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.
Introduction A healthy lawn still matters, but lawn care in hot weather is getting harder. A lawn still earns its place in plenty of gardens. It frames the space, gives children and dogs somewhere to play, softens hard landscaping, and generally makes everything feel more
Introduction May was the first proper month on the allotment, and looking back, it already feels like the plot has turned a corner. At the start, it was still more of a clearing job than a growing space. There were old beds to pull apart,
Introduction I tried to avoid using garden netting for vegetable beds for a while. Not because I had anything against it. I just wanted the softer, more natural methods to work first. Like a lot of growers, I liked the idea of sorting pest problems
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,
Introduction Most garden projects do not go wrong because the original idea was bad. More often, it is the practical details that catch people out. In real UK gardens, that usually means something simple has been missed: That is where garden landscaping materials really matter.
Introduction Parsnips are not difficult once they get going, but they can be awkward at the start. If you have ever sown a row, waited patiently, and ended up staring at bare soil for weeks, you are not alone. The main challenge with growing parsnips
Introduction Learning how to store potatoes properly sounds simple enough, until you have a sack of muddy spuds, a damp shed, and no clear plan for what needs eating first. For UK gardeners and allotment growers, potato storage is rarely about having the perfect root
Introduction Spring onions should be one of the easy wins in a veg patch. Sow a few seeds, wait a while, then pull them fresh for salads, stir-fries, omelettes and whatever else needs a bit of sharp green crunch. In good conditions, they really can
Introduction Growing lettuce in the UK sounds almost too easy: scatter some seed, add water, pick salad. And sometimes, it really is that simple. However, lettuce can also catch you out. It can: The best way to grow lettuce is to think in small, steady
Introduction July is where the UK harvest calendar changes gear. Earlier in the year, you are often waiting for the first proper pickings. By July, the job is usually keeping up before crops get too big, tough, overripe, or taken by wildlife. For many UK
Introduction Winter squash is one of those crops that makes a garden or allotment feel and look like it’s the real deal. The plants sprawl, the flowers are hard to miss, and if the season goes your way, you end up with colourful squash that
Introduction This week the allotment started to feel less like a clearing job and more like an actual growing space. I managed to get up there twice, with two decent sessions, and the difference already feels huge. There is still plenty to do, but the