In 2011, the UK government and the horticultural industry agreed a voluntary target to phase out peat from growing media by 2020. In 2020, the target was missed. In August 2022, the government announced a retail ban for 2024. In March 2023, Defra set out a phased approach for the professional sector: reductions from 2026,…
According to the Environmental Horticulture Group, the UK’s horticultural sector supported 722,000 jobs and contributed £38 billion to the UK economy in 2023. Those are not modest numbers. They are the kind of numbers that ought to attract serious attention to what happens when the workforce behind them starts to thin out. What happens, in…
In 2024, APHA carried out a review of the top 100 online plant sellers by Google search. More than 20% were not authorised to issue UK plant passports. These are not businesses operating below the radar. They were visible enough to rank in the top 100 results for plant sales in the UK. They were…
Tony O’Neill is a UK vegetable growing expert, award-winning author, YouTube creator with over 455,000 subscribers, Watch Manager with South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and founder of GrowTrack Systems Ltd.
GrowTrack offers a 14-day free trial of the full Premium version. No credit card is required to start. The trial is not a stripped-down version with key features hidden behind a paywall; it is the complete system, with full access to every feature, including Rowan, voice interaction, health scoring, bed management, and yield tracking. After…
GrowTrack started with a simple frustration — generic garden apps kept giving advice written for someone else’s garden. Here is the full story of why it was built, who it is for, and how Rowan’s memory changes everything.
Tony O’Neill explains why winter planning feels so productive — and why that feeling is exactly what makes it misleading. The problem isn’t the effort. It’s that nothing can contradict you yet
Tony O’Neill explains why even well-made garden plans unravel every spring — and why the problem isn’t your planning, it’s that every plan ignores what your garden is already carrying.
Tony O’Neill on how a career in the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service shaped his approach to vegetable growing, and how the discipline of firefighting translated into building a worldwide gardening platform.
Tony O’Neill on the history and culture of allotment gardening in South Wales. A personal account of growing food in the valleys and what that tradition means today.
Tony O’Neill on how artificial intelligence is changing home gardening. What AI can genuinely do for growers, what it cannot, and where GrowTrack fits into that picture.
Tony O’Neill on what Simplify Vegetable Gardening is really about. The thinking behind the award-winning book, what it covers, and who it was written for.
Tony O’Neill explains why generic gardening apps fail home growers and what GrowTrack does differently. A honest look at why garden-specific data changes everything.
Tony O’Neill on how his grandfather taught him to grow food on a hillside allotment in the South Wales valleys. The lessons that shaped everything he knows about vegetable growing.
Tony O’Neill explains how to extend your vegetable growing season. Practical guidance on cloches, fleece, polytunnels, and cold frames that give you harvests earlier in spring and later into autumn.
Tony O’Neill explains how to feed vegetables effectively. Practical, honest guidance on fertilisers, compost, and feeding schedules that actually make a difference to your crops.
Tony O’Neill explains how to get better yields from the same growing space. Practical techniques for increasing productivity without expanding your garden or allotment.
Tony O’Neill explains crop rotation simply and practically. Why it matters, how to set it up, and how to make it work in a small garden or allotment without overcomplicating it.
Tony O’Neill compares grow bags, raised beds, and containers for vegetable growing. Honest guidance on which works best, when to use each, and what the gardening industry does not tell you.
Tony O’Neill explains how to identify and deal with the most common vegetable garden pests. Practical, honest guidance on prevention and management without over-reliance on chemicals.
Tony O’Neill shares everything he wishes he had known before starting an allotment. Honest, practical allotment advice drawn from over 40 years of growing food in South Wales.
Tony O’Neill identifies the most common vegetable garden mistakes and explains how to avoid them. Honest, practical advice drawn from over 40 years of growing food.
Tony O’Neill explains how to grow tomatoes successfully in the UK climate. Practical guidance on varieties, sowing, planting out, feeding, and avoiding the most common problems.
Tony O’Neill’s UK vegetable growing calendar. Month by month guidance on what to sow, plant, and harvest so you never miss the right window for your crops.
Tony O’Neill shares the best vegetables to grow in a small garden or raised bed. Practical advice on choosing productive crops that work in limited space and deliver real results.
Tony O’Neill explains how to start composting at home. Practical, honest guidance on choosing a system, what to add, and how to get usable compost faster than most guides suggest.
Tony O’Neill explains how to prepare soil for growing vegetables. Practical guidance on testing, improving, and building soil structure that supports healthy, productive crops season after season.
Tony O’Neill explains how to plan a vegetable garden from scratch. Practical, honest advice on choosing your space, deciding what to grow, and setting yourself up for a productive first season.