Hello from Haxnicks
We are a friendly, enthusiastic company that have been designing, manufacturing and distributing garden care and plant protection products for many years. Professional, experienced and amateur gardeners all love to grow using our innovative, easy to use products.
Watch our Helpful Videos
We've put together a collection of Videos from our archives that demonstrate the great things our gardening products can do.
A-Z Grow Your Own Advice
A whole alphabet of useful grow your own advice- written by Madeleine Cardozo, author of Down to Earth.
- Asparagus
- Aubergine
- Beans - Climbing
- Beans - Dwarf
- Beetroot
- Broad Beans
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbages
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chilli Peppers
- Courgettes / Zucchinis
- Cucumbers
- Endive
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Kale
- Leeks
- Lettuces
- Melon
- Mushrooms
- Onions (seeds)
- Onions (sets)
- Parsnips
- Peas (and mangetout)
- Peppers
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- Radishes
- Rhubarb
- Rocket
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Swedes
- Sweet Corn
- Tomatoes
- Turnips
- Zuchinnis / Courgettes
"I've used Haxnicks products for years - they're designed to do a brilliant job AND look good. Just what's needed!"
- Pippa Greenwood (Horticulturist, grow-your-own TV and radio expert, garden writer)
Have you got a specific gardening question? Just ask Pippa!
Click here for personalised advice from gardening specialist Pippa Greenwood.
The News by Haxnicks
Recent Updates from our Grow at Home Series
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Grow at Home: Beetroot
22nd March 2020
Growing Beetroot
Beetroot are easy to grow and ideal for anyone new to vegetable gardening. Most people think of it as a pickled salad vegetable. The young leaves can be used as ‘spinach’. Follow these with quick growing crops of late summer salads. The beets themselves, stands up well to oily fish like mackerel. You can also roast them, make soup (memories of a divine Beetroot consomme at a Polish wedding!) or even have them in porridge! Not tried that one but its on BBC GoodFood if you fancy it!
What variety?
Careful planning can mean you have beetroot all year round. There are different varieties if you want to eat in summer or store for winter so decide your goal before you buy seeds. There are also bolt resistant varieties that take away one of the main problems that can happen with this crop.
Sowing
Sow three seeds 4" (10cm)) apart 1" (2.5cm) deep in rows 12" (30cm) apart.
For best results, sow beetroot little and often, every 2 weeks or so from mid-April to July. You can start earlier in late February if you are going to protect them. For these early sowings, cover them to protect from late frosts. The Easy Fleece Tunnel will be perfect for this and can be packed away and hung on your shed wall as soon as the weather perks up.
Sowing 2 weeks apart will give you a steady harvest of tender, golf ball size beet. You don't want to let them grow too large or they will become tough.
Growing
Beetroot can be grown in the ground or in a veg planter Or why not try setting up a simple Raised Bed? All the convenience of a container - just fill it and go, no digging - but the space of a garden bed.Container Growing
The round varieties rather than the long cylindrical ones are better for containers. your pot or container needs to be 8" (20cm) in diameter and at least 8" (20cm) deep. Fill loosely with multi-purpose compost leaving about 1.5" (4cm) clear at the top.
Growing in the ground
Beetroot will grow well in any well-drained garden soil but requires fertile conditions. Prior to sowing, dig in around a bucketful of well-rotted garden compost or organic matter and rake in a handful per square metre/yard of a general purpose fertiliser.
Container & Ground
When the seedlings are about 1" (2.5cm) high, thin out to leaving the seedlings 4" (10cm) apart
Water every 10-14 days in dry spells. If plants are not growing strongly, apply high nitrogen fertiliser, such as sulphate of ammonia, and water in well.
Problems, Pest & Diseases
Bolting
This is when plants flower and set seed prematurely. Bolting is the plant in panic mode - it shoots up flower stalks to produce seeds and ensure its own survival. This generally makes the crop unusable so needs to be avoided. The best way to avoid bolting is to keep the plant happy. So sow at the correct time and keep the soil or compost moist. Not too wet or too dry. Bolting can also be triggered by a sudden cold spell so watch out for this and harvest a little early if you have to.
Harvesting
When you harvest depends how you like to eat your beetroot. Some people like the young tender golf ball sized ones. Some like the larger cricket ball sized ones. To get a mix - harvest every other beet, as and when you need them, leaving the ones in between to get to full size.
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Grow at home: Celery self-blanching or trench: which to choose
16th March 2020
Growing Celery has traditionally been seen as a labour-intensive task with trenches and blanching to achieve the long pale stems. There are numerous self blanching varieties such as 'Tall Utah' which make this more straightforward, although possibly resulting in a little less taste - it's worth giving both approaches a try.
