a little water from your pretty yellow watering can ... … What are Nematodes?

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 has also warmed enough for weeds and gra ... … Vegetable Sowing and Planting Tips

Water is one of the most crucial building blocks for plant growth. The rest of the ‘Big 5’ consists of oxygen, light, favourable temperature and nutrients. Interestingly enough for the purpose of thi ... … What type of Water is best for plants?

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

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 the seeds when it is too cold for them to survi ... … Tomato Growing Tips

When it comes to polytunnel growing, there tends to be something of a consensus around which crops are reliable staples in a temperate climate such as in the UK and Ireland. Indeed you will have pro ... … Unusual Fruit and Vegetables to Grow in a Polytunnel

Firstly, thank you to anyone who replied to last week's mail expressing interest in information on plant feed for container growing. I am a bit tight for time this week and there is a lot to go throu ... … How to Protect Cabbages and Carrots from 2 Common Pests

.Buying plug plants is the key to easy vegetable growing as veg seedlings already started cut out a lot of the tricky stuff that can put off a novice grower. New gardeners who haven't tried vegeta ... … Where to buy vegetable seedlings online

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

Plant feed and fertilizers play a huge part in the garden, and as a company we only use natural and organic alternatives. Natural plant feed is a no-brainer in the vegetable garden as we tend to ea ... … The Benefits Of Using Organic Fertilizers & Plant Feed

Greenhouses are designed to draw in and capture heat. This is for the benefit of your plants, but it’s a blessing that can soon turn into a curse if you allow temperatures to get out of control. Shou ... … Should you open your greenhouse every day?

Plastic may have taken much of the attention in recent years, but food waste continues to be a pressing issue affecting the environment.  It was estimated by the EPA (Environmental Prote ... … Commercial Composting Solutions

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

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 will give you the skills you need to ... … Top Ten Easiest Vegetables To Grow

I was moaning to myself the other morning about the rather more watery Summer than we would have wished for so decided to head out for a walk to clear the head. I brought the dog with me as whatever ... … Sunshine after rain

Cabbage Pests & Diseases Cabbages and other brassicas have become a very important part of the vegetable garden in our climate. Different varieties of cabbages have been bred for productivity, s ... … Cabbage Pest and Disease Control

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)

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 best growers in the country, Dermot Carey ... … Sowing seed in modular trays

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

As September is one of the busiest harvesting months, this week I thought it might be helpful to talk about preserving or storing vegetables over winter as, if your garden is anything like mine, you ... … Storing & Preserving Homegrown Vegetables.

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

When we move towards the end of July and into early August, it can be easy to think that the time for sowing new crops has passed. To be fair that's true for most things, with the garden now in ... … Asian Greens for Autumn Sowing

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

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

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 introduction to pruning apple trees'. I get ... … How to prune old and neglected apple trees

Know Your Broccoli! In Italian the word broccoli means 'little sprouts'. It is part of the Brassica family of vegetables, which also includes cauliflower, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, ... … How To Grow Sprouting Broccoli

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

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

I have been spending more time in the Quickcrop nursery recently, as myself and Mags have been stock taking and working on some new cut flower seedling trays. At the end of last season, Mag ... … A Guide to Perennial Flowers

Q - I have a problem with mare's tail in my garden and don’t want to use weedkiller, is there anything I can do? Mare's tail (or horsetail as it's also known) is very difficult to get rid of. … Mare's Tail and Ways to Control it Organically

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

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 process so leave fruit unpruned which will ... … How to prune Gooseberry Bushes and Currants.

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

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 room. Some people will use the terms ... … Home Sauna vs Steam Room

Celeriac is a cool-season biennial grown as an annual. It is similar in growing habit and requirements as celery. Celeriac is best when it comes to harvest in cool weather. It is best started indo ... … How To Grow Celeriac

Succulent plants make ideal indoor displays so are a great winter project (or present!) for anyone who its itching to do a bit of gardening. Plants are easy and fun to propagate with leaf or stem cu ... … All About Succulent Plants

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 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

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

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 near the sea which is where we start t ... … Cockle picking (or free food!)

