Author Topic: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi  (Read 19806 times)

TheBurkers

  • Joined Sep 2011
Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« on: February 05, 2012, 05:23:45 pm »
Hi,  :wave: I'm Rozee and my OH and I have just bought a place at auction. It's in coastal North Pembrokeshire, has a South facing three and a half acre field, which is heavy clay and quite boggy in parts and has been grazed by a local farmer's young cattle for a few years as the previous owner was very elderly. For the same reason, the place is quite neglected and overgrown.

Then there's a North facing smallish area of garden (less than half an acre with some trees that might be fruit trees) part of which was apparently used as the veggie garden and to the rear of much of the land there is a long strip of woodland, I guesstimate less than half an acre of fairly mature trees, with a stream running through.

We're living in temp accommodation whilst we do up the house and I'm hoping we can move in there by the end of the summer. Meantime, we'll live in a static on the site once the lease on the rental property runs out in May. We have 3 children under 6, so that's a little daunting.

We're very excited although a little clueless as we were living in the city before this move and have always had office based jobs.

I'm hoping I can learn a lot from those on here with more experience than we have.

chrismahon

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • Gascony, France
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2012, 06:25:45 pm »
Hi Rozee and welcome to the forum. You're in the right place at the right time.

I would start with the fruit trees. Best time to plant or heavy prune is right at the beginning. Then get on with everything else. By the time everything else is set up they should be fruiting. If you do them last you've got a long wait. Think of your requirements. Apples are good for livestock. Cherries are a good cash crop (we picked 112lbs last year and made £224). Greengauges can also be sold. Damsons can't be given away and give our chickens impactions, so ours are being cut down. Pears are wind affected.

Sound like the first call is decent land drainage. You can't do much with boggy ground. The advantage of clay is it holds water in a drought, so potentially good grazing if drained. There are plenty of books around with suggestions for a smallholding layout so good reading on an evening.

Sounds like the strip of woodland was planted as a wind break so needs to be maintained as well with thinning out and replanting, so a wood burning stove would be good.

Would love to get my teeth into a project like that but can't afford it over here. Moving to France in September.

PetiteGalette

  • Joined Dec 2011
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2012, 06:27:14 pm »
A warm and sunny welcome from Brittany.
WoW! you have jumped into the deep end!
While renovating the house during the spring/summer you will be able to take time and find out what your fruit and other trees are/produce and what other goodies you have hiding in and around the land.
For fruit and veggies the 'Expert' books are good basic books for beginners...............
If you are thinking of keeping feathered flocks Katie Thear's books are good - so are the (American) Storey Guides.
Sheepy folk on here recommend a good sheep book but I haven't been able to find one yet................
Get stuck in and have fun!
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them.  ~Leonard Louis Levinson

rockstar

  • Joined Jan 2012
  • powys
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2012, 06:41:41 pm »
hello from powys and welcome to TAS site.what a lovely place pembroke is.i brought a 1.75 acre field joining our house ,i have been fencing and hedgeing, my oh and son have 4 chickens and we plan to get some lambs and pigs , has your place got a holding number? :wave:

TheBurkers

  • Joined Sep 2011
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2012, 06:59:59 pm »
Thanks for those very swift replies and the warm welcome.

There is a thin line of woodland which follows the front (road and west facing boundary which I think is probably a windbreak for the orchard/veggie garden (does it make any sense to grow veggies on a North facing plot? Apparently, that was what was being done, but there's the least amount of sun that end). We are on a hill, so it can get a little windy. The weather is fairly mild in this part of Wales.

The more substantial woodland is to the rear of the property in a dell. It's been suggested we could keep pigs in there. The previous owner built a pig house (outside the boundary tut tut) but apparently couldn't face the thought of sending them to slaughter so only kept hens, guinea fowl and geese. There are various sheds that have been used for fowl and storage but most are sadly rotten now.

The problem with the fruit trees is I'm not sure they are! They have no leaves on them at the mo and are covered in lichen and moss.

As far as the refurb is concerned, we're going to have at least the shell sorted out and the inside remodelled by professional builders before we move in. We need planning permission for some of what we would like to do so it's a drawn out process. Our money may run out then....

The building work will mean it's probably unwise to invest too much effort in growing or starting to buy livestock (which I'm uncertain of anyway because at the moment, we have our hands full with the children! I think I'd rather wait the couple of years 'til the twins start school). It strikes me that it's prep work that will be the best way to go. As you suggest, Chris, pruning trees and hedges (apparently we need to do this to the hedge on the field before the birds start nesting - soon!) and fencing - the land that isn't hedged only has trees as borders so we need something more substantial - to keep the children in and potentially stock in due course. The front of the property fronts a fast country lane (it's a cut through from an A road to a large village) and the rear has a country track along the back so we want to make sure that the children can't escape through the back nor can the dog walkers let their dogs come onto the property and poo everywhere or disturb any of the animals we might keep.

