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

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

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

Crop rotation is a system of moving the position of certain crops (or families of crops) around so that they are not being grown in the same soil for successive years. It plays an important role in a ... … What Is Crop Rotation?

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

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

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

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

There are no bounds when it comes to creativity when it comes to gardening, and the keyhole garden is a pretty neat example. This raised bed method of growing vegetables in a compact space is b ... … Keyhole Gardening

March can be a deceptive month. The season is clearly starting to turn with warmer days, grass beginning to grow and buds opening on fruit bushes, yet it is still too early to sow most outdoor ... … The Vegetable Garden in March

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?

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

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?

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

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

So, how is everyone feeling with the improvement in the weather? I for one am feeling pretty good about it. I don't know what the temperatures were like where you are, but it was wonderfully wa ... … ​The Polytunnel in April

If you have read any of our previous blog posts you will know that we are rather spoiled at Quickcrop with our large rural gardens with plenty of room to grow in. If you have a smaller urban garden a ... … New Quickcrop Square Foot Urban Vegetable Garden

Claytonia is also known as winter purslane or miners lettuce, it tastes quite like spinach and is full of vitamin C. It is a tough, cold resistant salad for growing in the open to crop from Octobe ... … How to Grow Claytonia

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!

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

The number of people having a go at producing some of there own fresh produce is on the increase every year. The latest revolution is the small space urban gardener, who takes advantage of every ... … Small Space Garden Tips

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

It might seem a bit premature talking about pest control in mid March as we have very little in the ground but I think it is worth learning how to avoid some common issues before they arise. As ... … Natural Pest Control Methods

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

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

The sauna can be a terrific place to unwind, rejuvenate or socialise. It’s a place you want to retreat to so you can take your mind off daily stresses. Having said that, you should still be aware of ... … Sauna Safety Tips

Whether it’s homegrown or store-bought, compost plays a vital role in the health of your soil, and healthy soil makes for healthy plant growth. But you may be asking yourself: What is the bes ... … When Do I Add Compost To My Garden?

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

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

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

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

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

Unusually for me I found myself in not one, but two fancy restaurants at the weekend (it was my Mother's birthday) both of which presented me with pea shoots perched on top of my dinner. It got me ... … Edible Flowers in the Vegetable Garden

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

Regular readers will know that I included my outdoor garden succession planting plan in one of our January emails. I also said I would follow with my polytunnel plan if anyone was interested and have ... … Polytunnel Succession Planting Plan 2021

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

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

Pricking out tomato and chilli seedlings This week I have started pricking out and potting on my tomato seedlings, you can see the tomatoes happily growing away in the photo above. There are a coupl ... … Mid March 2021 Vegetable Garden Update

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?

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

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

Mental health is clearly just as important as our physical health, yet is unseen and can be so difficult to manage, it can affect every aspect of our daily lives, be it social, work, relationship ... … Does food affect our Mental Health?

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

Chervil is a very under-rated and under-used herb. It has a very refreshing and slightly aniseed like taste. It's dark green leaves make the perfect addition to any salad.  The entirety of th ... … How to Grow Chervil

Dill leaves are very aromatic and can be used to flavour a wide range of foods, particularly fish and pickles. Once it is dried out it quickly begins to lose flavour, so it is best used fresh. &nb ... … How To Grow Dill

They may not be the first thing you think of when planning a vegetable garden, but herbs are very easy and rewarding to grow. They provide a rich array of options when it comes to cooking and garnish ... … How To Make a Herb Garden

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

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

The Cucumber incident Did I tell you I'm now on TikTok? Despite not really knowing what TikTok is, I made my debut on the controversial social media platform a few weeks ago when Carmel put a couple ... … The Difference between Indoor and Outdoor Cucumbers

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

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

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

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of using a sauna, you’ll know that it can be a serene experience. The heat relaxes your muscles and eases body tension. This can create a deep sense of well-b ... … Choosing the Right Home Sauna

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

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

Whether you have a large garden or a modest balcony, what better person to speak to about making your space more wildlife and nature-friendly than someone who's just written a book about the subject ... … Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden - an interview with Donna Mullen

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

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

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

This week I am taking a break from vegetable growing as I have been working on some new flowering perennial planting plans both for the site and for my back garden. The idea behind our flowering plan ... … A garden makeover. Creating a perennial flower garden.

