Gardening Blog

As you know the Quickcrop research bureau never sleeps. Our aim is provide you with the best products for your garden but also to back them up with plenty o … Read more

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 … Read more

What to sow or plant in September - it's not too late! I have included below some good things to sow or plant out as vegetable seedlings in September. Most of t … Read more

This week sees a whole new departure for the Quickcrop team as we stick our pretty little toes into the wonderful world of flowering plants. It is not that we ha … Read more

Flowering bulbs are ideal for container gardening or as part of a vibrant garden border. They are one of the easiest plants to grow and with a little careful pla … Read more

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 photo … Read more

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 vigou … Read more

Climbing peas and beans are some of my favourite crops in the vegetable garden. They epitomise summer with their attractive flowers and lush growth. There is so … Read more

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 so … Read more

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 sele … Read more

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 growin … Read more

Cultivating home grown vegetables is a simple pleasure that anyone can experience, even if you have limited space. We don’t all have the benefit of a large garde … Read more

A plant seed is created to grow, and will perform that task admirably once given the opportunity. For successful germination seeds will need:  a suit … Read more

This week we have our second installment of the Burtown Kitchen Garden Diary where we see Dermot building a new polytunnel on the site to broaden the choice of f … Read more

The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is a support system designed for growing your own climbing garden peas and beans. Freshly picked home grown peas are one of t … Read more

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 … Read more

While I do spend plenty of happy time in the garden in January there really isn't a whole lot you can do other than preparing things for the season ahead. In may … Read more

This week we are starting a new series of reports from a country house in Ireland, the beautiful Burtown House in Co.Kildare. The reason for the connection is I … Read more

I am sure you are sick of seeing pictures of my potatoes by now but I ended up digging out another barrow full of them on Sunday while I prepared a bed for Summe … Read more

You may remember some of the vibrant looking photos from my vegetable garden in the Summer with its neat (ish) rows of healthy crops and tidy weeded paths? Well, … Read more

Like so many garden projects designing a pond requires careful planning. There are so many options to consider depending on use, size, shape, material and situat … Read more

UK Vegetable Gardening In Raised Bed Kits Raised bed vegetable gardening in the UK is becoming more popular than ever before with increasing numbers of … Read more

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 limitatio … Read more

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 se … Read more

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-bra … Read more

Towards the end of summer and into autumn activity in the vegetable garden slows down as crops are fully grown and their fruit begins to ripen. Winter brassic … Read more

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 fal … Read more

This week I'm giving you a look at what goes on behind the scenes at the ground breaking Quickcrop Design Bureau. For the last number of weeks we have been wo … Read more

If you are considering building a garden pond you may want to calculate the volume of water for water treatment or if you intend to introduce fish. Water treatme … Read more

Timber raised ponds can create a beautiful water feature centrepiece for your garden. With a raised structure you can have an instant garden pond in your garden … Read more

Well, it's August again in the Quickcrop garden (and elsewhere I suspect) so I thought we'd take our customary stroll around to see what's growing and hopefully … Read more

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 ha … Read more

Regular watering and sensible irrigation is essential to the development and healthy growth of any plant. Water is drawn from the root of the pla … Read more

Vegetable Garden Pests Seeing your vegetable crops decimated by garden pests can be a very disheartening sight and it can happen seemingly overnight if proper p … Read more

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 be … Read more

Perfectly healthy plants can be affected by air, water or soil borne diseases at any time. Understanding the causes, identifying them early and taking effective … Read more

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 ha … Read more

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 thoroug … Read more

Timber raised ponds can create a beautiful water feature centrepiece for your outdoor garden. With these kits you can have an instant garden pond in your garden, … Read more

Soil is the foundation of any vegetable garden, if it is treated well it will reward you. Year by year soil needs to to accommodate the demands of cultivatio … Read more

Garden soil comes in many forms depending on consistency and nutrient content. By identifying and understanding the type of soil you have you can create a wor … Read more

This March I am starting a new monthly update project which is centered more around what I'm doing in my garden. This is because it's easier for me to write but … Read more

The unwelcome garden visitors that come back every year. Here's a rundown of who they are and how to send them away. Slugs. These garden molluscs, along with t … Read more

With so many available options causing confusion for novice gardeners here are some simple suggestions for anyone planning to grow vegetables.Herb Garden Prefer … Read more

1 Planning. Decide what you want to do with your vegetable garden and spend time working out the best way to achieve it. There are so many choices –fruit or veg … Read more

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 … Read more

Fruit trees and bushes are planted in the garden with the intention of remaining for the long term, providing produce for many years. In return for this supply o … Read more

What kinds of things can you do in the garden at this time of year. It’s not quite Spring after all? Well, no, we’ve still a long way to go before we get to Spr … Read more

I quite like February, it's a bit of a renegade. Not only does it have a different number of days than any other month but it also reserves the right to change t … Read more

Sowing and planting too early in the year We can all get a little over excited when the new year comes around especially if, like now, we've had relatively … Read more

Blueberries are high in antioxidants so widely regarded as a 'Superfruit' (whatever that is) but taking their health benefits apart they are also exceptionally t … Read more

