MSDG My Semi-Detached Garden
Trading corporate spreadsheets for heavy British clay. Building independent food, water, and power systems to stop relying on utility monopolies and massive corporations.
The My Semi-Detached Garden Story
The Question: How Self-Sufficient Can a Normal Garden Become?
Welcome to My Semi-Detached Garden. I’m Ziggy. After 15 years working with corporate spreadsheets, I decided to test a simple question: can an ordinary suburban UK garden become more resilient by building the systems around it rather than simply working harder in it?
There’s no grand estate here, no perfect allotment and no carefully controlled growing environment. Just a normal semi-detached garden, heavy British clay, unpredictable weather and a willingness to experiment.
This is a real-world experiment in UK garden self-sufficiency documenting the builds, the numbers, the failures and the things that actually work.
Water Security
Capturing, storing and distributing rainwater to reduce dependence on mains water.
Food Security
Testing what an ordinary UK garden can actually grow, produce and contribute to the household.
The Great Reset
Leaving 15 years of corporate life and learning how to become a gardener along the way.
The Garden in Numbers
The Story: From Spreadsheets to Soil
15 Years in the Office
For 15 years, my working life revolved around corporate spreadsheets, processes and systems. Eventually I started asking a different question: what happens when you apply that same systems mindset to something much more tangible an ordinary garden?
The Great Reset
My Semi-Detached Garden began as part of a bigger personal reset. I left the corporate world and started learning how to grow, build and maintain things for myself. I’m not presenting myself as an expert gardener. I’m documenting the process of becoming one.
Infrastructure Before Optimisation
A garden is only as resilient as the systems supporting it. Water is a system. Food production is a system. Soil, storage, irrigation and even the way we use a small suburban plot are all connected.
That is why this project starts with the infrastructure around the garden rather than simply asking what vegetables to plant.
Water Security
The first major experiment is rainwater. I’ve built a 3,400L+ rainwater harvesting system using water barrels, basic plumbing, gravity distribution and solar pumping. The aim is simple: capture more of the water that falls on the house and find out how useful it can actually be when the garden needs it.
💧 Water Calculator
Calculate Your Garden’s Storage Needs: Find out exactly how many litres you need to survive a summer drought.
See how much water you need →
Food Security
The next question is harder: can a semi-detached garden actually produce a meaningful amount of food? I’m testing crops, growing systems and yields on a normal suburban plot rather than an idealised homestead.
🌱 Work Out Your Own Garden Potential;
Start with the calculator, then follow my full breakdown below to see what a suburban patch can genuinely yield.
Open the food calculator →
Documenting the Reality
The important part is not pretending every experiment works. The channel documents the builds, measurements, mistakes and failures alongside the successes. The garden is the test bed, and the videos are the record.
🛠️ Tested in the Yard
See the actual bodge setups, fittings, and gear running live out on my testing bench before you build your own.
Check out my testing bench →So welcome to My Semi-Detached Garden a continuing experiment in UK garden self-sufficiency, water security and suburban food production.
Explore the Garden Experiments
Start Wachting Ep1 of My Water Security 4,000L+ of rainwater storage, barrel grids, gravity manifolds and solar pumping testing whether a suburban garden can become less dependent on mains water. Can a Semi-Detached Garden Feed Me? Testing what a normal UK suburban plot can produce from high-yield crops to practical food-growing systems. My Great Reset – Leaving the Office The personal story behind MSDG leaving 15 years of corporate life and starting again as a very reluctant gardener. ↑ Back to topFollow the Garden Experiment
From spreadsheets to soil follow Ziggy as he tests water security, food growing and practical self-sufficiency in a very ordinary UK semi-detached garden.
Disclaimer: My Semi-Detached Garden documents personal gardening experiments and practical DIY projects. Results will vary depending on garden conditions, weather, soil and equipment. Always assess your own circumstances and follow appropriate safety guidance when carrying out DIY, plumbing, electrical or gardening work. powered by Trustedcreators.org
MSDG Community Spotlight
Out here trading the office grind for garden rows, the best part of this journey is the community. Every now and then, a comment drops that deserves its own spot on the homepage. Scroll through to see our featured highlights! -Ziggy-