171 results

The Difference Between Indoor and Outdoor Cucumbers

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 of ... … Read more
April 30th Garden Update - Seedling Sowing Tips

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 ... … Read more
How To Grow Raspberries

Raspberries are one of the most popular summer fruits and are very easy to grow. Different training techniques mean raspberries can be grown in gardens of any size and in containers.Preparation ... … Read more
Planting Bare Root Fruit in Winter

I sometimes throw my vegetable garden a guilty look as I skip past it on my way to the fruit cage or down to look at my young apple trees. The vegetable garden, though not as glamorous, does the heav ... … Read more
How to Grow Coriander

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 ... … Read more
Gardening With Raised Beds: Frequently Asked Questions

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 your ... … Read more
How To Grow Runner Beans

How to Grow your own Runner Beans from seed or seedlings with this step by step guide including plant maintenance, pest and disease control and harvesting. All this growing beans information is al ... … Read more
Cabbage Pest and Disease Control

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 ... … Read more
How To Grow Blueberry

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 ... … Read more
How To Grow Celeriac

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 ... … Read more
Turn Winter into Summer with 'Sunblaster' Grow Lights

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 ... … Read more
What Is Crop Rotation?

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 place for successive years. It plays an important role in ... … Read more
Sustainable Gardening

You’ve probably seen the word 'sustainable' a fair bit, but we wouldn’t blame you if you’re not entirely sure what it means. With the way it’s used, it can sometimes seem lik ... … Read more
How To Grow Cauliflower

The cauliflower is not the easiest of the brassica family to grow but a large white cauliflower with tight white curds is a thing of beauty and producing one a source of much satisfaction. Variety ... … Read more
How To Grow Kohl Rabi

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 ... … Read more
Small Space Garden Tips

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 ... … Read more
Autumn is the New Spring with Asian Greens

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 no ... … Read more
Bare Root Hedge Plants & New Gro-Grid Planting Mat

You might remember from a post a few weeks back that we are now manufacturing the fabulous 'Gro-Grid' weed control planting mat. We have the machinery set up in our warehouse and have been building u ... … Read more
Small Garden Ideas - Urban Garden Container Growing

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 gardens can be just as productive as larger ... … Read more
How to Grow Chard

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 ... … Read more
When Do I Add Compost To My Garden?

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 ... … Read more
How To Grow Perpetual Spinach

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 ... … Read more
Building a Timber Fruit Cage

My weekend work for the last 2 weeks has been building our new fruit cage video location. The plan, as I think I mentioned in a previous mail, is to film a new set of videos showing how to plant, pru ... … Read more
Planting Out Vegetable Seedlings

O.K., so you've managed to produce your own seedling plants or have bought in some promising looking specimens. You have hardened them off and are ready to put them out into your garden (or i ... … Read more
How To Grow Courgettes

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 ... … Read more
Growing Garlic - Frequently Asked Questions

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 rang ... … Read more
Plant Roots and How They Work

As we slip into the cooler weather of October there is very little we can sow now (apart from some cold tolerant  Asian salads) so, as per last week's mail, it is mostly about preparing ... … Read more
Natural Pest Control Methods

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 ... … Read more
February 2018 - Vegetable Garden Update

This weekend showed some real promise with blue skies and the first fleeting traces of heat from the sun. As you see from the photo (taken on Sunday morning) the wind had also dropped leaving the ... … Read more
Growing Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a very easy plant to grow. If you get the conditions right at the start it will be relatively trouble free for many years. It is a plant that looks fantastic in the vegetable garden wit ... … Read more
How To Grow Carrots

Growing Carrots 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 - th ... … Read more
How To Create a Butterfly Garden

Butterflies are one of the most charismatic of all garden visitors, with their vividly coloured wings and elegant flight arcs. Species like Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell are commonly ... … Read more
Delicious Vegetables to Sow in Late June

After last weeks brilliant article on late sowings of peas and carrots I got a number of mails asking what other vegetables can be sown at this time of year. I am always surprised at how many peop ... … Read more
Forest Gardening

Forest gardening aims to mimic the natural balance found in forest or woodland ecosystems. In the UK, woodlands support a diverse array of plants, wildlife and microorganisms, from tall trees to shr ... … Read more
How to plant a bare root hedge