Right, well it's started to get a bit cold and the leaves are falling so I suppose we will have to admit that winter is coming. I have mentioned it here before that I am not a winter fan. This ... … Preparing the Vegetable Garden for Winter

Garden 'pests' are the scourge of many a gardener - it can feel like they’re taunting you and all your careful work as they infest, burrow into and devour crops or plants. In these kinds of ... … How To Attract Beneficial Insects To Your Garden

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

Ingredients 4 litres hot water 700g sugar Juice and zest of four lemons 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar About 15 elderower heads, in full bloom A pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)M ... … Elderflower Champagne

We get asked a lot this time of year what fertilizer should be used on what plant. I find the subject very interesting, much to the dismay of some callers who I sense nodding off on the other end of ... … N.P.K. Explained

The news from the Quickcrop garden could be described as 'mixed'. Outside, a mind boggling amount of slugs continue to eat everything in sight despite my best efforts at control. On a more ... … Early May in the vegetable garden

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

I can't tell you how much of a relief it is that the weather has warmed a little and that there is no frost forecast for this week. As you may know I am filming our new vegetable growing course this ... … Growing Peas and Beans in the Quickcrop Garden

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?

Q - My tomato leaves are yellowing but they seem to be producing good fruit, do I need to feed them? This question we received from a reader is a very good one, because I think many people as ... … When to Feed Tomato Plants

Comfrey leaves are highly regarded as a natural and sustainable plant feed. The plant's far-growing roots enable it to extract nutrients from deep in the soil, including the the 'Big 3' pla ... … How To Make Comfrey Tea Plant Fertiliser

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

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.

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

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

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?

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.

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

I am not sure what it's like with you but we have had some real January weather over the weekend with some hard overnight frosts. A hard frost ads a touch of magic to the garden, with ice cryst ... … Sowing Sweet Peas and Broad Beans in January

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

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

In a perfect world, there’d be plenty of room for gardens, greenery and foliage to exist in harmony with us as we go about our day-to-day lives. However, urbanisation and increasing levels of populat ... … Green Wall Gardens - Living Walls & Vertical Gardening

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

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?

Polytunnels are designed to be durable structures, and you can expect the polythene cover itself to last for a good 4-5 years before it needs replacing. Having said that, accidents can happen ... … How To Fix a Hole in a Polytunnel

Victory gardens are fruit and vegetable gardens grown by the public both at home and in a community setting. In times of war huge pressure is put on the food supply, and planting food crops whe ... … What is a Victory Garden?

I always liked beetroot anyway but since my wife started making a salad with roasted beetroot and feta cheese my interest in growing them reached new heights. I have been improving my garden soil ove ... … Beautiful Beetroot with Dorcas Barry

I can't believe I am already writing about the vegetable garden in August, where has all that time gone? I don't know what the weather is like where you are but we are seeing cooler, showery days whi ... … August in the Quickcrop Vegetable Garden

Edible landscaping or foodscaping is the practice of interspersing ornamental plant displays with edible crops, often in a way that creates a lush and colourful variety of foliage.  There’s ... … Foodscaping: How To Combine Ornamental & Edible Gardening

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

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?

Right then. For the last while I have been both adding to our list of flowering perennial plants and working on planting plants and corresponding plant packs. As the year so far has been nuts, progre ... … New Perennial Style Planting Plans

The clocks haven’t yet gone back and the leaves are still on the trees but there is definitely a change in the light. I love my time spent in the garden and will find any excuse to venture outside an ... … Solar Garden Lights

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.

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

I am not someone who is very keen on getting up at 5 am on a Sunday morning but last weekend I found myself sitting blinking in the car three and half hours before Sunday Miscellany was due to ... … Lough Gill Kayak Tour

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

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

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

  Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored on your computer when you visit some websites. They do not harm your computer – instead they are used to analyse the way you use ... … Cookies Policy