Soil and Aspect
There are two methods of soil preparation: the trench method and that for self-blanching varieties.
For trench celery, in Autumn, dig out a trench in a sunny site 40cm wide and 30cm deep and add a layer of well rotted manure to the base. Back fill with soil and leave to settle over winter.
Self blanching Celery is planted in blocks rather than rows - dig over the site in Autumn and regularly incorporate plenty of well rotted manure and garden compost over winter.
Sowing
Trench varieties are best started off under glass in Rootrainers in early Spring at a temperature of around 15c. Harden off under cloches two weeks before planting out 30 cm apart in rows in early Summer.
Self blanching Celery is started off under glass in the same way and hardened off before planting out more closely, in blocks, 20cm apart to help with the blanching.
Aftercare
Water thoroughly in dry periods and feed with a liquid feed every two weeks. When trench celery varieties reach 30cm earth up over part of the stems to exclude light. Repeat this at three week intervals until the soil is up to the lower leaves. An alternative to earthing up is to wrap cardboard around the stems.
For self-blanching celery, place straw around the outside of the block to reduce light on the plants.
Harvesting and storage
Trench celery is ready for harvesting in the autumn and onwards into early winter. Harvest as needed but remember that the first frosts will enhance the flavour. Cover plants in the winter with Easy Fleece Tunnel or Lantern Cloche and leave in the ground - Self blanching varieties should be lifted in the Autumn.
Pests and diseases
Slugs, snails, Celery Fly and Carrot Fly can all be a problem as can diseases such as Celery heart rot - effected plants should be destroyed and not added to the compost heap. You can avoid split stems by ensuring that you water regularly.
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Grow at Home: Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Calabrese
7th March 2020
Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Italian Calabrese are often confused as the supermarket sold 'broccoli' is in fact the large green headed calabrese.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli is an excellent crop for filling the harvesting gap at the end of the winter and heralds the start of the new grow your own season for many gardeners. It is also the hardiest and easiest broccolis to grow.
Where to grow
All forms of broccoli and calabrese do best in an open sunny position. Protection from strong winds will prevent the plants from rocking.
Both require a rich soil. Manure in the Autumn and apply lime if necessary to bring the pH up to 6.5-7 in particular for the purple sprouting variety. You can get soil testing kits from the garden centre which will quickly tell you the pH of your soil.
Sowing
If growing from seed then plant in the greenhouse or a windowsill from March to April. You can plant in pots or for a better result try Rapid Rootrainers. These will allow you to transplant them without root disturbance that could slow their growth.
You can also sow seed thinly direct into their final position. Sow in rows to a depth of 1cm with 15cm between rows. After germination thin to 5 cm apart in preparation for transplanting to their final position.
Calabrese do not transplant as happily so should ideally be sown direct and thinned to 30 cm apart. Easy Poly Tunnels will aid germination and Easy Net Tunnels protect the young seedlings from birds.
Transplant deeply with the first leaves sitting on the soil surface to discourage cabbage root fly and help stabilise the plant. Firm in well, again to help secure the plant and eliminate any air pockets.
Aftercare
Keep well watered during dry periods to allow healthy growth throughout the long growing season. Mulching the rows with garden compost will help retain moisture and keep weeds in check as will regular weeding between rows with a Speedhoe will help loosening the soil around the developing plants.
Harvesting and Storage
Start harvesting in late winter and continue through to mid spring, depending on the variety grown. Harvest shoots of Purple Sprouting varieties before they flower at around 15cm long. Regular cutting encourages new shoots and any that reach flowering stage should be removed to prevent exhausting the plant.
Calabrese can be harvested from late summer to early autumn. Heads should be cut, starting from the central flower head, while still tightly closed. Spread harvesting of the crop to avoid completely stripping a plant.
Broccoli Pests and diseases
Cabbage root fly is the main pest to effect broccoli and calabrese. Protect with fleece during the early stages to help avoid this - Easy Fleece Tunnels are ideal for this.
In order to prevent damage to the roots from wind rock (damage to the roots of young plants, caused by the movement of the stem in the wind.)use a Micromesh Pest & Wind Barrier
For a really thorough way to keep pests off them the Haxnicks Grower Frame with the Micromesh cover The Grower frame is taller than your average growing space so ideal for broccoli. The Micromesh cover is an ultra fine netting that will keep insects as small as aphids and carrot flies out. Your broccoli and many other veg will be more than happy to be grown in one.
