How self sufficient can you get when you don't have a smallholding?

oldMcDonald · 31 December 2007 at 5:01AM

There are two good websites worth sitting down with a cuppa and spending a couple of hours trawling around:

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/
http://downsizer.net/

The first one are a couple of lovely guys in Bath (twins), who are as self sufficient as possible living in their flats. The second link is fantastic and will help you with foraging, cottage industries and roadkill, amongst a multitude of other topics. How far you want to go with self sufficient living with advice from here is up to you

ceridwen · 31 December 2007 at 7:58AM

hey...how come no-ones mentioned one of my favourite websites yet?

www.pathtofreedom.com/

oldMcDonald · 31 December 2007 at 8:25AM

I love path to freedom

Didn't mention it as the two above are UK so give advice for our climate, but PTF is brilliant for dreaming and losing yourself in - only don't mention it on some other forums as it then becomes a huge debate about how true it all is and how many carbs you would need in order to do all that work compared to how likely it is that they grow these carbs, bearing in mind that they grow everything in earth boxes etc.....etc.... (I tend to get bored and let them get on with the conversation between themselves at this point!!)

beemuzed · 31 December 2007 at 8:40AM

I'm full of admiration for all the efforts you're already making. We used to have an allotment, but found getting there took up too much time (about a mile and a half away). So, in recent years we've just managed with several growbags and a little space in the garden. This year we plan to dig up part of the lawn and thus extend our capacity for growing veg. but that's as "self-sufficient" as our ambitions are to date!

sammy_kaye18 · 31 December 2007 at 12:56PM

Self sufficiency wise i keep bills etc to a minimum and only spend what i need to when i really need to

This year is my first year of attempting to grow vegetables im hoping i will get a stable cro pand then fingers crossed next year i can look at gettign an allotment nearby which i think will com ein handy as it means i can be twice as productive, ive also found a whole hidden batch of bramble bushes which no one seems to have bothered with and they are away form the main road too so nasty car fumes etc but when i found them there were LOADS of wasted berries on them so obviously no one had found them or bothered to pick them so they will be mine next year.

As far as anythign else self sufficient i live in a ground floor flat so any sort of livestock (lol bar the dog!) would be very frowned upon but id love to be living the good life one day and think bf has the same asperations too which is nice - he keep son about how he'd love to have livestock and a nice house int he country!

clairibel · 17 October 2009 at 5:37PM

I am trying to do my bit of self sufficiency...slowly, gonna make some preserves and raspberry vodka which is essential to self sufficiency i think :rolleyes:

Found a great site with good ideas and recipes...now i need to find some time

http://www.cottagesmallholder.com

dandy-candy · 1 February 2011 at 6:58PM

I love looking at books on self-sufficiency, especially the ones by John Seymour. I also remember learning about Scottish crofters when I was at school and nowadays I read lots of USA homesteading website. Has anyone here tried living as full on self-sufficiently as possible? I'm thinking rearing your own meat, growing your own veg, no electricity, using an earth closet....
I'd love to know how you got on!

nattyt · 1 February 2011 at 7:51PM

Hi there is thread called really old style living. Have a look at that...its on page 4 of Old Style Board. I personally only grow my own veg but really love the idea of living self sufficiently.......think i am possibly too lazy!:o Maybe when my kids have left home it could be come a reality! My cousin and her partner are probably 75% self sufficient and its great. This is a girl who used to think nothing of spending £200+ on shoes, leaving every light on in the house and not giving much of a damn where her food came from! Its a life choice as well not financial.
Good luck. xx

Linda32 · 1 February 2011 at 8:06PM

I've never tried it, but I guess you could have a go. No electricity would be very very difficult, I'm sure.

Growing you own is an obvious place to start, then maybe see if these a bartering scheme in your area.

Good Luck

Penelope_Penguin · 1 February 2011 at 9:29PM

IIRC, John Seymour reckons that about 2 acres for a family fo 4 will be enough to be self sufficient in food

DH and I are planning to give this a try within the next few years :T

Linda32 wrote: »

No electricity would be very very difficult, I'm sure.

You could make your own using wind-turbines and solar PV. If you have running water, you can make a watermill.

I'll add this to the existing thread to give you more ideas.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

How self sufficient can you get when you don't have a smallholding?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free