From a city life in Dublin to rows of thriving crops in the Irish countryside, Andrew from Quickcrop has been on a mission to make growing your own food feel simple, rewarding, and accessible. What started as a personal decision to raise a family closer to nature quickly blossomed into a full-time passion for organic gardening—and a growing online community of curious followers. With decades of hands-on experience and a genuine love for the process, Andrew shares straight-talking tips, seasonal advice, and a deep respect for healthy soil. Through Quickcrop, he’s helping people reconnect with the land, reduce food miles, and discover the unbeatable taste of homegrown produce—one tomato, potato, or melon at a time.

Q. What first sparked your interest in growing your own organic fruit and veg in a sustainable way?
A: I suppose it was a romantic notion to begin with, I always hankered after an old farmhouse with a vegetable garden, probably from reading 'Peter Rabbit' as a child (yes, I am that old!). Myself and my wife were living in Dublin and when our first child came along, we decided it was time to leave the city and give the country life a go. My mother always had a vegetable garden and I knew one end of a carrot from another, so I got stuck in. When you are growing food for your family to eat, it's a bit of a no brainer to go organic, especially because it's actually easier than using chemical feeds and pest control and produces healthier, more flavoursome crops. What's not to like?

Q. What advice would you give to people who want to start eating more organically but don’t know where to begin?
A: There are plenty of organic options in the shops these days but, in my opinion, growing something, even if it's some lettuce in a window box, is a real eye-opening experience. It is so satisfying and, when growing your own, you get more tuned into the seasons and get a feel for where your food comes from. Also, from a sustainability point of view, much of the organic fruit and vegetables in the supermarket has big air miles on it, so kind of goes against part of the point about organic produce. Having said all that, I know many people don't have the space to grow their own vegetables, I'm very lucky!

@quickcrop 🍅 Pruning & Training Tomatoes  Hope you're all enjoying this glorious weather and that your tomatoes are doing nicely 😉 How to prune tomatoes? How to train tomatoes? Let's see how Andrew's tomatoes are coming along. 🍅 Habit When we look at how any plant grows, whether it is tall and open or short and stocky, we refer to this as ‘habit’. Tomato plants have two main habits, they either grow long vines or have a more compact bush shape. 🍅 Vine tomatoes are referred to as indeterminate or cordon types. They are the varieties we train up poles or twine, either outdoors or in a greenhouse. Vine tomatoes need their side shoots pruned out regularly to maintain a single stem. Otherwise, they will grow into large unruly plants at the expense of fruit production. 🍅 The vast majority of tomatoes are cordon varieties but do check the seed pack to make sure because the care of cordon or bush types is so different. 🍅 Bush tomatoes are known as determinate or bush varieties. They don’t need training or support as they grow in a compact or determinate bush shape and do not need to have their side shoots removed. 🍅 A bush variety, especially dwarf bush varieties, are suitable for windowsill growing, hanging baskets, containers or anywhere where space is an issue. You will also find them useful if you use a mini tunnel or cloche system and don't have the height for a tall cordon type. Don't be fooled by the size of a bush tomato; the right variety, well grown, will produce surprisingly heavy yields from a small space. #pruningtomatoes #howtogrowtomatoes #tomatotuesday #tomatotips #growingtomatoes #growyourown #tomatoes #howtoprunetomatoes #quickcrop #quickcroptips #vinetomatoes #cordontomatoes #bushtomatoes #maskotkatomatoes #tomatoplants #pruningtomatoplants #homegrown #homegrowntastesbest #homegrowntomatoes #polytunnellife #gardenlife #gardening #polytunnelgarden #irishgarden ♬ original sound - Quickcrop

Q. How do you balance educating people about food with making content that’s fun and engaging? A: I really get a kick out of growing and find the whole process very interesting. I also like knowing how plants work and why they do the things they do, so I hope my enthusiasm comes through. I look forward to going into more detail in the future because I am a big believer that, once you understand how plants work and why they need what they need, you will instinctively become a better grower.

Q. What are some tips you have for people looking to grow their own vegetables?
A: I would always say start small. You want something that is manageable and fits into your schedule; if it ends up being a chore, you won't stick with it. Also, it is 100% all about the soil. If you have well-fed soil full of nutrients, you can grow almost anything. Well-fed soil means lots of garden compost, well-rotted manure, seaweed or whatever bulky organic material you can get your hands on. Feed your soil and your soil will feed you!

@quickcrop Potato Blight? Can you avoid it? How to deal with it? Can you compost blighted leaves? #irishgarden #potatoblight #blightprevention #gardeningtips #growyourown #vegetablegarden #organicgardening #allotmentlife #homegrownveg #blightcontrol #potatoplant #gardeningadvice #growingpotatoes #gardeningproblems #gardeninghelp #quickcrop #growpotatoes #naturalgardening #potatopatch #organicgrower #sustainablegardening #backyardgarden #kitchengarden #vegtablegarden #kitchengarden ♬ original sound - Quickcrop

Q. With all the time and effort growing takes–what moments remind you why it’s worth it?
A: The flavour of what you are growing always puts a smile on your face no matter how much time it took. Last week I harvested the perfumed and aromatic baby melons in the polytunnel and they nearly brought tears to my eyes. It is extra special when you are tasting something that you know only home growers are able to experience. It makes it all feel very special.

Q. How would you describe the impact using TikTok has had on your business?
A: It’s been huge. I think maybe people wouldn't expect to find us on TikTok talking about pollinating sweetcorn or pruning tomatoes. We’re turning up on their For You page and catching them by surprise. Suddenly we’re reaching a whole new audience – people who might never have thought about growing vegetables before – and they’re jumping in because the content feels fun (we hope), and accessible. They're coming to our website & buying the seeds or the flower bulbs or even the compost bins they've seen in our videos. They know before they buy because they've seen the results already! It’s really opened the door to a new generation of growers. I hadn’t expected it, but TikTok has a really broad audience – from younger beginners to older, more seasoned gardeners.

@quickcrop #IrishGarden What to Sow in Early August Andrew shows us what to sow now for growing outdoors and in a polytunnel/greenhouse. #vegetablegarden #growyourown #polytunnelgrowing #greenhousegrowing #autumnveg #growingvegetables #winterveg #saladgarden #growingtips #gardentips #quickcroptips #kitchengarden #growwhatyoueat #polytunnellife #allotmentlife #wintersalad #reducefoodmiles #wintergreens #selfsufficientliving #winterpolytunnel #wintervegetables #claytonia #cornsalad #gyo #giy ♬ original sound - Quickcrop

Q. What kind of reactions have you received from audiences discovering your content on TikTok?
A: People tell me they’ve started growing a few bits because of the videos – and that’s the best feedback you can get. It's great to connect with people across the country and see how their season is going. A lot of the videos we make actually come from questions we get in the comments. There are no stupid questions. We're not born knowing how to grow food. Guaranteed, if you have a question about your tomatoes or potatoes or whatever, there are other people out there wondering the same thing.

Q. What do you enjoy most about creating content on TikTok?
A: The comments. Gardeners, beginners, random passers-by – all having the craic. It feels like a proper community, just with more emojis! We can make really fast snappy videos or break down a bigger subject into a few easier to digest, bite-size videos.