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.
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
Purple sprouting broccoli (PSB) is a long-season brassica, usually sown in spring and harvested from late winter into spring. It takes patience, but it earns its space by producing fresh spears during the late-winter and early-spring hungry gap. This guide is based on UK growing
Despite the name, spring cabbage grown for a spring harvest is normally sown in late summer, planted out in autumn and left to overwinter. The plants sit through the coldest months before putting on stronger growth as light and temperatures increase. You can harvest them
Winter cabbage isn’t a single variety, but a group of hardy cabbages grown for harvesting from late autumn through winter. Hardy varieties cope well with cold, but they need time to establish before the worst weather arrives. Spring cabbage is slightly different: it is usually
Jerusalem artichokes are one of the easiest winter-harvest crops to grow in the UK. Plant the tubers in spring, give the tall plants plenty of room and harvest once the foliage dies back in late autumn. They need little maintenance and can produce heavy crops,
Turnips are one of the quickest root crops to grow in a UK garden or allotment. They are useful for filling gaps between longer-term crops, and because they can be harvested young, you do not need to wait for large roots before enjoying them. The
Rhubarb (Rheum × hybridum) is a hardy perennial that can remain productive for ten years or longer. The easiest way to grow it is from a dormant crown planted between November and March. Choose its position carefully, as rhubarb dislikes being moved unnecessarily. Give each
If you’re looking for the best pumpkins to grow for Halloween in the UK, the short answer is: Racer F1 is the best all-round Halloween pumpkin for most UK growers, combining a classic orange carving shape with useful 5–7kg fruits, relatively early maturity and a
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 next it is bolting, sulking in dry soil, or giving you far less than the space felt worth. The big
Brussels sprouts are a classic winter crop, but they need a long growing season and plenty of space. For most UK growers, the key is to start them early enough, plant them into firm ground and give them room to develop properly. With steady growth
Cauliflower has a reputation for being one of the fussier brassicas, but most problems come from the same few things: poor timing, weak plants, interrupted growth, dry soil or pest damage. The key is choosing the right variety for the season, planting into fertile ground
The Quick Guide above gives a typical UK growing window for cabbage. Spring and winter cabbages follow different schedules, which are covered in their own guides. Cabbage grows well in the UK if you get three things right: timing, firm fertile soil, and early pest