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.
Swiss chard is an easy-to-grow leafy vegetable that produces generous harvests from a relatively small space. Both the leaves and stems are edible, and regular picking encourages fresh growth. It grows well in UK gardens, allotments, raised beds and containers. With spring and summer sowings,
A greenhouse thermometer helps you monitor overnight lows and daytime highs, making it easier to protect tender plants from frost and prevent overheating during warmer weather. For most UK gardeners, a digital maximum/minimum thermometer is all that’s needed. It records the highest and lowest temperatures
Heated propagators provide bottom warmth and a protected growing environment for starting seeds during cooler UK months. They’re particularly useful for chillies, peppers, aubergines and other warmth-loving crops that can struggle to germinate in cold compost. Choosing the right one comes down to temperature control,
A propagation heat mat provides bottom warmth for germinating seeds in cooler UK growing conditions. They’re particularly useful for starting chillies, peppers, aubergines and other warmth-loving crops indoors before moving them into the greenhouse, garden or allotment. Choosing the right mat comes down to heating
A long-lasting raised bed starts with good planning. Position, construction materials, soil quality and drainage all affect how well a bed performs and how much maintenance it needs over time. Get these basics right and you’ll have a productive growing space that warms up quickly
The Spider Farmer 10 × 20.75-inch heat mat provides adjustable bottom heat for seed starting and propagation. Its compact size suits a small indoor growing setup, whether you are raising plants to keep indoors or starting vegetables for the greenhouse, garden or allotment. The included
February can still provide worthwhile harvests from a UK vegetable garden or allotment. Purple sprouting broccoli may begin producing tender spears, while rhubarb forced earlier in winter can provide its first stalks. Leeks, kale, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes and late Brussels sprouts may also remain available,
January still offers useful harvests from a UK vegetable garden or allotment. Leeks, Brussels sprouts, kale, winter cabbage, parsnips and swedes can all provide fresh vegetables, while Jerusalem artichokes and established winter salads may also remain available. Most of these crops were planted months earlier
December still offers plenty to harvest from a UK vegetable garden or allotment. Brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips, swedes, kale and winter cabbage are among the main crops ready to pick, while established winter salads can provide smaller harvests. Many hardy vegetables can remain outdoors throughout
November brings the UK vegetable garden into its winter harvesting season. Leeks, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsnips and swedes are among the main crops ready to pick, while celeriac, winter cabbage and established leafy greens can continue providing fresh food. Some root vegetables are ready to
October is an important harvest month in the UK garden. Pumpkins and winter squash are reaching maturity, maincrop potatoes are being lifted for storage, and autumn vegetables such as leeks, kale, carrots and swedes are ready to pick. Some summer crops may still be producing
Pak choi is one of the quickest leafy vegetables you can grow in a UK garden or allotment. You can harvest baby leaves in around four weeks or allow plants to develop thick, crisp stems for stir-fries and other dishes. The biggest challenge is bolting,