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.
Shallots are probably my favourite onion to grow and eat, and they’re also one of the easiest to grow in the UK. Plant them 15–20cm apart in sunny, free-draining soil with the tip just showing. Spring is the safest planting time, although suitable varieties can
White patches on courgette, pumpkin and squash leaves are often one of two things: natural silver markings or powdery mildew. The easiest way to tell the difference is to look at where the white actually is. Natural markings look like they are in the leaf,
Established free-standing apple trees are usually pruned while dormant, from roughly November to early March in the UK. The aim is not to cut everything back. Winter pruning is mainly about removing badly placed wood, opening the crown and keeping the tree productive and manageable.
Bare-root fruit is sold dormant without a container of compost, with the roots wrapped for transport. In the UK, it is usually planted from late autumn to early spring while the plant is still dormant. Plant it as soon as practical, but do not force
Pigeons can strip brassicas surprisingly quickly once they discover them. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli are all vulnerable. The most reliable answer is physical exclusion with supported netting. Scarers can help for a while, but pigeons usually get used to
Frost does not mean you need to wrap the whole garden. Tender vegetables, young seedlings and fresh new growth are the main priorities, while established winter crops such as kale, leeks and Brussels sprouts usually cope perfectly well without protection. The important part is knowing
You can grow a useful supply of salad leaves through winter in the UK, but the trick is getting the right crops established before the darkest part of the year. Some will give genuine winter pickings, while others slow almost to a stop before getting
Quick answer: Gardening by the Moon means using lunar rhythms as an additional guide for deciding when to sow, plant, tend or harvest crops. Different systems use the Moon in different ways. Simple moon gardening often focuses on waxing and waning phases, while biodynamic calendars
Piennolo tomatoes are traditional Italian storage tomatoes that can be harvested in whole trusses and hung somewhere dry and ventilated, keeping home-grown fruit available well into winter. Unlike ordinary cherry tomatoes, they have been selected for firm flesh, thick skins and strong stalk attachment. They
Yes, you can grow lettuce through winter in the UK. Choose hardy varieties and establish plants before the darkest part of the year. An unheated greenhouse, cold frame or cloche protects plants from wind, heavy rain and hard frost. Growth may slow dramatically during December
For most UK gardeners, spring is the safest time to sow broad beans. You can start them under cover from February, or sow directly outdoors from March to April. There is another option, though. Hardy varieties can be sown in October or November and left
August has probably been the most productive month on the allotment so far. There has been plenty to harvest, the sweetcorn is getting close, and more of the plot is finally starting to look like productive growing space rather than something I am still trying