[suziequeue]

Hi, my name's Susanna and my husband Paul and I moved to a lovely place just south of Newtown last summer. We have house, about eight acres of land including a small wood for coppicing and a stream.

At the moment we just have a dog and have pigs coming in eight weeks time.

After that the next ambition is to get the veg patch up and running.

We have no plans to make any money out of the venture - just be as independent and self-sufficient as possible.

We are planning on putting two pigs into a 0.4 acre pen. They will be there from mid April to early September. I am looking for ways of replenishing the pen during the winter - maybe some green manure or root crops that the new piggies can forage for the following spring.

Grateful for any advice.

Susanna

[jameslindsay]

Morning Susanna, welcome to this site from a freezing cold Fife.

[Rosemary]

Welcome from a freezing cold, but sunny, Alloa

[Dan]

I am looking for ways of replenishing the pen during the winter - maybe some green manure or root crops that the new piggies can forage for the following spring.

Hello Susanna, and welcome to TAS. 

We sow grazing rye to over-winter in our pig pens. It takes reasonably well before winter sets in, and in the spring comes away very well - some years we've had it waist-high by the time our weaners arrive in April.

Just about any winter-hardy green manure will help. The difficulty with root vegetables is that you need to dig to plant them, and there are few that will grow sufficiently by late spring to provide the pigs with much interest.

Hope this helps,

Dan

[Eagledance]

Hello
I am in cold Fife too but hail from Llanidloes originally!

ED

[Hilarysmum]

Could part of the pig pen be reused as a veg patch, and move the pigs on  to a different area?

[doganjo]

Welcome to TAS, Suzie.  I have friends at Llanfair one of whom run the shows and dog training at Newtown - Richard Welch - they ave 11 acres and used to have Alpacas, but just the dogs and fishing in the lake now.  I love visiting them - very peaceful.  Say hello to Rich if you ever meet him.

[Wizard]

Hello hillarys mum Of course Pigs love to plough and apply fertilizer whilst they do it.They eat a lot of the roots they dig up and all you have to do is do the bits they miss and level it all out easy

[Hilarysmum]

Exactly Wizard exactly 

[suziequeue]

Thanks for the advice. Great advice about the winter planting and the veg patch preparation. Unfortunately the area were the pigs are is not optimal for veg as it is a bit on the shady side but we have had a FANTASTIC crop of autumn raspberries there lat year which we have moved to a difference shady spot 'cos I presume the pigs will have them in a trice!!

However, I am hoping that once we get a little bit confident with them we may be able to put them on the proposed veg patch site temporarily to truff it up and fertilize.

Susanna

[sandy]

Hello and welcome, your forum name brought a smile to my face, I knew a suieque, well, my brother knew her better, anyway, hope you keep the forum u pdated as to what you are doing, weI am a nosy bunch

[little blue]

hello and welcome from Derbyshire

[Helencus]

Hello and welcome from nw Leicestershire