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: Winter Gardening in the UK Winter might seem like a quiet time in the vegetable garden. However, it’s far from the end of the growing season. In fact, with the right approach, growing winter vegetables in the UK can keep your garden productive right
Introduction Autumn might feel like the end of the growing season. However, for vegetable gardeners in the UK, it’s actually one of the best times to plant vegetables and prepare for the months ahead. Even though summer harvests are finishing up, the soil is still
Introduction Companion planting UK advice can feel confusing at first. After all, much of the information online is written for warmer climates or larger gardens, which simply don’t reflect real British allotments. So if you’ve been searching for what grows well together in a UK
Introduction If you’ve ever stood in front of a tray of seeds in March and thought, “I’ll just grow a bit of everything,” you’re not alone. In fact, most of us start a vegetable garden full of enthusiasm. However, by late summer, we’re often staring
Introduction If you’ve ever stood in your garden and thought, “What if I had just a bit more land?” — you’re not alone. In fact, most people researching how to start smallholding UK don’t begin with a field. They begin with raised beds, a compost
Introduction Summer planting in the UK feels different — and if you’ve been growing since spring, you’ll notice the shift straight away. By June, most beds are already producing. Then, by July or August, it’s completely normal to pause and think: “Have I missed my
Introduction April marks the real start of spring harvest momentum in many UK gardens. The days are noticeably longer, the soil begins to warm, and growth speeds up across the plot. As a result, there’s a clear jump in both variety and quantity compared to
Introduction March sits right in the middle of the UK’s “hungry gap” — that stretch where winter crops are winding down but true spring abundance hasn’t quite arrived. However, that doesn’t mean your beds are empty. In fact, there are still plenty of vegetables ready
Introduction This UK harvest calendar shows you exactly what to harvest each month in the UK, whether you’re growing on an allotment, in a back garden, or under cover in a greenhouse or polytunnel. In simple terms, it’s a practical UK vegetable and fruit harvest
Introduction If you’ve ever stood on your allotment wondering what you should be doing right now, you’re definitely not alone. Most UK gardeners don’t need more theory or long explanations. Instead, they need a clear, practical allotment calendar they can rely on — something that
Introduction: It’s not just you If you’ve ever opened an allotment planner and felt instantly overwhelmed, you’re definitely not alone. Most gardeners — especially those new to allotments — expect an allotment planner or allotment planning software to make things clearer and easier. However, what
Intro: Why This Planner Exists I’m a working gardener based in the UK, and I built this free vegetable garden planner for a simple reason: I needed a practical, reliable way to plan real food growing — not just tidy diagrams that look good on