The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: Dreich Pete on January 06, 2014, 08:48:22 pm
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Hello all!
I'm brand new on here and almost as new to small holding - having only a few weeks worth of planning under my belt but no practical experience.
We recently moved to the Edzell area (sort of Angus, sort of Aberdeenshire) from Aberdeen and got a 3(ish) acre plot along with the house. My plan is to do some genuinely small scale agriculture on the land, with a mixture of orchard, soft fruit, vegetable, nuts and hens. The neighbours' sheep may be co-opted in to keep the grass down, but I don't plan to have my own.
I've already been in touch with Rosemary who has very generously offered some advice, so I'm off to a flying start.
My skill set may be limited just now but that won't stop me joining in the forum chats, and who knows; maybe I know something useful already.
Cheers,
Pete.
PS. Happy New Year!
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:wave:
Welcome from mojo in arbroath
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A big hello from the bigchicken down the road in Fife best of luck with your venture.
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:wave: and welcome from soggy Shropshire.
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Welcome from near Aboyne :wave: :wave: :wave: :thumbsup:
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Hello :)
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Hello and welcome from Wales!
We're a bit like you - veggies, fruit and chickens so far, though we do have plans for more. ...OH was talking about sheep the other day, though I'm not entirely sure if that's not just because he needs a new lawn mower!!
:D
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Thanks for the welcome from around the country, and especially from the more immediate area.
I had a couple of interesting phone calls yesterday to Aberdeenshire Council Planning and the Agriculture Dept (or whatever they're called this year). I was under the impression that my land being registered as agricultural had certain obligations attached and that I would need to notify them of all sorts of activity, but they told me that with the exception of livestock there isn't really anything they want to know from me. When talking about a building the guy even said "farmers just generally put up what they want".
We have a couple of things to sort out regarding buildings but that's for another thread.
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Welcome from the highlands wether still good but wet .
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Be careful....
I've Had the enforcement officers out about field shelters, that's angus council.
I've been forced into applying for change use of agricultural field to paddock in order to keep goats. Also need to apply for pp for shelter/goat shed.
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Welcome from just down the road, outside Brechin :wave:
... Geese make good grass mowers... :innocent:
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Hi from Caithness :wave:
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I used to work on farms around Edzell as a student many years ago but live in the Borders at the moment, Edzell's a nice bit. Hope you enjoy getting your hands dirty :wave:
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:wave:
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Hello from Keith :wave:
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***UPDATE***
Back in the fold, on the horse, and on the market (not really).
After a couple of years of failed attempts to get my 4 acres productive, I've had a less-than-successful 2020, but at least I know I'm not exceptional in that. Early on I got some straw bales and prepared a small area for some experimenting. It didn't go to plan, and the best crops I got were peas that were planted in tubs on my patio - so much for straw bale gardening! The upside, apart from learning a few things, is that I will have a lot of mulch for a much bigger area for next year. I also learned that the plot I was using (because it was out of sight of the house, which I wanted to landscape for recreational use) is far too exposed to the winds howling down off the Cairngorms, so I've moved the plan around the corner and will attempt something else in the windy spot.
So basically, that's me back around and raring to keep up with the forums, learn from some people, help some people, and generally share the experience of working towards some sort of self-sufficiency. I'll be watching The Good Life over the winter (yet again).
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Ach, that's half the fun :innocent:
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Hi Dreich Pete, I didn't meet you first time around so hello :wave: . Maybe you should now change your name to 'Positive Peat' to reflect your new enthusiasm and success in your production from now on ;D :garden: .
We are windy here too but it comes from every direction. With your ex straw bales, spread them on your new beds now and cover for the winter with a tarp or similar and the soil will be lovely to plant in by spring.
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It is never that easy growing in the North of Scotland. This summer we had drought in the Spring, some wet and windy days that you would expect coming up to winter. Even my pollytunnl has not done well this year. It is a case that there is always next year and I live in hope. !
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I've actually had a decent year growing here in Moray. My beetroot, runner beans, carrots, radishes and parsnip have been bumper this season. The only thing that didn't do so well was my green beans. But that is because i forgot to stake them so they got wind damaged.
Even my seed grown rhubarb has done fantastic.
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Ach, that's half the fun :innocent:
Whatever you tell yourself to make it through the year!I've learned more than I expected, but not necessarily in the subjects I expected. It's great!
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Hi Dreich Pete, I didn't meet you first time around so hello :wave: . Maybe you should now change your name to 'Positive Peat' to reflect your new enthusiasm and success in your production from now on ;D :garden: .
We are windy here too but it comes from every direction. With your ex straw bales, spread them on your new beds now and cover for the winter with a tarp or similar and the soil will be lovely to plant in by spring.
The name actually reflects the name of my home, not my mood (generally speaking). The plan was always to use the 'spent' bales as mulch for another patch, and year on year the plan was that I would get a much larger area prepped for veg. I can't do much bending down work, hence the bales, and although my first attempt at raised beds was ok, I found them more work than expected. Then again, I think every gardening method is more work than you're lead to believe.
I was lucky enough to get a farmer over to cut about 1.5 acres of my meadow, after he finished with the big field next door, but he never came back with the baler so I'm left with a lot of mixed grass hay in rows. I'm currently moving it into a new area to use as mulch over the winter. It may not be ideal but it'll give me a start when it comes to turning the soil - for the first time in over a decade. I may try to flag down another farmer when they come around ploughing.
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It is never that easy growing in the North of Scotland. This summer we had drought in the Spring, some wet and windy days that you would expect coming up to winter. Even my pollytunnl has not done well this year. It is a case that there is always next year and I live in hope. !
My sister-in-law got her poly this year and has had amazing success with it, considering she had hardly grown anything before. They've had fresh veg every day for the last couple of months. I started the straw bales about the same time as they started their tunnel. The comparison simply isn't worth making.