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 also sa ... … 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-brainer in the vegetable garden as we ten ... … Read more

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 assume th ... … 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

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

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 of useful information. If there is a me ... … Read more

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 ... … Read more

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' plant macron ... … Read more

While I am not a fan of of winter I do enjoy preparing for it. There is great satisfaction in harvesting and storing crops in October, protecting beds from heavy rain and generally put ... … Read more

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

I hope this morning finds you all well and that the current restrictions aren't bothering you too much. I must admit I am itching to do something outside the home / work loop but am still feeling ver ... … Read more

Cucumber incidentDid 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 v ... … Read more

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

Many of you will have noticed it is no longer Autumn, so clearly planting tulips and daffodils aren't an option at the moment. The great news is there are a whole range of Spring-planted bulbs like ... … Read more

Vegan gardening has a lot of overlap with organic or no-dig gardening. However, the ways in which it differs are related to the principles of veganism itself. Veganism is a belief or philosophy ... … Read more

As regular readers will know, I had to take down over half of my trees due to ash die back disease. Sadly, that has left my little patch of land looking very different and in need of some repair. I ... … 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 photos. I was concerned, you see, that you ... … 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 the soil. Neutral is in the middle (7 ... … Read more

Milan Purple Top has distinctive flat-topped roots, white with purple crown. Quick maturing, useful in frames and under cloches. They are a fast crop, being ready in just five to eight weeks f ... … 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 have fallen out of love with our vegetab ... … 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 is limited like in an urban setting. … 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 weeds and gra ... … 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 cultivation and the weather. Here are some suppl ... … 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

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

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 looking ... … Read more

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

Honestly, do you ever think about how weird it is that ‘pond life’ has become a derogatory phrase and insult, when actual pond life contains some of the most fascinating and beautiful cr ... … Read more

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

Growing your own food provides many benefits to both our physical and mental health. There are many resources available online that go in to great detail about the various nutritional information and ... … Read more

I guess it is important to say from the outset that herbs are very easy to grow. Considering what they add in flavour - and how often you will use them - they are probably the best value plants in t ... … 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 tasty so well worth growing yourself. A ... … Read more

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 mak ... … 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, patio, or deck without the need for l ... … 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

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

The variety we use in our nursery is usually Red Rovite, it is a very reliable red cabbage to grow in Autumn and Winter. Where to grow: Although cabbage can tolerate shade they will do much ... … Read more

Growing garlic is both easy and satisfying: it's well-suited to both the first time gardener and the more experienced. A haul of freshly harvested garlic is a beautiful thing, especially when the ou ... … 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, patio, or deck without the need for ... … 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

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 ... … Read more

Mackerel sky Before we get going, here's a photo I took on Monday morning while out walking the dog showing a pretty 'mackerel sky' which, as you know, signals a change in the weather. The old sailo ... … Read more

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 ... … 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

Timetable for growing tomatoes: a summary of a decade of learningI started growing tomatoes in the wet summer of 2009 and was quite frankly, not very successful. It probably took me until 2013 to kno ... … Read more

Following on from last week's post I thought we would continue with more planting tips, this time on tomatoes as I put some in my tunnel at the weekend. As regards flavour, there is no comparison bet ... … Read more

What is Meant By Organic Gardening? You will no doubt often hear the term organic gardening or ‘gardening naturally’. What it actually means - or how strict the definition is - can be ... … Read more

If you were alive 144 million years ago, you wouldn't need to worry about providing winter food for wild birds because you would have been on the menu yourself. It might be hard to believe when you ... … Read more

Home composting is a fantastic way of killing two birds with one stone. You can process garden and kitchen waste (and reduce your bin collection costs) while at the same time producing your ... … Read more

As bin charges increase and households try to be more environment friendly, we are seeing a corresponding increase in home composting. We have been interested in domestic composting for a lon ... … Read more

One of the greatest pleasures in gardening is watching life flourish all around you: not just in terms of the plants you grow, but also the non-human visitors to your garden. A biodiverse garden isn ... … Read more

