The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: mmckenna72 on February 05, 2018, 11:45:54 am
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Hi all,
I'm currently looking for smallholdings, and I think I've just found what i'm looking for. The only concern I have is that all the land is pasture, and I want to be sure that I can grow crops on it as well. Can anyone advise the best place to get advice on this? Is there somehwere I can pay for an agricultural survey?
thanks
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you could try asking a neighbour what will/won't grow round there. Or use Google earth to see if there's anything other than pasture in nearby fields.
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When we bought our smallholding, it was all pasture too. We took a spade with us and dug some test holes to see what the soil was like, how deep it was, aspect, whether it was clay etc. We also observed and researched the climate, although once we lived here we found it was far more extreme than we thought.
Discuss the land with the seller if they are willing, but be prepared to modify what you do with the land if you really want to live there but it's not 100% ideal. We stood and looked out from the doorway over the land and to the view, went through the house and the outbuildings, and asked ourselves if we could see ourselves here in 20 years time. The answer was a big yes, and now we've been here for 22 years and we still love it :love: .
There are things you can change about the place, such as planting trees and extending the house, putting up a barn and a polytunnel, new fencing, but there are also things you can't change such as the climate, weather, soil (well, you can a bit) and aspect.
Sorry, I don't know anything about the legalities of producing vegetables for the house on land which is under pasture. No-one cared a jot when we bought this place.
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Hi. :wave: I'm afraid I don't know the answers but wanted to welcome you to the forum.
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Welcome to the forum :wave:
What does it look like (above and below the surface) and what are neighbouring fields growing?
What part of the country are you? Agriculture college is often a goodbye start for advice.
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Our place waa pasture when we bought it, and in some cases thicket!
We alao took a spade and checked out the soil as we wanted to start a market garden. You could test yourself for pH or send some samples off for testing. It will depend what you want to grow as to what aoil type is ideal - althoug most can be modified over time.
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Welcome! :wave:
[member=176151]mmckenna72[/member] , would you mind clarifying your question a little perhaps? I notice the posters above have answered the question "how can I tell if plant X or Y will grow well", but as Fleecewife hinted, I wonder if you actually meant "if this is pasture land, am I actually allowed to grow pumpkins on it or not?"
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hi all, thanks for the responses.
@ perris good idea, i'll speak to the neigbours. I had a look at google earth and there do seem to be fields within a couple of hundred yards that are obviously being used for crops
[member=4333]Fleecewife[/member] re.trees there already seem to be 2 windbreaks already in place, that seem pretty mature, and there's already a polytunnel, barn and outbuilding..re climate it's in devon, but another slight concern is that although the views are far reaching and stunning, that might mean a lot of wind.. hence the windbreaks i suppose..
@ steph hen i'll be having a look tomorrow.. it's in devon.
agricultural college would be nice but i don't really have the time to go to college and then move.
[member=2128]Womble[/member] its' both really, i want to check if i'm allowed to plough it up, and also how best to check if the soil is suitable. I've done a bit of investigation re the legals, and it seems that as long as the land hasn't been deemed 'permanent pasture' (ie no polughing pesticides, fertilizer, drainage works, clearance, or other improvements in the last 15 yrs) then i should be OK.
A few of you have mentioned i can inspect the soil, what should i look out for as bad/good signs when i dig a bit up?
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Google 'How to assess your soil' and lots comes up. Gardening books often have a chapter on soil assessment. It's a bit long to write it all out here
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Thanks fleecewife, yes sorry i was being a bit lazy there, i've had a google and found some good advice.. this is a great article: https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/understanding-soil-types-for-vegetable-gardens/ (https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/understanding-soil-types-for-vegetable-gardens/)
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Lol! I meant phone a local agricultural college and ask them about soil testing :D
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ha! ok yep that makes more sense thanks!
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Hi and welcome to the forum from Ceredigion :wave:
Like said above I think soil testing would be best, to really have a look at what is in the soil :) all the best and I hope everything works out :thumbsup: