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

With rising energy bills being the reality these days, many people will want to avoid the expense of trying to heat a greenhouse by using storage or paraffin heaters etc. There are some alterna ... … How Can I Heat My Greenhouse For Free in the Winter?

Tomatoes can be grown in containers like pots, planters, growbags, and hanging baskets, they may not be the easiest plant to grow at home but they are definitely one of the favourites. There are many ... … How To Grow Tomatoes In Containers

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

I had the pleasure on Monday evening to give my very first talk to a gardening club. It was all very professional with a projector for my (first ever) Powerpoint presentation and a microphone s ... … The Importance of Soil Biodiversity

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

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

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

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 serenity. With some items of furniture ... … How To Clean Outdoor Furniture

Soil and Site Any moderately fertile moisture retentive soil is good. A sheltered semi shade position is ideal. Rotation Oriental salads are part of the brassica rotation Sowing Oriental ... … How To Grow Oriental Salads

Raised Vegetable Bed Soil Volumes Our Raised vegetable beds come in all shapes and sizes and each has a different soil volume requirement. It is very easy to underestimate the amount of so ... … Soil For Raised Beds

We are taking a break from the vegetable garden this week and looking at some wild flowers as they are often far prettier than anything in the garden. This week's star of the show is sea campion (abo ... … Sea Campion - A Beautiful Coastal Wildflower

How to grow endive, a popular salad vegetable on the Continent there are two types: curly endive (chicorée frisée), which is more heat-resistant, and Batavian or broad leaved (escarole); there are ... … How to Grow Endive

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

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

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

Peas are well-suited to cooler temperate climates. In fact, when temperatures exceed 20C (70F), most varieties of peas will stop producing pods. Peas are part of the legume (Latin Leguminosae) ... … How To Grow Sugar Snap Peas

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

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?

Harvesting homegrown vegetables can be just as important as growing them as some crops can quickly go past their best and loose precious flavour and texture. Harvesting at just the right time is impo ... … Harvesting Homegrown Vegetables

A comprehensive article on How to grow Artichokes (Jerusalem variety). Artichokes area very easy crop to grow but be careful as they are very hard to get rid of once established! Delicious roasted ... … How To Grow Artichokes (Jerusalem)

Wheatgrass is a tricky one to pin down. Many people I've spoken with swear by it while others will dismiss it as utter nonsense. It is claimed to be an energy booster, and a detoxifier, to be benefic ... … Growing wheatgrass and wheatgrass juice

One of the best (and the most fun) ways to make compost is back! Innovators that we are, we had taken in a small stock of these sturdy compost bins last year but due to problems with the European dis ... … The Incredible Hungry Bin Worm Composter

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!

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

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 interested in becoming first timers). She ... … Tips on Keeping Chickens, with Fiona Dillon

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

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

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

Although it is still too early to sow anything I thought I would run through some seed sowing notes this week for any new growers who are unsure when or how to start growing. It will also likely be d ... … Vegetable Seed Sowing Notes

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

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

Parsley is a biennial edible herb grown for its leaves which are commonly used in cooking and for garnishing salads and other cold dishes. Parsley is also known known to be highly nutritious and is ... … How To Grow Parsley

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

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 organisms, while seaweed extracts are ... … The Science of Seaweed Feed

Spring onions tend to be treated as an afterthought by most gardening books yet they are a popular crop and very useful, possibly because they are really easy to grow. Salad onions, also properly ... … How To Grow Spring Onions

As you will know from my fascinating communication a week or so ago we are now in the season for putting in bare root plants including fruit trees, hedging and roses. Bare root season makes the winte ... … Using Bareroot Roses in an Informal Hedge

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

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

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

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

Broad beans are the simplest thing to grow. They are hardy and produce a large crop of delicious beans. I prefer to pick them young for a sweeter bean which are lovely tossed into a salad. … How To Grow Broad Beans

If you have your own apple trees of any reasonable size you will know that despite your best intentions the only journey many of the apples make is when they fall to the ground. And stay there. Yo ... … Make Your Own Apple Juice Using a Spindle Fruit Press

The trick with growing celery is to take a lot of care sowing your transplants, making sure the plants never get stressed or pot bound. When planted out remember celery is originally a ... … How To Grow Celery

Why grow your own food? It's a fair question to ask. 'Fruits and vegetables aren't that expensive in the first place', you might say. 'It's time-consuming', you might also ponder, while wondering abo ... … Why Grow Your Own Food?

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 after the traders brought back these exoti ... … Making Chutneys

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

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

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

As was briefly mentioned in my mail of a couple of weeks ago, changing weather patterns can challenge our habits and our 'collective wisdom' about the traditional growing season. In recent years spr ... … How To Extend The Growing Season with a Polytunnel - Part 1: Spring

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

Mizuna is one of those strange oriental vegetables which arrived in the West in the last 20 years or so. The name for this leafy green comes from the Japanese mizu, for “water,” and nu, for “mustar ... … How to Grow Mizuna

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.

