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.
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
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 When I first started gardening for work, I did not see it as some grand life plan. It was temporary. A side hustle. A practical way to bring money in while I worked out what I was really meant to be doing. The odd
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 with
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
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.
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
Potatoes store best somewhere cool, dark, dry, frost-free and well ventilated. For home-grown potatoes, let them dry for a few hours after lifting, brush off loose soil rather than washing them, and remove any damaged or rotten tubers. Store the sound potatoes in paper or
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,
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 batches.
Introduction After years of working as a gardener on the Wirral, one lesson keeps coming back to me: Gardening starts to feel simpler when you stop fighting your conditions and build a system that works with them. Most of the time, that means choosing crops