Mothers Day 2015 Mothers Day 2015 is on sunday the 15th of March in Ireland. It is one of those days that lands on a different date each year, which is why it is easily forgotten about.&n ... … Top 10 Mothers Day Gardening Gifts 2015

Whether you're (a) looking for a gift for the gardening enthusiast in your life or (b) you want to leave some heavy hints lying around about what you yourself would like - here's our Christmas gif ... … Christmas Gift Ideas for The Gardening Enthusiast

Gardening has been going on in some shape or form since time immemorial, so it’s natural that garden tools tend to follow a traditional design depending on what task they’re designed for. After ... … Ergonomic Gardening Tools

When it comes to watering the vegetable garden, convenience and automation has a lot going for it, but it’s not the be all and end all. Being a gardening ‘luddite’ whose weapon of choice is a ... … How to Water Your Garden by Hand

Urban gardening often involves having to make the most of small spaces. Just how much space you have to work with will depend on circumstance, but it’s possible for even an apartment-dweller t ... … Urban Gardening Tool Essentials

Plant propagation is creating new plants from existing plants. This can be done using seeds or bulbs, by taking cuttings from existing plants, or by dividing roots. Taking cuttings is by far the eas ... … How to Propagate a Plant From Cuttings

We all know that gardening can sometimes be an expensive hobby, and when it comes to garden tools it can be tempting to go for the cheaper option where one exists. However, there are a number o ... … Vintage Garden Tools

As the garden is currently in the process of springing into life and we have 'work' to do, it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the essential garden tools for vegetable growing. We supp ... … Essential Garden Tools

Common garden weeds are a large part of our gardens, and need to be identified before they manage to sow seed and multiply. If you keep a strict and thorough weeding regime, this particular chore wil ... … How To Recognise Common Annual Garden Weeds

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

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

Weed control options If you saw the state of my garden right now you would laugh your head off that I have the cheek to talk about weeding, it has never looked so bad (too much wandering a ... … Controlling Annual and Perenniual Garden Weeds

As we move towards the beginning of May, things really start to move in the vegetable garden. Up until this point there have been very few seeds we can sow outside or seedlings we can plant out but t ... … April 30th Garden Update - Seedling Sowing Tips

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

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

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)

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

I don't know what it has been like for you, but March has been a relatively dry month in my garden which meant I was able to do a bit more outside than I normally would. While I write ... … The Vegetable Garden in April - Soil Preparation and Garden Tasks

Sowing French Bean - Climbing Recommended varieties: Cobra. You can sow climbing french beans indoors from the middle of May to plant out later or sow outdoors at the end of May. Be aware that Fre ... … How To Grow Climbing French Beans

July in the garden is a bit of a double edged sword, Mother nature shows her muscles both in the vigourous growth from your vegetable crops but also in the vigourous growth from your weeds. While you ... … July in the Quickcrop garden

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)

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

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

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)

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)

'Cavolo Nero' or 'Nero Di Toscana' is the only kale grown in Italy, simply because it is by far the best tasting kale. Its large strap like leaves are fantastic in a stir fry with excellent taste ... … How To Grow Kale (Italian)

I have always been a bit jealous of my brother in law as despite not being he worlds best linguist he manages to communicate no matter what country he finds himself in through the universal language ... … A French Vegetable Garden

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

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

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

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

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

Well, it's been a while. I always have great intentions to write more articles every month but time seems to slip by so easily with the day to day business at Quickcrop. Yes, I am the same person who ... … The Vegetable Garden in Early Spring

Put that shovel away! No-dig gardening continues to grow in popularity with home growers and gardeners, but what does it actually involve? Will you need to sell all your garden tools? (Not quite)The ... … No Dig Garden Beds

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

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

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

'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

Recommended Varieties: Hispi F1 Where to grow: Cabbage needs a fertile moisture retentive soil with good drainage. The cabbages will remain in the ground through the Winter so in wet a ... … Cabbage Spring

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

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?

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

The unwelcome garden visitors that come back every year. Here's a rundown of who they are and how to send them away. SlugsThese garden molluscs, along with their close relative the snai ... … Top Ten Garden Pests

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

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

How to grow red kale, the variety we use most often in our nurseries is Red Russian, this is a frost hardy variety with a sweeter taste than other kale. A wonderful addition to the winter garde ... … How To Grow Kale (Red)

'How to grow gooseberries' is intended as a solid introduction to growing this relatively easy to grow fruit bush. For more detailed information on gooseberries please feel free to contact us, we ... … How to grow bare root soft fruit part 3: How to grow Gooseberries

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!)