A member of the onion family, chives are well worth cultivating in the vegetable and flower garden. They take up very little space, and the whole plant can be eaten from top to bottom - the bulbs ... … 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 treatments to clear algae and other issues ar ... … Read more

Persuading children to eat vegetables can be a task and a half. It’s not just stubbornness either: research shows that kids’ taste buds are simply more receptive to sweet foods. And let’s be hones ... … 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 that date on a leap year. It is the mon ... … 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 produced is directly related to the qual ... … Read more

I had the pleasure on Monday evening to give my very first talk to a gardening club. It was all very professional with a projector for my (first ever) Powerpoint presentation and a microphone strapp ... … 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

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 is pr ... … 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 Summer cabbage. According to the weather fo ... … Read more

Fruit trees and bushes are planted in the garden with the intention of being around for the long haul, providing harvests for many years. In return for this supply of fresh fruit they require regula ... … 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 their close relative the snail, are one ... … 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 we expect quick growth and lots of cr ... … 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 split up into long raised beds with gr ... … Read more

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

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

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

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 other than harvesting any remaining crops ... … Read more

Well, here we go again, another new year and another new season beginning in the vegetable garden! I really do love the fresh start a new season brings. Past blunders are forgotten and a fabulous new ... … Read more

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 ... … Read more

I have two books which are my vegetable growing bibles. One is Joy Larkcom's 'Grow Your Own Vegetables' and the other is 'Organic Gardening - The Natural No-Dig Way' by Charles Dowding. Both are f ... … Read more

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 ... … 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 have a good snoop about without getting ... … 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

Thyme deserves a place in all herb gardens. Its foliage is attractive, the long-lasting flowers are very pretty and it is a compact easy-care plant. On top of that it is one of the most useful ... … Read more

We talked a couple of weeks ago about how adding well rotted organic matter to your garden soil is the number one way to grow the best vegetables. One of the key ingredients is your own home produced ... … Read more

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 ... … Read more

Aphids are the source of much frustration in the garden. Also referred to as greenfly or blackfly, these small sap-sucking insects feed on ornamental plants and edibles alike. They can cause a range ... … Read more

One of the things first time vegetable gardeners ask about when they call or email us is tomatoes - everyone wants to grow their own tomatoes. This is a bit unfortunate as for the most part they a ... … Read more

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 s ... … Read more

Rainwater harvesting has become more popular and more common in the UK in recent years. Whether in response to hosepipe bans and water shortages, or in anticipation of climate change and future drou ... … Read more

A neat, well-maintained lawn is still considered a cornerstone of an appealing outdoor space. It provides a space for children to play, pets to chase after a ball or stick, or for you to chill in th ... … Read more

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

We build a relationship with tomatoes unlike almost any other plant in our vegetable garden as they need such constant and varying care. We start off seeds when it is too cold for them to survive on ... … 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 blender and I still see that wonderfu ... … 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

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 tha ... … Read more

I made a vow to myself last week that I would go at least a month without including a photo of my tractor in these emails. As you see above I have failed already but, to be fair, that's a really nice ... … Read more

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

If you don't have a patch of soil to grow in then clearly you will have to grow your vegetables in a container of some sort. A container grown urban garden adds life to your balcony or back yard a ... … Read more

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 ... … 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 preventative methods aren't applied. On ... … 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

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 precautions ... … Read more

Not too chilly for growing chillies! You don't need me to tell you that we are having a wet and windy February. So far we have dealt with high winds and heavy rain and, if the forecast is correct, ... … Read more

Maintaining a garden pond fosters a healthy ecosystem, providing the suitable environment for fish and plants to thrive. It's important to practice regular maintenance routines, which can involve in ... … Read more

When doing a quick (or maybe not so quick; I like to make sure I'm fully informed) spot of research for this article, I came across a blog from Pumpkin Beth (very seasonal) which extols the virtues ... … Read more

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

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

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 of fresh fruit they require regular fee ... … Read more