Welcome to The Backyard Farmer — a practical gardening blog built around real-world growing, tools, and self-sufficiency.
If you’re new here, this page will help you get your bearings quickly — what this gardening blog is about, who it’s for, and where to find the most useful growing guides, tools, and resources without feeling overwhelmed.
This isn’t a lifestyle blog or a glossy inspiration site. Instead, everything here is rooted in practical gardening, self‑sufficiency, and learning by doing — advice that works in real UK gardens, allotments, and small growing spaces.
Most people arrive here with a problem to solve, not hours to spare. Because of that, the site is built to be useful first and browsable second.
In practice, The Backyard Farmer helps you:
The Backyard Farmer is for people who:
You don’t need acres of land, expensive kit, or prior experience. Instead, a bit of curiosity and a willingness to learn as you go will take you a long way.
The site is organised around doing, not just reading. As a result, it’s designed to be easy to scan, easy to use, and easy to return to. As a result, most content falls into a few clear areas:
Clear, experience-led guides on growing vegetables, herbs, fruit, and indoor crops — from beginner gardening basics through to seasonal planting, compact growing, and problem-solving in both outdoor and indoor setups.
Start with the main Grow hub to find the strongest guides first. If growing food is your main goal, this section will point you to the most useful starting guides first. Start here if you want to:
If you’re growing indoors or short on space, you’ll also find dedicated indoor growing guides covering lighting, containers, compact crops, and year-round food production.
Straight‑talking content about physical gardening tools and equipment — what’s worth owning, how to use tools properly, and how to keep them working reliably for years.
If you’re choosing or upgrading equipment, start with the Gardening Tools & Equipment hub, which pulls together the most useful tool guides and comparisons in one place. Straight‑talking content about physical gardening tools and equipment — what’s worth owning, how to use tools properly, and how to keep them working reliably for years. This includes:
Alongside this, you’ll also find The Tool Shed, which houses free online gardening tools such as planners, planting calendars, calculators, and interactive maps. This is the best place to start if you want to plan first and build confidence before buying anything.
Practical projects and systems designed to reduce reliance on disposable, energy‑heavy, or short‑lived solutions, while supporting sustainable living and self‑sufficiency.
Here you’ll find guidance on:
Gardening works best when it supports the wider ecosystem, not just the plants you grow.
If you’ve spotted an insect and want quick answers, the Bee Identification tool is often the fastest place to begin. Gardening works best when it supports the wider ecosystem, not just the plants you grow. This section focuses on:
Deeper dives and decision‑support content include:
These are written to help you choose well, make informed decisions, and avoid buying more than you actually need.
If you arrived with a specific goal in mind, one of these paths should help:
New to gardening? Begin with beginner growing guides and seasonal planting advice in the Grow section.
Planning a garden or allotment? Head straight to the planners and calendars in The Tool Shed.
Choosing tools? Start with the Gardening Tools & Equipment hub.
Interested in sustainability? Explore DIY, composting, and low‑energy projects.
Curious about bees or wildlife? Try the bee identification tools and wildlife guides, starting here.
Most of the content here comes from hands‑on experience — growing, building, testing, fixing, and learning what actually works over time. As a result, the advice stays practical and grounded.
When products are reviewed, they’re assessed for:
Affiliate links help fund the site. However, they don’t change the approach: if something doesn’t earn its place, it doesn’t get recommended.
You don’t need to read everything — and you’re not expected to. Instead, use this site as a reference you come back to when you need it.
Bookmark the tools you use, explore at your own pace, and take what’s useful for your own setup.
If you ever feel lost, you can always return here.
Welcome — and enjoy the process.