The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

All articles Kintsugi Cheese making Gin making Meat Chilli sauce Wine making Kimchi Gift guides

Four make your own kit boxes lined up on a kitchen table beside a bottle of gin, a wedge of fresh cheese and a carved kebab.

Four make your own kits under twenty pounds for grandparents: gin, hedgerow wine, beginners cheese and kebabs, with what to add to each one.

A brown parcel opened on a table revealing a jar of gin infusing, a gold mended cup and strips of dried biltong.

Gifts for a parent who lives miles away: kits that post well and give you something to talk about

Gifts that survive the post and earn a phone call: a gin that infuses over a week, a kintsugi repair kit, and biltong dried in an ordinary oven.

Two glasses beside a bottle of home made gin, a board of fresh cheese and six labelled wine bottles on a kitchen table.

Anniversary gifts for parents: an evening they make together

Anniversary gifts with two jobs in them: a gin they infuse between them, cheese that needs two pairs of hands, and wine to label with the date.

A quiet Sunday kitchen with a ball of fresh mozzarella on a cloth, a blue gin and tonic turning pink, and a gold mended bowl.

Gifts for a mum who has everything: something to make on a quiet Sunday

Three kits for a mum with full cupboards: ten fresh cheeses, a gin that turns from blue to pink in the glass, and a golden pottery repair.

A glass of blue gin turning pink as tonic is poured, beside a dish of fresh ricotta and a gold mended saucer.

Gifts for grandma who says not to bother

Gifts that get used up rather than stored: a beginners cheese kit, a colour changing gin kit and a kintsugi repair kit, with what to add to each.

A kitchen worktop in the evening with a jar of gin infusing, a pan of warm curds and a gold mended jug beside it.

Gifts for parents who have everything: an evening they make themselves

Parents with full cupboards do not need another object. Gin, cheese and kintsugi kits turn a weeknight into a project, with what to add to each.

A bottle of home made gin with a handwritten kraft tag, a round of fresh cheese on a cloth and a gold mended bowl on a windowsill.

Retirement gifts for mum: makes that are hers, not the household's

Retirement gifts that belong to her rather than the house: a cheese kit, a gin kit with her name on the bottle tag, and a kintsugi repair kit.

A garage workbench with a slab of curing pork belly on a rack, a jar of botanicals steeping in spirit and a demijohn with an airlock.

Retirement gifts for dad: a hobby in a box for the first free Monday

Retirement gift ideas for dad at three speeds: dry cured bacon in about a week, gin in a couple of days, and country wine over eight to twelve weeks.

A demijohn of fruit wine bubbling through an airlock beside a slab of home cured bacon and a board of fresh cheese.

Gifts for retired parents: projects for the time they finally have

Retirement gifts that ask something of them: country wine over eight to twelve weeks, dry cured bacon in a week, and ten fresh cheeses in an afternoon.

An unhurried kitchen table with a small dish of fresh ricotta, a jar of gin infusing with juniper berries and a china bowl mended in gold.

Gifts for elderly grandparents: easy, absorbing kits that fit a slower afternoon

Kits that suit an unhurried afternoon: fresh cheese in about an hour, a gin that infuses while they sit down, and a golden pottery repair.

A kitchen table set out with a bowl of fresh curds, a demijohn of fruit wine and a mended china bowl with a gold seam.

Gifts for grandparents who have everything: something to do, not something to dust

Three make your own kits for grandparents with full cupboards: fresh cheese, hedgerow wine and a golden pottery repair, with what to add to each.

A carved doner kebab on a board with flatbreads, beside a jar of kimchi and a bottle of homemade chilli sauce.

Gifts for a boyfriend who likes cooking: kebab, chilli and kimchi kits

Skip the equipment. Three kits that give a confident cook a new technique and the specialist ingredients he would never buy in sensible quantities.

Two jars of gin botanicals infusing on a kitchen counter beside a mended bowl with a gold seam and a glass of tonic.

Gifts for a husband who has everything: an evening's project instead of a thing

Buy him an evening rather than an object: gin, meat and kintsugi kits for a husband who replaces his own things, and what to buy alongside each.

A bowl of fresh homemade ricotta on a kitchen table beside a ceramic plate mended with a gold seam.

80th birthday gifts: small, doable projects for a big milestone

Three kits sized to one sitting for an eightieth: five fresh cheeses, a gallon of country wine and a golden pottery repair done at the kitchen table.

A ball of fresh homemade mozzarella on a plate beside a bottle of homemade gin and a ceramic bowl mended with a gold seam.

70th birthday gifts for dad: gentle, satisfying makes with something to show for it

Three kits sized to a single afternoon for a seventieth: ten fresh cheeses, a gin that infuses in under a week and a golden pottery repair.

A demijohn of hedgerow wine bubbling through an airlock beside a bowl of blackberries and a bottle of homemade gin.

60th birthday gifts for him: a new hobby in a box

The best sixtieth present is one that repeats. Hedgerow wine, bacon and gin kits that turn into a habit, and what to buy so the first batch happens.

A demijohn of fruit wine with an airlock beside a bottle of home spiced rum and a board of home cured bacon.

50th birthday gifts for him: slow projects for a man with a bit more time

Three kits at three speeds for a fiftieth: spiced rum in under a week, bacon in about a week and country wine in eight to twelve weeks.

A board of home cured bacon and strips of beef jerky beside bottles of homemade chilli sauce on a kitchen worktop.

40th birthday gifts for him: kits for the man who has stopped wanting stuff

At forty the scarce things are time and space, so give a project rather than an object: meat, gin and chilli sauce kits, and what to buy alongside.

A jar of kimchi fermenting beside a bottle of homemade gin and a repaired bowl with a gold seam on a kitchen worktop.

30th birthday gifts for him: something to make, not something to own

A man turning thirty buys his own things, so give him a skill instead: gin, kimchi and kintsugi kits, and the fresh half to buy alongside each one.

Two bottles of home spiced rum with handwritten kraft tags beside a small bowl of dried spices on a kitchen table.

Gifts for a step dad: thoughtful without being too much

How to pitch a step dad gift, and three make-your-own kits that are specific enough to feel considered but easy enough to share round the table.

A kitchen table set up for a weekend project with a jar of infusing gin botanicals, a mended bowl with a gold seam and a small dish of juniper berries.

Gifts for a dad with no hobbies: kits that start one

Three kits that hand a dad a ready made first project, with the ingredients weighed out, the method written down and a result at the end of the weekend.