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 or heat mat isn't really practical whe ... … How to Make a Heat Bench Propagator Using a Soil Warming Cable

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

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. It might be hard to believe whe ... … Winter Bird Care

In my opinion Kale is an underrated crop. It's really easy to grow, doesn't suffer as much from the usual brassica problems, is very good for you and tastes delicious. I suppose it is tougher than ca ... … Italian Kale With Tahini

Just to let you all know that we're in the middle of a project to rebuild our Quickcrop seed range at the moment - as well as providing more comprehensive info on the different varieties. Brexit ... … Some News On Seeds

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

In a world where biodiversity loss continues to accelerate and climate catastrophe is an ever-present spectre, 'rewilding' can be seen as a potential lifeline or way forward. Rewilding can mean diff ... … The Benefits of Rewilding

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

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 regards flavour, there is no comparison bet ... … Easy Home Tomato Planting Tutorial

As you know, the Quickcrop research team never sleeps. We work tirelessly night and day to improve our product range and bring the best possible products to our shop and, hopefully, to your gar ... … The Benefits of Cold Pressed Seaweed and Foliar Feeds

As ecosystems are depleted and species (both animal and plant) continue to disappear at an alarming rate, rewilding has emerged as a possible way forward, although it is not without its controversie ... … Rewilding Success Stories

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

A brief explanation of soil pH  'pH' refers to how acid or alkaline a soil is. The scale runs from 0-14 and basically measures the amount of calcium in the soil. Neutral is in the middle (7 ... … What is the Best Soil pH for Growing Vegetables?

Chard is basically a beet without the bottom. It's a biennial that is grown as an annual for its big crinkly leaves. The stalks are red or white with large, dark green leaves that can be used as s ... … How to Grow Chard

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 ‘pickled cucumber’. We’re a little more sp ... … Pickling Cucumbers - Types of Pickles

Unless you live in a part of the country with a unique and unreported special climate you will have experienced a pretty disappointing summer for growing fruit and vegetables. Apart from the fact it' ... … The Polytunnel in September

Onions have to be one of the easiest crops to grow and will reward you with delicious crisp bulbs with a homegrown flavour all their own. Onions can be grown from seed but the easiest way to cultivat ... … Planting early onion sets in January

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!)

In general tomatoes are easy to grow plants and will usually produce something no matter what you do to them but, for good yields of high quality fruit they do need some maintenance to grow really we ... … Tomato Troubleshooting – a guide to Common Problems

Now is the time to turn your attention to your herb garden to ensure that your herbs stand the best chance of making it through whatever weather winter has in store for us as well as making sure that ... … Storing and keeping herbs

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

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 enormous glass jar of pickled eggs at the e ... … A Pretty Pickle

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

Courgettes are easy to grow with two plants producing ample courgettes for most families. Courgettes are best picked small for best flavour, these plants are also very prolific so don't worry ther ... … How To Grow Courgettes

While a wildflower meadow requires less maintenance and upkeep than a large lawn, it is still a managed habitat and will need attention at strategic times of the year. Once it is fully established a ... … Wildflower Meadow Maintenance

Rocket is very quick growing, Rocket Cultivated Rucola Coltivata is a vigorous, robust plant with pungent leaves. Use as a main ingredient of a mixed green salad to add zest and texture.   ... … How to Grow Rocket

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 the blender and I still see that wonder ... … Genuinely Delicious Beetroot Burgers

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 time anymore. I'm always a bit jealous wh ... … Holly Somerville. Botanical Artist

A Finnish sauna is a traditional type of sauna that uses dry heat in a wooden cabin type structure. Rocks are heated up using a special stove, called a kiuas, and then water is poured on top to ... … Finnish Saunas

  How To Plant & Grow Calabrese The supermarkets have helped to confuse the issue of what is broccoli and what a calabrese by calling both by either name. The large green heads you se ... … How to Grow Broccoli (Calabrese)

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 this stuff. Anyway here we go:Ingredients ... … Leek and Potato Soup

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?

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 received this recipe from one of our customers and we were delighted to get it. If anyone has any favourite dishes they’d like to share please send them in. I must admit I haven’t tried it yet but ... … Grainne's spiced potato and cauliflower

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

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 (doesn't make any difference) but the ... … Domini's Leek and bread pudding.

Regular readers may remember an exploratory email I published a few weeks ago about conservation grade nest boxes for Irish birds. I had compiled a little survey to see what kind of interest th ... … Interview: Lynda Huxley on Swift Conservation and Nest Boxes

"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 first published in 1975.  Foragin ... … Kit Ó Céirin on Wild and Free: Cooking from Nature

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

Choose a sunny open site in which to plant your rhubarb crown as rhubarb does not grow well in shade. November is the perfect time to plant a rhubarb crown. Make sure the site is weed-free and dig ... … How To Grow Rhubarb

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 produced top quality seed garlic. I include t ... … Cork Garlic Farm Update

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 pesto is no exception. It came about wh ... … Hey Presto, Parsley Pesto.

The Evolution of the Wild Cabbage Plant My recent bedtime reading has been 'The Blind Watchmaker' by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and I am now suffering from lack of sleep. The book is fas ... … Growing Brassicas - How we bred this amazing group of plants

Keep picking your peas! Peas can be harvested from July to September but you need to keep picking them to keep the new pods coming. It's an odd one because you're waiting for the pods to plump up wi ... … Harvesting and storing peas.

Tatsoi is an oriental mustard green and is also called spinach mustard. Its a popular salad green in Aisan cuisine. Soil & Water Tatsoi greens prefer rich, fertile soil with a pH of 6.0-7.5 and ... … How To Grow Tat Soi

‘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 in the gut, but we’re only now coming t ... … Functional Nutrition Basics Part 2 – Digestion

Ireland & Northern Ireland* Standard Delivery (Fastway/GLS)Free Delivery on orders over €65 (1-3 working days)€4.95 for orders under €65 (1-3 working days) Express Delivery Optio ... … Delivery