The Backyard Farmer

Practical growing, DIY projects, and tools that work

Ey’up Backyard Farmers, this site is all about building up your self-reliance in the UK by getting back to basics.

Online Tools designed to help you grow your own food & guides that get straight to the nitty gritty!

Free planners, growing calendars, garden guides, DIY projects and honest reviews to help you grow food, forage safely, support wildlife and make more of what’s already around you.

Practical self-reliance for Britain’s Backyard Farmers, growers and folks who want to live more sustainably.

Hands-on info, dirty fingernails and a gardener’s tan.

Start here

New to the site? Here are some good places to jump in and get going.

Plant Library

Browse and plan 100+ crops. Compare growing guides, or jump straight into your garden plan.

Indoor Growing

Indoor growing guides covering lights, tents, feeding, and simple troubleshooting.

Planning tools

Free planners, calendars, and tools to plan, track, and manage your growing season.

Read reviews

Honest garden tool and equipment reviews to help you choose what actually works.

Explore the Backyard Farm

More content to help you live a life less reliant on the system, and support a proactive, healthy life.

Solar Power

Learn the basics of small-scale solar power for gardens, sheds, and off-grid projects, with practical UK-focused guides and tools like our Solar Power Calculator.

DIY Projects

Build it, fix it, or make it yourself. These DIY garden and home projects are designed to save money, solve real problems, and make better use of what you have.

Foraging

Learn how to forage safely and seasonally in the UK. From wild plant identification to responsible harvesting, these guides help you turn hedgerow finds into something genuinely useful.

Backyard Chickens

Keep chickens at home with simple, beginner-friendly guides. Learn housing, feeding, egg care, and how to keep a small flock healthy year-round.

Wildlife & Pollinators

Support bees, birds, and beneficial insects with practical, UK-focused advice. From planting for pollinators to simple habitat builds, help your garden come alive.

Self-Sufficiency

Build a more self-sufficient lifestyle with practical, real-world skills. From growing your own food to simple systems and low-cost setups, rely less on store-bought solutions.

Free Online Tools For Your Backyard

Free tools I’ve built to solve real, everyday problems. Planners, calculators, and finders to make life a bit easier.

Free Allotment Planner UK (Square Foot Garden Tool)

Looking for a free allotment planner in the UK? This tool is designed specifically for UK growing conditions, spacing, and seasonal planning — unlike generic

Biodynamic Planting Calendar – Free UK & US Lunar Gardening App

The Biodynamic Planting Calendar shows what to sow and plant based on lunar gardening principles, tailored for the UK and US. Select your country and

UK Vegetable Planting Calendar – What to Sow, Plant & Harvest Today

The UK Vegetable Planting Calendar shows exactly what to sow, plant, transplant, or harvest each month based on typical UK growing seasons. Select your region

UK Bee Identification Tool – Free Interactive Bee ID Guide

Not sure which bee you’ve just spotted? Use this free UK bee identification tool to narrow it down quickly. Filter by tail colour, stripe pattern,

Latest Posts

The latest content, practical guides and seasonal updates from my life as a gardener, living off grid.

Keep Gardening Simple: How to Simplify Gardening Without the Overwhelm

Introduction After years of working as a gardener on the Wirral, one lesson keeps coming back to me: Gardening starts to feel simpler when you

How to Grow Sweetcorn in the UK: A Practical Guide to Full, Sweet Cobs

Introduction Growing sweetcorn in the UK is definitely worth doing, but it is one of those crops where the small details make the harvest. You

Bird Box Guide UK: Where to Put a Nest Box, Why Yours Is Empty & How to Help House Sparrows

Introduction Last year I made my own bird box, put it up with the best intentions in what seemed to be a good position, and

What to Harvest in July UK: Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs Ready to Pick

July is where the UK harvest calendar changes gear. Earlier in the year, you are often waiting for the first proper pickings. By July, the

White-tailed Bumblebee Aggregate: Why Some UK Bumblebees Are Hard to Identify

Quick Answer: What Is the White-tailed Bumblebee Aggregate? The White-tailed Bumblebee aggregate, or Bombus lucorum agg., is a group of very similar UK bumblebees that

How to Grow Winter Squash in the UK: From Seed to Stored Harvest

Introduction Winter squash is one of those crops that makes a garden or allotment feel properly productive. The plants sprawl, the flowers are hard to

First Rows In, Woodchip Paths and Chicken Plans — Week 2

Introduction This week the allotment started to feel less like a clearing job and more like an actual growing space. I managed to get up

What to Harvest in June UK: Vegetables, Fruit and Herbs Ready to Pick

Introduction — What to Harvest in June UK If you are wondering what to harvest in June in the UK, this is the month when

How to Grow Pumpkins in the UK

Introduction Learning how to grow pumpkins in the UK is mostly about getting the timing, warmth and space right. Pumpkins are not hard in the

Bolting Vegetables: How to Manage Heat, Water and Summer Stress

Introduction Summer can be one of the most productive times in a UK vegetable garden, but it is also when small problems show themselves quickly.

Join the Movement

The Backyard Farmer isn’t just a blog.

It’s about doing things for yourself, learning useful skills, and enjoying the process along the way. The world is changing, and learning how to be more self-sufficient can help you be more independent, less reliant on ‘the system’ and even save money.

Join the Backyard Revolution!

#backyardfarmer