The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Alex_ on July 12, 2017, 12:36:01 pm
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Hello all,
Anyone that has a smallholding or practices some form of self sufficiency on a small scale (Under and acre).
Please share your experiences/setup paint us a word picture.
I think it would be really useful.
:thumbsup:
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Me! Lol
We have something between 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre. Including our house and garden. To make it more exciting we are right inside the city of Leicester.
I have kept geese, chickens, pigeons, meat rabbits, and recently goats. Have grown an allotment size vegetable garden as well as variety of fruit trees. Planning for the bees for couple of years as well.
As for making any money from it I have been selling chickens of different breeds as well as eggs for years.
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That's really interesting . How was it keeping goats? Any difficulties?
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(I thought you meant short people and was prepared to weigh in :innocent: )
I did attempt a degree of self sufficiency a few years ago, sadly I got sick and had to move away. I had a decent sized garden and an outbuilding. I focused on growing fruit and herbs - things that are expensive and delicate. I also dabbled in unusual crops. There were some old walls, so I started to train anything I could as fans, espaliers, etc. I kept quail, then rabbits, to get some sort of meat production from otherwise wasted things. The rabbits could eat weeds, whereas the quail could have all sorts. The quail were quicker to grow, but not as versatile in that they needed higher protein inputs.
My main difficulty was (and still is!) getting things to germinate at the right time in the right number to keep a constant turnover of crops, leaving no space empty.
I found it useful to look into forest gardening and permaculture principles in order to make best use of my available space - various levels of shade, quality of soil, etc.
I'm sort of trying the same thing again now, though currently without critters.
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That's really interesting . How was it keeping goats? Any difficulties?
Myself, just like the [member=3961]YorkshireLass[/member] , am using the permaculture design as my guide, as well as agroforestry.
Goats are fed every day by the allotment people , they get plenty of spinach, docks, bindweed, brambles etc.
I fattened my rabbits on brambles!
My worry was noise made by cockerel and goats. Asked the neighbours if they mind but they said "don't worry it remind us of Africa!" :excited:
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I have a biggish garden, in which I keep goats and grow fruit and veg. The goats have a big shed and a yard so need all their food brought in which adds to the cost but they're great fun and I have the milk, make cheese and, at the moment, have a small freezer full of goat meat. I have fruit trees in my front garden as well as the back. I buy ones that are on dwarf rooting stock to keep the size manageable, There are three apple, one pear, two plum, one greengage and a fig at present. Then I have two blueberry and one gooseberry, numerous strawberry plants and the rest is mainly vegetable beds with a few flowers here and there.
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My worry was noise made by cockerel
Wow that is cool you can breed chickens. Although I am not sure I could deal with a cockerel in the morning.
I am going down a quieter route at the moment with Muscovy ducks. and I am waiting for the ducklings to reach butcher weight
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The goats have a big shed and a yard
Do you know estimated square footage?
I am sure your beds must love the large amounts of manure :thumbsup:
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We have just over 11/2acres,We keep badger faced sheep for keeping the paddock down + for the freezer,recently had 3 processed so they are now in the freezer for winter,breed all our own chickens for eating + Eggs. My wife grows the veggies+ Herbs,recently put some fruit trees in but not sure how they will do 1800ft up the Cambrian mountains.
Make all our own jams,chutneys,pickles etc. wife makes all her own teas from local wild plants (she is a studying Herbalist )
We are also off grid and produce all our own electricity.wind turbine,solar panels + couple of diesel generators.
During the winter we have a stream running through our land so I am looking at Hydro-power.
Looking at breeding some new zealand white x californian white Rabbits next year.
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The goats have a big shed and a yard
Do you know estimated square footage?
I am sure your beds must love the large amounts of manure :thumbsup:
The shed is around 8' x 10' and four goats fit in there comfortably. The yard is about 14' x 18' which is comfortable for the two goats I keep.
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Looking at breeding some new zealand white x californian white Rabbits next year.
I still think the best meat animal for home consumption are rabbits!
Quiet, cheap to feed, greed like... rabbits! Grow fast. Taste just fine.
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My worry was noise made by cockerel
Wow that is cool you can breed chickens. Although I am not sure I could deal with a cockerel in the morning.
I am going down a quieter route at the moment with Muscovy ducks. and I am waiting for the ducklings to reach butcher weight
I was really worried about the noise as well, but I'm so used to it now, no one notices it in the morning.
I just had 13 muscovy ducklings hatch the other day! Love them. Grow fast, hatch and raise their own young, QUIET, pretty to look at, although people either love or hate them.
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We have just over 11/2acres,We keep badger faced sheep for keeping the paddock down + for the freezer,recently had 3 processed so they are now in the freezer for winter,breed all our own chickens for eating + Eggs. My wife grows the veggies+ Herbs,recently put some fruit trees in but not sure how they will do 1800ft up the Cambrian mountains.
Make all our own jams,chutneys,pickles etc. wife makes all her own teas from local wild plants (she is a studying Herbalist )
We are also off grid and produce all our own electricity.wind turbine,solar panels + couple of diesel generators.
During the winter we have a stream running through our land so I am looking at Hydro-power.
Looking at breeding some new zealand white x californian white Rabbits next year.
WOW! Respect! Are you totally self sufficient?
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We have just over 11/2acres,We keep badger faced sheep for keeping the paddock down + for the freezer,recently had 3 processed so they are now in the freezer for winter,breed all our own chickens for eating + Eggs. My wife grows the veggies+ Herbs,recently put some fruit trees in but not sure how they will do 1800ft up the Cambrian mountains.
Make all our own jams,chutneys,pickles etc. wife makes all her own teas from local wild plants (she is a studying Herbalist )
We are also off grid and produce all our own electricity.wind turbine,solar panels + couple of diesel generators.
During the winter we have a stream running through our land so I am looking at Hydro-power.
Looking at breeding some new zealand white x californian white Rabbits next year.
WOW! Respect! Are you totally self sufficient?
Normally when we tell people how we live they think we are hippies and live in a tent with candles.
When we explain its a house with lights,fridge,freezer etc just like a normal house they are suprised.
We still buy essentials at the supermarkets but I refuse to buy shop meat..I had a mate come visit us one day and he came bearing gifts. supermarket sausages with 30% meat and some stay fresh for 14 days white bread, ah nothing like a bit of bleach soaked bread.
Make my own sausage + bread funnily enough my mate only buys meat from butchers now :eyelashes:
When family visit from Birmingham + Gloucestershire they take gallons of water home with them from the bore hole which is 300ft deep into the cambrian mountains.