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 s ... … Read more
How to prune Gooseberry Bushes and Currants

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 ... … Read more
Growing Fruit in Containers

So, the other week, I had an email from a customer asking for advice on what soil mix to use for planting fruit trees in containers. It was a simple question which should have resulted in a quic ... … Read more
A Guide to Making Homemade Compost

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 soi ... … Read more
Recognising The Most Common Annual Garden Weeds

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 chor ... … Read more
How To Build and Install Raised Garden Beds

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. We will also look at preparing the soi ... … Read more
August Vegetable Garden Update

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 ... … Read more
The Vegetable Garden in January

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 warm Winter so far. We can all be guil ... … Read more
Creating a Microclimate in your Garden

What is a Microclimate? A microclimate is a small localised area that differs somewhat from the surrounding weather conditions, for example being warmer, more humid, windier etc. A ‘localised ... … Read more
The Quickcrop garden in March - dealing with a wet Spring

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 ... … Read more
Growing Brassicas - How we bred this amazing group of plants

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 ... … Read more
Vegetable Sowing and Planting Tips

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 ... … Read more
How to grow blueberries and cranberries

Blueberries are high in antioxidants so widely regarded as a 'Superfruit' (whatever that is) but taking their health benefits apart they are also exceptionally tasty so well worth growing yourself. A ... … Read more
Dealing with Potato Blight

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 lately. I had noticed on one of my br ... … Read more
How To Grow Pumpkins

Pumpkins have a special appeal for both adults and children, especially at Halloween. The carved pumpkin outside the front door - or being carried house to house as a lantern - is an establishe ... … Read more
Natural Slug Control - Non Toxic Methods

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 ... … Read more
Is It Too Late To Start A Vegetable Garden in August?

If you’re just thinking about starting your first vegetable garden, you might feel like you’ve missed the boat or that it’s the wrong time of year. Fair enough: many gardeners see August as a t ... … Read more
How To Grow French Beans (Dwarf)

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 ... … Read more
How To Grow Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding crops for the home gardener to grow, simply because their flavour is so much better than their shop-bought cousins. Tomatoes grown for the supermarket shel ... … Read more
Keyhole Gardening

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 ... … Read more
Xeriscaping and Drought Tolerant Plants

It might sound like a phrase from some futuristic sci-fi story involving androids and off-world colonies, but xeriscaping actually comes from the Greek word ‘xeros’, meaning dry. It’s the practice ... … Read more
Seed & Potting Compost Review

I thought it might be a good idea to follow last week's mail on sowing seeds with some notes on seed and potting compost. It might seem like a boring subject but knowing your compost will become incr ... … Read more
The Polytunnel in January

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 cases I will be tempted to start a fe ... … Read more
Grow Your Own Onions from Sets or Seeds

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 if you can't grow onions you might as w ... … Read more
How To Grow Broad Beans

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. … Read more
High Yield Vegetables

A high yield vegetable is one that produces a large amount of end product per area of planting. ‘Output’ shouldn’t be seen as the be all and end all of growing your own food, but high yield veg ... … Read more
July 7th - Quickcrop Vegetable Garden Update

I don't know what the season has been like for you but thanks to a warm and dry early summer followed by some welcome rain, my garden is looking vibrant and green. Despite the fact that the ... … Read more
How to Grow Potatoes

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 blig ... … Read more
Top 10 Great Overwintering Vegetables

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 n ... … Read more
Vegetable Seedling Care Guide

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 ... … Read more
Rathdooney Vegetable Garden Blog - November 28th

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, it looks nothing like that now. I am ... … Read more
How to Grow Beetroot

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 crop has ... … Read more
July in the Quickcrop Garden.

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 ... … Read more
The Science of Seed Germination

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 ... … Read more
Irrigation in the Vegetable Garden

Regular watering and sensible irrigation is essential to the development and healthy growth of any plant. Water is drawn from the root of the plant and transported through its capilla ... … Read more
The Best Crops to Grow in a Polytunnel

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, ... … Read more
The Science of Seaweed Feed

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 ... … Read more

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