Timber planters in raised bed garden design Timber raised beds are an ideal solution for building an urban vegetable garden as they are relatively quick to asse … Read more

'How to grow gooseberries' is intended as a solid introduction to growing this relatively easy to grow fruit bush. For more detailed information on gooseberri … Read more

How To Build Raised Beds This article deals with how to build raised garden beds, what is the best size to make them and what is the best material to use. … Read more

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 divid … Read more

Hello and welcome back to the Quickcrop garden. Well, it’s a beautiful day in mid September and today we are going to build one of our large New Zealand Bo … Read more

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 … Read more

Raised bed vegetable garden plan. I include my 2016 vegetable garden plan below if anyone is interested in what I'll be growing next year. My garden is now … Read more

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. … Read more

Onions are some of the easiest things to grow and require very little looking after. As our friend Dermot Carey (last head gardener of Lissadell House) says i … Read more

I think I mentioned last week that haven't been spending as much time as I should have in the vegetable garden due to the uninspiring weather we have been having … Read more

I must admit I'm finding it a little difficult to write my usual enthusiastic post today as my garden isn't quite the paradise it normally is at this time of ye … Read more

Raised vegetable beds have a number of benefits, including protecting crops from foot traffic and creating a more comfortable working height. Another benefit is … Read more

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 phras … Read more

If you are thinking about building some raised vegetable beds to make you kitchen garden a whole lot easier to manage you might want to consider our revolutio … Read more

Planting Christmas potatoes in July If you have some spare space in your vegetable garden in July you could put in some 'Second Cropping' potatoes for a late Aut … Read more

How to plant your own Raised bed vegetable garden using the Quickcrop Square Foot garden method. Square foot gardening is all about taking advantage of smaller … Read more

I have always been a bit jealous of my brother in law as despite not being the worlds best linguist he manages to communicate no matter what country he finds him … Read more

Water is necessary to sustain all living life forms, we are made up of about 60% water while herbaceous plants like the vegetables growing in your garden contain … Read more

It really is incredible how things burst into life when we get a bit of warmth and sunshine, my little plot is suddenly a very different different place. It w … Read more

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 … Read more

Beginners Gardening Kits Vegetable gardening can be a little intimidating to the beginner and it is hard to know where to start with all the various informat … Read more

Using growbags couldn’t be easier, here is how to grow potatoes in a bag. The great thing about potatoes is that they can be grown almost anywhere, even if space … Read more

Cabbage Pests & Diseases Cabbages and other brassicas have become a very important part of the vegetable garden in our climate. Different varieties of cabba … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Why You Should Use A Vitopod Heated Propagator The award winning Vitopod electric heated seedling propagator provides the perfect environment for seeds, cu … Read more

Urban Planters / Container Gardening for vegetable growers. An image blog post. Wooden Wine Boxes make great little planters for herbs and salads.   &nb … Read more

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 … Read more

Small Garden Ideas Vegetable growing should be available to anyone even if you have have a very small urban garden or worse, no garden at all! Small urban garden … Read more

Mini Polytunnel Kits Our Quickcrop mini polytunnel kits have been designed to be attached, via a hinge, to a  timber raised bed. They can also be secured s … Read more

A collection of images from our raised bed gardens.   Please feel free to send us pictures of your raised bed garden. All our raised beds can be found … Read more

Growing your own can be tricky business for someone new to vegetable gardening but there are a number of ways you can stack the odds of a successful harvest i … Read more

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. O … Read more

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 un … Read more

Gardening Gifts / Christmas Presents For Gardeners Gifts for gardeners and gardening gift ideas, it can be quite tough trying to figure out what the gardener i … Read more

November is the month when growth in the vegetable garden finally grinds to a halt. Temperatures fall and daylight levels decrease, the season is over and oth … Read more

Researching the benefits of drinking wheatgrass juice has to be one of the most challenging tasks as opinions vary wildly from one side to the other. The problem … Read more

The best time to prune apple trees is in late winter or very early spring before any new growth starts. The tree takes up a dormant state after shedding its … Read more

The soil or compost you use in your school vegetable garden is the single most important part of the project. Vegetables are demanding as plants go, after all we … Read more

Site Vegetables are expected to give a lot. We want them to grow quickly and provide good quantities of nutritious food. To do this we need to pamper them a … Read more

Be Realistic! I'd give the same advice to any new gardener - to start small with easy to grow crops. A school vegetable garden also has the holidays to take … Read more

Remember Quickcrop give all schools 10% discount on all orders, please call us to receive your unique school code. Contact Andrew at 01788 298 795. An Intro … Read more

Using school raised garden beds We would strongly recommend using timber raised vegetable beds for your school vegetable garden for a number of reasons, the … Read more

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 w … Read more

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 … Read more

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 tr … Read more

Healthy vegetables need a healthy soil, it's as simple as that. Soil Improvement for Vegetable Gardeners is very important as the quality of the vegetables pr … Read more

Most people (including me until relatively recently) think of a small, round, pink variety when picturing a radish, usually either sliced or added whole to a gar … Read more