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.
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
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 thing
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
Broccoli is a productive UK crop that grows best in fertile soil with steady moisture and plenty of room. This guide covers the large green-headed broccoli commonly grown in the UK, technically known as calabrese. Growing purple sprouting broccoli instead? Use the dedicated How to
Dwarf French beans are compact, quick to crop and easy to fit into UK gardens, allotments and containers. Most varieties stay around 30–45cm tall and, unlike climbing French beans, do not need a tall cane frame. The main thing is not to rush them. French
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
Peas are a straightforward crop to grow at home. Sow them at the right time, give them something to climb, and keep them watered while they flower and produce pods. Garden peas, mangetout and sugar snaps all grow in broadly the same way. Which Type
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, but
Parsnips are a slow-growing root crop, but they are well suited to the UK growing season and can be harvested through autumn and winter. The main challenge is getting them established: seed can be slow to germinate, so fresh seed, well-prepared soil and steady moisture
Spring onions are one of the easiest crops to fit into a UK garden or allotment. They grow quickly, take up very little space and work well in raised beds, containers or gaps between slower-growing crops. The main difficulty is getting them started well. Cold,