As you know my top priority is keeping you happy so when I noticed a sunny spell outside the office window I sped over to the Quickcrop garden to take some photos. I was concerned, you see, that you ... … Early August in the Quickcrop Vegetable Garden

I took the above photo on Friday morning on the last day of my holidays. It shows Gurteen bay in Co. Galway on another gloriously sunny day. For the first time ever the weather went my way, with nea ... … How to Irrigate your Garden During a Hosepipe Ban

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

October is really the time to clear our the vegetable garden and to take care of the crops which will remain in the ground for winter like sprouts, cabbage and kale. Niall will be sniggering when I ... … The October Vegetable Garden

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

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

Currants are an excellent fruit for the home gardener as they a relatively trouble free and produce large crops of highly nutritious fruit. Currants are divided into black, red and white types wit ... … How to grow bare root soft fruit part 2: How to grow Currants

Perennial Weeds Perennial weeds come up every year from the same plant and are difficult to get rid of but not as hard as they are often made our to be. Most have deep tap roots which need to be remo ... … Recognising Common Perennial Garden Weeds

Hi folks, I hope you all had a good Easter break. I don't know what the weather has been like for you but we have had a very pleasant few days with warm sunshine and a definite whiff of Spring. While ... … The Vegetable Garden in April 2021

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

What can I sow or plant in my garden now? Everything! Well, pretty much everything. You will be too late to sow most warm climate crops which need a long growing season like tomatoes, peppers an ... … The Vegetable Garden in Mid May

July is a fabulous time in the garden with so much glossy new growth and tasty young vegetables. Don't forget there is still plenty of things you can sow now, the warmer weather giving the added adva ... … Your garden in July

To compliment Dorcas Barry's great energy boosting smoothie featured in this months newsletter I'm covering the leafy green part of the recipe to show just how easy they are to grow. We'll be look ... … What's so great about kale?

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 blight. Potat ... … How to Grow Potatoes

We are often asked about the pros and cons of raised bed gardening, and how raised bed kits can help you overcome space or soil limitations. And since there's a good chance you're asking yourself (o ... … Gardening With Raised Beds: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Seeing your vegetable crops decimated by garden pests can be a very disheartening sight, and it can happen seemingly overnight if proper preventative methods aren't applied. Once the garden pes ... … Identifying Common Garden Pests

Hugelkultur is a form of raised bed gardening using layers of organic material. We previously discussed keyhole gardening on the blog, and hugelkultur gardening has a few similarities. It has become ... … Hugelkultur Garden Beds

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

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

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

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

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

Marina Kessopersadh of Iona Herbal contacted us about one of her courses she's running on Saturday April the 6th and the 20th in North Sligo. I thought it looked pretty cool, as I love the idea ... … Wild Irish Medicinal Herbs - Coltsfoot

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

"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

It is rare that my wife and I agree on anything but I was pleasantly surprised when my liking for pickled vegetables converged neatly with her interest in the health benefits of home fermented produc ... … Korean Kimchi and Fizzy Milk

I 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

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

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

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

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?

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

As I mentioned in my mail the week before last, I have a lot planned for the garden this year and just to prove it wasn't a load of old waffle I include some photos taken over the weekend of the larg ... … Garden diary 2020 - transforming a large space into a perennial paradise.

While you won't be able to fool yourself that you are lying on a beach with a pina colada (Ingredients: 3 parts Pineapple juice, 1 part White rum, 1 part Coconut cream) in your hand, you will be able ... … Turn Winter into Summer with 'Sunblaster' Grow Lights

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

Due to a relatively dry end to last week I had thought the worst of the weather was over. I said as much on Facebook (and nearly caused an International incident) but today, it seems, the rain is bac ... … The Quickcrop garden in March - dealing with a wet Spring

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

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

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

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

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

Hi there and a Happy New Year to you all! So, Andrew asked me to do a series of articles about nutrition and everyday health, I’m a Nutritional Therapist so I guess he thought I'd be a good person to ... … Functional Nutrition Basics Part 1 - Weight Loss

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

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.

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

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?

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

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?

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

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.

Can potato plants with late blight be composted? If care is taken the answer is yes. Blight spores can only survive on living plant tissue, once the foliage has been cut it will die and so will ... … Can I compost potato plants affected by late blight?