We've dreamt about doing this for a few years now. Buying in Wales was the only place we could feasibly afford to buy, but I love Wales and Pembrokeshire is about the most beautiful part of it, so I can't complain.

Rockstar, we haven't got a holding number yet as we've only just bought the place. (What are the advantages?) In fact we know hardly anything about the place - we not even sure where the septic tank is - because it's a deceased estate so the old boy sadly isn't around to answer any questions, although the neighbours have been really helpful so far.

In danger of writing an essay here - so I'll stop for now.:)

manian

  • Joined Sep 2010
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2012, 07:17:57 pm »
hi and welcome
you'll be haing plenty of fun developing and planning
.a word of warning..... its addictive
we were going to have a new type of animal each year...... well in our first year we had chickens (layers and table birds) pigs, lambs, turkeys and bread 20 for christmas from them

.... you'll also find your freezers grow as well

you will need a CPH number before getting any animal (except chickens) easy to do and defra and animal health have actually been helpful
plenty of folks on here that are experts
good luck

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2012, 07:24:48 pm »
Hello and welcome from WOrcestershire!

We have a similar amount of land to yourself, are renovating a Victorian farmhouse and have 4 children aged between 5 and 10. Its hard at times but great fun!!

Enjoy watching the seasons change life on your holding over the next year - its an amazing feeling  :)
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

Miss Piggy

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Cardigan Bay, Ceredigion
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2012, 07:39:01 pm »
Hi and welcome, i'm sure you will enjoy your new life. We are on the coast near the ceredigion pembrokeshire border. Lovely part of the world, you have chosen well and as you say mild. We have only had 2 very slight frosts so far this year.  :wave:

Mel Rice

  • Joined Sep 2011
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2012, 07:46:16 pm »
We bought on the continent as we couldnt aford any thing we liked in the UK. If you do want to start with animals in the first year two or three chooks would be great. If you feed them they dont(usually) wonder that far so you can start on the thousand and one jobs you have on your list with them around.
as for edibles...try pots and grow bags for the first year whilst you watch ( and take notes cause you WILL forget) what is already growing where, how the weather works on various bits, etc. Its always better to start digging when you are more  sure that is where you want to be digging.....good luck with your project...

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2012, 08:19:46 pm »
Hi and welcome from Carnoustie  :wave:

Sounds like you're going to have loads of fun - you're where we were 12 years ago (except we only had one kid). That's why we started this website  ;D

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2012, 08:33:58 pm »
Hi and welcome from West Yorks.
How exciting.
presumably the fencing can't be too bad if cattle have been grazing there?
I'd let him rent it for at least another year while you get the garden and other things sorted first, get him to do some fencing instead of rent?
It may already have a CPH no, local council or Defra should be able to let you know that.
Congratulations, sounds lovely

rockstar

  • Joined Jan 2012
  • powys
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2012, 08:37:37 pm »
no advantages really with cph number you just need one to keep livestock, what part of country were you from before moving to wales?

bigchicken

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • Fife Scotland
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2012, 08:54:20 pm »
Fantastic and the best of luck. I agree take your time there is so much to take in whats that old saying, buy in hast repent in leasure or something like that. There a lots of folks here that will give freely of there knowledge.  The adventure begins.
Shetland sheep, Castlemilk Moorits sheep, Hebridean sheep, Scots Grey Bantams, Scots Dumpy Bantams. Shetland Ducks.

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2012, 08:57:41 pm »
What an opportunity!  You are going to have such a great life for yourselves and your children.  Make a plan, make lists, so you stay focussed, but be prepared to change them as you go along to suit your current liefstyle and budget.  Well done fro taking this enormous step, you'll love it! ;D
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

TheBurkers

  • Joined Sep 2011
Re: Just bought a place with four acres - not sure what to do now!Hi
« Reply #14 on: February 05, 2012, 09:48:39 pm »
We were living in Sheffield before moving here but have lived all over: Manchester, York, South Wales, London, Sydney... Never the countryside lol!

Yes, we are very excited. I'm so glad we took the leap. I'm hoping my kids' lives will be richer for living here. We want them to be free range! We've been here 5 months now and are enjoying and adjusting to life in a small face to face community. Although our participation in village life is restricted to the daytime because of the children, having them aids integration no end, as we quickly got to know many of the primary age kids' parents, many pre-schoolers' parents and all the retirees love to stop the pram to say hello to the babies.

Having them all so close together & rearing them as naturally as possible has put me off rushing into acquiring livestock though, as I know how work intensive & all consuming it can be :)

 

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