Free UK growing guides, garden tools, DIY projects and honest reviews for people who want to grow more, waste less and rely less on the system. Hands-on advice from the garden, the allotment and the shed.
The Backyard Farmer
Practical Growing, DIY Projects, And Tools That Work
New to the site?
Here are some good places to jump in and get going.
Allotment advice for planning your plot, growing seasonal crops and managing weeds.
Browse and plan 100+ crops. Compare growing guides, or jump straight into your garden plan.
Free planners, calendars, and tools to plan, track, and manage your growing season.
Honest garden tool and equipment reviews to help you choose what actually works.
Dig Into the Backyard Farm
More content to help you live a life less reliant on the system, and support a proactive, healthy life.
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.
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.
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.
Keep chickens at home with simple, beginner-friendly guides. Learn housing, feeding, egg care, and how to keep a small flock healthy year-round.
Support bees, birds, and beneficial insects with practical, UK-focused advice. From planting for pollinators to simple habitat builds, help your garden come alive.
Grow food and young plants indoors with simple guides to the best grow lights, simple propagation, windowsill growing, grow tents, and year-round growing setups.
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.
Looking for a free allotment planner in the UK? This tool is designed specifically for UK growing conditions, spacing, and seasonal planning — unlike generic
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
The UK Vegetable Planting Calendar shows what you can sow, plant, transplant, or harvest using typical UK growing conditions as a starting point. Choose your
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.
Choosing a hedge trimmer is not just about picking a brand or model. In many cases, the more important question comes first: should you go
Introduction Spinach is one of those crops that looks dead easy on paper until it suddenly is not. One week it looks great, and the
Introduction Brussels sprouts can be a brilliant winter crop, but they are not one of those veg you can half-get-right and still expect much from
Introduction Growing cauliflower in the UK can be really satisfying, but it is also one of those crops that quickly shows you where things are
Introduction Growing cabbage in the UK is fairly straightforward once you understand what tends to go wrong. That is the part that catches people out.
Introduction UK frost dates confuse a lot of gardeners because, although the UK is small, it does not behave like one neat growing zone. A
Introduction Growing broccoli in the UK is one of those jobs that looks easy on paper, then catches people out in real life. Usually, it
Introduction Dwarf French beans are one of the easiest beans to grow in the UK once the weather has warmed up properly. They are compact,
Introduction Runner beans are one of those crops that make you feel like you have got the hang of gardening when they take off. In
Introduction Peas are one of those crops that just suit the UK. They like cool conditions, get moving early in the season, and fresh-picked peas
Dig For Victory!
Join the Backyard Revolution! #backyardfarmer
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.