This archive brings together practical, experience-led articles from The Backyard Farmer, covering gardening, DIY, indoor growing, foraging, reviews, and sustainable living. Each post is written with real-world use in mind — focusing on working with nature, building practical skills, and making sustainable choices more accessible.
Learning how to grow carrots in the UK is mostly about getting the soil right. Carrots grow easily from seed, take up little space, and do well in gardens, raised beds, allotments, and containers. They can seem tricky if you end up with forked, tiny,
Knowing when to harvest carrots in the UK mostly comes down to timing, size, and a quick look at the root shoulder. Pull them too early and they’ll be thin and underdeveloped. Leave them too long and they can become woody, split, or lose some
Potatoes are one of the most rewarding crops to grow in the UK. However, knowing when to harvest potatoes in the UK can make the difference between small immature tubers and a full basket of perfect spuds. The exact harvest time depends mainly on the
Introduction – What to Harvest in May (UK) If you’re wondering what to harvest in May, this guide covers the vegetables, fruit, and herbs that may be ready to pick in late spring. May is a turning point in the UK growing season. The garden
Winter is quieter in the vegetable garden, but there is still useful work to do. December is mainly about harvesting and protecting established crops, January brings a few carefully chosen early sowings, and February is when the new growing season begins to gather pace. This
Autumn is still a productive planting season in the UK. From September to November, you can sow fast-growing salad crops, plant hardy vegetables such as garlic and onion sets, and establish crops that will overwinter for an earlier harvest next year. What you can plant
Companion planting can help you use space efficiently, support biodiversity and reduce some pest pressure, but it works best as part of good garden management rather than as a cure-all. The UK companion planting chart below shows which common vegetables grow well together, which combinations
Planning a vegetable garden is about more than deciding what to plant in spring. A useful plan shows what each bed will grow through the year, when crops will need the space, what can follow them and how those crop groups can move between seasons.
If you’ve ever stood in your garden and thought, “What if I had a little more land?” you’re not alone. Most smallholders begin with raised beds, compost and perhaps a few hens. Over time, the ambition shifts from growing food to managing land. Starting a
Summer planting on these grand isles is special, and even beginners will notice the shift straight away. By June, most beds are producing an abundance of courgettes, peas, beans and tomatoes. Then, by July or August, it almost feels like its time to pause and
Introduction April marks the real start of spring harvest momentum in many UK gardens. The days are noticeably longer, the soil begins to warm, and growth speeds up across the plot. As a result, there’s a clear jump in both variety and quantity compared to
Introduction March sits right in the middle of the UK’s “hungry gap” — that stretch where winter crops are winding down but true spring abundance hasn’t quite arrived. However, that doesn’t mean your beds are empty. In fact, there are still plenty of vegetables ready