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 you’re just starting on your food-growing journey, it’s probably best to be a little selective about what you’re planning to grow. There are some food crops that can prove to be surprising ... … Read more

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

When it comes to polytunnel growing, there tends to be something of a consensus around which crops are reliable staples in a temperate climate such as in the UK. Indeed you will have probably heard ... … Read more

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

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

For a bit of colour to start, below is the beautiful magenta bulbs of onion 'long red Florence': a crop I harvested in 2021, but a variety I sow every year. A new batch of onion seedling plants (so ... … Read more

Rhubarb is a brilliant plant to have in your vegetable as it keeps popping up every year with a minimum of effort on your part. You can have a look at our 'growing rhubarb' article by clicking the ... … Read more

When we set up Quickcrop over 5 years ago now we pictured it as the ultimate lifestyle business. Both myself and Niall were passionate about growing and saw the  business as something that would ... … Read more

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

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 ... … 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 limitations. That doesn't mean you nee ... … 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 the varieties mentioned are available a ... … Read more

The transition from May to June is a fantastic time in the vegetable garden as the crops you have planted or sown start to put on some proper growth and the garden starts to fill up. As you know I of ... … 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 into account so unless you have inter ... … Read more

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 ... … 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 year. I don't know where you are but her ... … Read more

Last weekend I was back in the polytunnel and sowed a few trays of seeds which I wanted to start on the heat bench (onions and leeks). It is still very early days but there are seeds that can be sown ... … Read more

We had a number of questions recently on polytunnel growing: particularly whether polytunnels are worth the investment and whether it is true that they enable year-round growing, so I figured I ... … Read more

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

Those of you who are subscribed to our newsletter may already be familiar with this A-Z guide that I've been gradually putting together. It's easy to find sowing times for vegetables but sometimes ... … Read more

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 we ... … Read more

Last week I touched on succession sowing and said I would include my plan for this year and, being very organised these days (new years resolution), I am pleased to include it below. Not all of th ... … Read more

We recently decided to tackle some of the gardening FAQs that we get asked most frequently on this blog. Can I grow vegetables indoors? is one of those questions that pops up all the time and the ... … Read more

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

As we are coming into the main planting and sowing time I thought I would cover soil and plant feed as they are such an important part of the garden. I know I covered feed in January but I have bee ... … Read more

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 ... … Read more

Well, hello there folks. That's been a strange couple of weeks hasn't it? I apologise for the late mail but I have had the luminous vest on since last week as I've been packing orders in the warehous ... … Read more

When Dorcas Barry agreed to contribute to our blog I couldn't believe my luck. I met Dorcas at the G.I.Y. (Grow It Yourself) gathering in Waterford last year where she was talking about fresh and hea ... … Read more

Last week the blog included some tips on starting a new vegetable garden and, judging by the emails I received (thank you), a number of you found it very helpful (fantastic!). With that in mind, I ... … Read more

A new year brings with it the temptation to mix things up in the garden, expand your growing ambitions or simply fine-tune the way you do things. I myself spent a fun few hours on Friday plannin ... … Read more

As winter approaches in the second half of the year it's important to consider protecting your plants from cold weather - and the damage that can be caused by frost. In a lot of ways though, it' ... … Read more

Why I Grow in Raised Vegetable Beds I guess the best place to get started is why should I grow in Raised Vegetable Beds in the first place? For me, growing in raised beds was my onl ... … 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 gardens can be just as productive as larger ... … Read more

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

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 Spring. This time of year is really all a ... … Read more

The unique selling point of the Vegepod is that it combines some of the benefits of raised bed gardening with those of growing under cover or in a container. You can create a microclimate ... … 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 being cooked or chopped. It may be the c ... … Read more

It is incredible just how fast the season slips by, I can't believe it's September already! The final part of the season got away from me a bit (broken collarbone) but luckily work done earlier ... … Read more

What is Square Foot Gardening? Square foot gardening is a method of growing vegetables which centers around planting crops in blocks rather than rows. The system divides the growing space up int ... … Read more

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

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 ... … Read more

Radishes are a cool season vegetable that can mature very quickly. The small, round varieties will get woody if grown in hot temperatures.Planting Radishes Radishes are direct seeded in the gard ... … Read more

Radishes are a cool season vegetable that can mature very quickly. The small, round varieties will get woody if grown in hot temperatures. Planting Radishes Radishes are direct seeded in th ... … Read more

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

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, irrigat ... … Read more

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 ... … 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 in your favour. My number one would be ... … Read more

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 ... … 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 also I hope you find it more engaging ... … Read more

A new year brings with it the temptation to try something new in the garden, overhaul your growing space or simply fine-tune the way that you do things. Garden planning is something you ca ... … Read more

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

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 ... … Read more