Straight‑talking guides for growing your own food, building useful DIY projects, and choosing garden tools that actually work in real UK backyards.
I’m a time‑served gardener based on the Wirral. I spend my days growing food outdoors and maintaining gardens, while my evenings go into building websites, tools, and practical projects that solve real, everyday problems.
This site is for people who want to grow more food at home, build what they need, and rely less on throwaway solutions — without gimmicks, hype, or empty promises.
New to the site? Start with one of these, depending on what you want to do:
Alongside the guides, I build simple, practical gardening tools and planners to solve everyday growing and DIY problems — the same tools I use myself. Whether you’re planning crops, checking UK planting dates, or sourcing materials locally, you’ll find those tools collected here.
Welcome to the Free Allotment Planner Looking for a free allotment planner UK gardeners can rely on? This interactive vegetable garden planner UK helps you design raised beds, plan layouts, and organise companion planting combinations with ease. Built around the square foot gardening method, it’s
Introduction: Helping you Find the Best Planting Days in 2026 Every gardener asks the same question at the start of a new season: When’s the best day to plant? Whether it’s sowing carrots in spring or transplanting tomatoes in summer, timing often makes the difference
Introduction: Why a UK Planting Calendar Matters Knowing what to plant and when is half the battle in gardening. In the UK, our seasons can be unpredictable, and missing a key sowing window often means waiting another year. A reliable UK planting calendar helps you
Start growing your own food with practical, UK‑focused outdoor gardening guides that meet you where you are. From soil basics and crop planning to seed‑saving, this section helps you build confidence season by season.
Build it, fix it, or make it yourself. These DIY garden and home projects are designed to save money, solve real problems, and make better use of what you already have.
Learn how to forage safely and seasonally in the UK. From wild plant identification to responsible harvesting, these guides help you turn hedgerow finds into something genuinely useful.
If you’re happy browsing, you can explore the full archive of UK gardening guides, DIY projects, reviews, and tools.Browse the full archive of growing guides, DIY projects, reviews, and tools.
Hands‑on, experience‑led garden tool reviews and buying guides, focused on what actually works in real UK backyards.
The Tool Shed is where I keep the free tools I’ve built to solve real, everyday problems — planners, calculators, and finders I actually use myself.
Welcome to the Free Allotment Planner Looking for a free allotment planner UK gardeners can rely on? This interactive vegetable garden planner UK helps you design raised beds, plan layouts, and organise companion planting combinations with ease. Built around the square foot gardening method, it’s
Where to Find Free Pallets Near You (UK Guide) Planning a garden project, firewood rack, compost bin, or any kind of DIY masterpiece? Then you know how important it is to source materials cheaply — or even better, for free. Fortunately, one of the most
Introduction to Find a Garden Center Near You Looking for a local garden center but tired of endless searches and outdated results? Whether you need fresh plants, gardening tools, or expert advice, finding the perfect garden center shouldn’t be a hassle. That’s why we’ve developed
How to Find Free Firewood Near You (Legally and Easily) There are plenty of legal ways to source logs locally in the UK — whether you’re after cheap logs near me, free seasoned logs, or even bulk firewood delivery near me. This guide shows you:
One of the Best Natural & Organic Soaps I’ve Used When it comes to natural soap made in the UK, Hiltwood Soap earns its place as one of the best natural soaps in the UK I’ve personally used. After testing four different Hiltwood soap bars
Introduction If you’re using BioBizz with autoflowers, one question tends to come up again and again: How much BioBizz should you use for autoflowers — and how often should you feed? Spend any time searching online and you’ll quickly notice how mixed the advice is.
Introduction If you’re growing autoflowers with BioBizz soil, most problems don’t come from which nutrients you’re using. Instead, they usually come from starting in the wrong soil strength. BioBizz Light-Mix, All-Mix, and standard potting soils behave very differently with autoflowers. However, they’re often treated as
Introduction If you’re searching for a BioBizz autoflower schedule, you’re probably not looking for hype or another copy‑and‑paste feeding chart. Instead, you want a simple, reliable BioBizz feeding schedule for autoflowers — something that’s easy to follow, forgiving, and proven to work in real‑world container
The Backyard Farmer isn’t just a blog — it’s about doing things for yourself, learning useful skills, and enjoying the process along the way.
Grow your own. Make your own. Live your own way — one backyard at a time.