The Backyard Farmer

Sustainable living without the fluff

🛠️ Real tools. Real food. Real skills.

No gimmicks — just down-to-earth advice for growing things, DIY projects, and living susatinably. I am a time served Gardener who writes websites and code in my spare time. I also live in a cabin, semi off grid and as sustainably as I can.

Welcome to my Website for fellow backyard farmers.

What’s Growing on The Blog?

Fresh tips, tools, and projects for sustainable living — straight from the backyard.

Dig Into the Full Archive

Welcome to The Backyard Farmer — your go-to source for backyard farming in the UK. Whether you’re growing your own food, growing things ‘Just like Tomatoes’, exploring self-sufficient living, or building a more sustainable lifestyle, this blog cuts through the fluff with straight-talking advice and practical guides.

If you’re tired of throwaway culture, supermarket dependency, or just want to get stuck into something real, you’re in the right place. Backyard farming is more than a hobby — it’s a way to reclaim your independence, reduce waste, and live closer to the land.

Whether you’re sowing your first vegetable patch, knocking together raised beds, or brewing comfrey tea in a salvaged barrel, you’ll find honest reviews, hands-on tips, and real-life stories that make sustainable living achievable — even in small spaces. Join a growing community of UK backyard farmers who are building greener futures, one garden at a time.

About us

Who Is The Backyard Farmer?

I’m a Gardener, a Web/Games Designer, and a hands-on sustainability practitioner based on the Wirral. I spend my days outdoors gardening or growing food, and nights on my computer.

This blog shares what actually works (and what doesn’t), rooted in real UK backyard life.

Backyard farming isn’t about perfection — it’s about learning old skills, becoming more self-reliant, and reconnecting with the natural world.

Green technology plays a vital role in this shift. Solar panels, smart watering systems, and off-grid tools aren’t just nice to have — they’re essential for adapting to a more sustainable future. At The Backyard Farmer, we blend traditional know-how with the tech that helps us live smarter, lighter, and more sustainably. You can find out more on the ‘About’ page here.

Most Popular Backyard Farmer Tools

Discover our most-loved interactive features, built to make your gardening journey simpler and more rewarding. From planning your allotment to knowing exactly what to plant each season, these tools are here to save you time, cut costs, and boost your harvests.

Vintage-style seed packet illustration labeled ‘Allotment Planner’ with tomatoes, carrots, and herbs on a tan jug.

Plan Your Perfect Plot: Allotment Planner

Welcome to your new favourite Gardening Tool, the Free Square Foot Allotment & Companion Planting Planner. Designed and built by me, a gardener! Plan out the perfect veg plots with this intuitive square foot planning app with built in companion planting tips!

Allotment Planner

UK Vegetable Planting Calendar - FREE Interactive Tool

Wondering what to sow today? This tool shows you exactly which seeds you can plant on any date of the year, tailored to UK conditions. Simply pick your day and see what’s ready to sow indoors, outdoors, or transplant.

Vegetable Planting Calendar

BIODYNAMIC CALENDAR - Plant by the signs with ease

Take the guesswork out of sowing and planting with our interactive Biodynamic Calendar app. Based on lunar cycles and regional frost dates, it shows you the best days for fruit, root, leaf, and flower crops in your area.

LAUNCH THE BIODYNAMIC CALENDAR
attoo-style graphic of a raised fist holding leafy greens, symbolising self-sufficiency and eco activism.

Join the Revolution

Want to keep up with the daily goings on? Follow me on Tiktok, Facebook or Instagram for daily posts on my gardening jobs, life at the cabin and all things backyard farmer.

Become a Backyard Farmer
Illustration of a seedling sprouting from soil with the title Grow Your Own.

How to Grow Your Own Food at Home

Kickstart your journey to homegrown independence. From seed-saving to soil tips, our Grow Your Own section is packed with guides to help you cultivate fresh food, no matter your space or skill level.

Grow Your Own
Hand holding a growing plant with the title Sustainable Living in a handwritten font.

Simple Sustainable Living Tips

Live lighter on the planet with practical advice on reducing waste, reusing materials, and embracing self-sufficiency. Discover small changes that lead to a more sustainable, rewarding lifestyle.

Sustainable Living
Hand-drawn basket filled with mushrooms, herbs, and foraged plants labeled Foraging.

Simple Sustainable Living Tips

Reconnect with nature through safe, seasonal foraging. Learn how to identify wild foods, harvest responsibly, and turn hedgerow finds into delicious meals and remedies rooted in tradition.

Foraging Guides

What Do You Want to Learn?

🌱 Grow Your Own

Learn to grow fresh food in small spaces or full-sized plots. From no-dig gardening to winter sowing, discover how to grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit — all tailored to UK backyards.

🔨 DIY & Self-Sufficiency

Build it, fix it, or make it from scratch. Whether you’re constructing a compost bin, upcycling old pallets, or setting up rainwater collection, these projects give you the tools to become more self-sufficient.

♻️ Sustainable Living

Live a greener lifestyle with simple, low-cost changes. Think repurposed materials, zero-waste habits, eco swaps, and practical shifts that actually fit real life.

🌿 Foraging & Wild Food

Discover seasonal wild foods growing all around you. Learn to safely identify edible plants, berries, and herbs with respectful foraging practices across the UK.

🧰 Gear & Reviews

Honest, no-fluff reviews of tools and products. From hori hori knives to solar gear, every item is tested in real backyard conditions.

⚡ Green Tech & Off-Grid Solutions

Explore low-energy solutions that make sustainable living easier. From solar power to smart watering systems, these tools are the modern backyard farmer’s secret weapon.

Browse All Categories on The Backyard Farmer Blog
Vintage-style illustration of a wooden garden shed surrounded by leaves and decorative accents.

🛠️ Welcome to the Tool Shed

Unlock a growing collection of free garden planning tools, DIY calculators, and resources designed to help you grow smarter, plan better, and live more self-sufficiently — all crafted with the hands-on gardener in mind.

  • Free Allottment planner and companion guide
  • Find Firewood Near Me
  • Find Pallets near me
  • Garden Centers near you
  • etc…
Free tools this way
A sustainable off-grid cabin surrounded by a blooming flower garden, trees, and blue skies in a peaceful rural setting.

Irby Eco Living Project

A Model for Sustainable living

Welcome to the Irby Eco Living Project — a grassroots initiative focused on sustainable living through regenerative land stewardship, biodiversity support, and off-grid infrastructure. Located in the Wirral area, this project aims to turn underused greenbelt space into a thriving, low-impact eco hub.

Learn more
Illustrated cover of the book ‘Herbs and Heresy’ with a bold red flower, purple background, and golden folk-style borders.

Herbs & Heresy: The Untold History of Witch Hunts, Healing, and Control

What if the witch hunts weren’t just driven by superstition, but by a calculated effort to suppress knowledge, power, and healing? And what if modern medicine didn’t emerge purely from progress, but partly by erasing women, folk healers, and traditional remedies from history?

Herbs & Heresy uncovers the history of herbalism and its clash with institutional power. It reveals how so-called “witches” were often herbalists, midwives, and guardians of ancestral wisdom. Blending historical records, personal insight, and a critical look at today’s healthcare system, this book tells the untold story still echoing in how we heal today.

Herbs & Heresy

Latest Posts

Join the Movement

The Backyard Farmer isn’t just a blog — it’s a mindset shift. It’s about ditching throwaway habits, reconnecting with how things grow, and finding joy in doing it yourself.

Grow your own. Make your own. Live your own way — one backyard at a time.

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One Love. One Garden. One Backyard at a Time.

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