[ForagersJen]

Hi everyone,

Let me introduce myself - my name's ForagersJen! my husband and I are selling up and moving to the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire to start our market garden/compact farm! after 7 years of talking and planning we thought its about time we just did it...so here I am...

I hope I can pick you're brains about a few things over the coming months and I'd be delighted to share with you any learning or contacts we have which you might also find useful... networks for support are great and we are definitely happy to share what we can...

a bit about us.. my husband is a gardener, working for large estates and kitchen gardens over the last 5 or so years after quitting his desk job! never been happier!

me... I'm a marketer and qualified florist so we're hoping we can turn these skills to veg and flower production although I do have a soft spot for Valais Blacknose sheep so I'm hoping we can look into a few for breeding later on down the line...

anyway enough of me rabbiting on... if anyone would like to say hello or offer any initial advice please do shout me... nice to meet you all in advance!

ForagersJen

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome!

You'll be familar with the report "Small is Beautiful" which is a series of eight (I think) case studies on businesses making a living from small acreages. Horticulture seems to be the way to do that so best of luck with your plans!

We had speakers at the Smallholding Scotland conference last year from Tom na'a Market Garden which is part of the Comrie Croft set up. Comrie Croft is a venue - for weddings and other things - and Tom na'a does the flowers for weddings. All a good tie in.

Have a look at agri start up grants before you buy any land - one of the points that the speakers made was that their land area was above the lower acreage for grants - 3ha here in Sctland - and that they had been able to get a fair bit of help with set-up costs.

What you are proposing to do is "a good thing" socially and environmentally - if you can, set youself up so that you can get government assistance. Thaht's what we pay taxes for - to support sustainable enterprise.

[Scotsdumpy]

Hello and welcome from sunny Aberdeenshire,  good luck with your venture - Rosemary makes some valid points! On the small is beautiful report they look at Charles Dowding who grows lots of things using the no dig method. He also runs courses on the methods which is very lucrative. Another thing to look at is spin farming - an american idea for making money from small areassuch as the 'backyard'  - you will find that a lot of research will have to take place to find your niche in your particular area. I used to live and work in york where people had the cash available for - in our case - free range pork and bronze turkeys. However, in our part of the world, there isn't the cash and free range pork and turkey can be cheaply sourced in supermarkets. I look forward to following your progress.

[laurelrus]

Rosemary - I'd be really interested to read the Small is Beautiful report - where can I find that? I've searched online but it's bringing up all sorts of the wrong stuff! Thank you

[Scotsdumpy]

http://ecologicalland.coop/small-successful-0
its actually small is successful - slight differenc!!! But search engines don't know that!!

Heres the link

[Lesley Silvester]

  hi Foragersjen and Oh. Welcome to TAS. What a beautiful part of the country you're moving to. I'm in Shropshire with what I like to think of as a micro-holding - a back garden - where I keep goats and grow fruit and veg purely for our own use. I am also a spinner so always good to here of potential sheep breeders.

[laurelrus]

Thanks for the link scotsdumpy, I'm be interested to read it.

[Terry T]

Hi there ForagersJen,
  Sounds like an exciting adventure. We have a 3 acre holding in Norfolk which we picked up 3 years ago. I have a half acre market garden and sell veg boxes which is a great way to make an income off the plot. We also have hens and sell eggs and just got our first hebridean sheep last month.
Good luck getting started.