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.
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
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 later. They take a while, they get bigger than plenty of people expect, and by autumn they have a habit
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 going wrong. If the plants get checked by cold, drought, weak seedlings, poor spacing, or pest damage, the heads usually
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. You can do a nice neat sowing, raise decent seedlings, and still end up with a patch that gets hammered
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 is not because broccoli is especially difficult. More often, the plants get checked, the timing is off, pigeons or caterpillars
Dwarf French beans are one of the easiest beans to grow in the UK once the weather has warmed up properly. They are compact, productive, and much easier to fit into pots, raised beds, and small allotment spaces than climbing beans. In the UK, dwarf
Runner beans are one of those crops that make you feel like you have got the hang of gardening when they take off. In a decent UK summer, they climb hard, fill out fast and keep cropping if you pick regularly. They are not quite
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 taste miles better than the shop-bought ones most people are used to. If you have only ever had peas from
Introduction Leeks are slow-growing, but they earn their place when the garden begins to empty later in the year. A well-grown row can provide reliable harvests for soups, stews, pies and roasts through autumn and winter. They are not difficult to grow in the UK,