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 acidic or 'ericaceous' compost. Site and ... … How To Grow Blueberry

Kohlrabi sports a rosette of blueish-green leaves above a swollen stem. This almost globe-like stem makes it appear like a turnip growing on a cabbage root, in fact In German, Kohl means cabbage a ... … How To Grow Kohl Rabi

Caraway, also known as Persian Cumin or Meridian Fennel, is part of the carrot family and similar in appearance too. It has aromatic leaves and tasty seeds which are used in a wide range of Europe ... … How To Grow Caraway

Check out the healthiest pint you'll ever drink, perfectly poised on our timber bed only inches away from the luscious leaves from which it's made. This is the new pint, it's a pint for the modern ag ... … Natures Red Bull

A Protective Seaweed Mulch I took the opposite photo in early January, it's frosty seaweed obviously but it's in my garden rather than on the beach. I prepared most of my beds in December (even then ... … Seaweed and Potatoes

The greenhouse has a long and interesting history. Did you know that a proto-greenhouse structure was designed by the Romans to support Emperor Tiberius's one-cucumber-a-day habit? Or that the ... … How Do You Use A Greenhouse (for Beginners)?

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 highlights of the trip was a visit to the ... … The Knepp Castle Re-Wilding Project

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 places to meet people in a similarly re ... … 10,000 Bees

Salad Burnet, also called Garden Burnet, Small Burnet or simply just burnet, is a perennial herb of the Rosaceae or Rose family. It's edible leaves have a slight cucumber like flavour and can be u ... … How To Grow Salad Burnet

Perpetual spinach is actually a chard (beet family) but is very similar to true spinach in flavour. We prefer it as it is much easier to grow and far more vigorous than true spinach. It also has th ... … How To Grow Perpetual Spinach

This Friday I thought we'd continue looking at pollinators as we had such a good response from our first 'Friday Facts' on solitary bees. Solitary bees tend to be overlooked in favour of honey bees, ... … Another unsung pollinator hero - the Hoverfly!

Mint is an aromatic perennial herb with oblong to lanceolate leaves. Mint plants are easily maintained and if left untended they can spread quite rapidly, making them a rather invasive plant. This ... … How To Grow Mint

Saving your own vegetable seeds in order to plant them again the following year (or even later) is a very worthwhile and rewarding activity - make no mistake. It’s something that has been pract ... … Can I Save My Own Vegetable Seeds?

Here begins Part 2 of our guide to vegetable harvesting, going in neat alphabetical order. Knowing when to harvest can be just as important in its own way as growing, tending to plants, irrigation ... … The Ultimate Guide to Vegetable Harvesting Part 2

If you can't decide which fabulous item to choose for your gardening Christmas present why not get a gift voucher? Our specially designed gift vouchers are sent out in a beautiful presentation box so ... … Gift Vouchers From Quickcrop

Parsnips are easy to grow members of the cow parsley family. This family includes carrot, dill, fennel and parsley among others. These seeds tend to have a short period of viability, so new packet ... … How To Grow Parsnips

Composting is a natural process that transforms your food scraps and garden waste into rich, crumbly ‘black gold’: the finest soil enhancer you can get your hands on. However, for the ea ... … How To Speed Up the Composting Process

At first glance, the idea that planting wildflowers is good for nature, or the ecosystem, or for pollinating insects seems like sound logic. However, as with many things in life, the reality is a bi ... … Native vs Non Native Wildflowers

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

If you don't have a patch of soil to grow in then clearly you will have to grow your vegetables in a container of some sort. A container grown urban garden adds life to your balcony or back yard a ... … Best Compost For Urban Container Growing

Generally speaking, you won’t need planning permission for a polytunnel that’s used to grow your own food in a domestic garden. There are some exceptions and things to keep in mind. If t ... … Do I Need Planning Permission For A Polytunnel?