Leftover spuds in farmers field...advice on etiquette sought please folks!

Lizbetty

Thanks loads for your replies, and tips! :T

Turns out that our lovely next door but one neighbour had already asked the farmer who was more than happy to let us go and fill our boots, which is just fab. There's a lot which haven't been dug up which is a bit strange, as if there's lots of bits been missed. I wonder if he realises this, maybe mags50 could enlighten us as to whether there's a possibility he might've paid someone to do it who's cut some serious corners?

Anyhow. We've told the rest of the nice neighbours and we're having a go at collecting some tomorrow and distributing them round the old folk who can't do it. :jThey never seem to want the eggs from our chooks cos of the cholesterol issues so the spuds will go down a treat!

Int nature fab! We're reeeeally brassic so this really is great.

As for nicking stuff...we do have a neighbour who has grown some bushes at the bottom of his garden in the hope of bagging some of the farmers land. We asked if we could buy some more land as we have a small garden but the owner said no, and the farmer said no to us renting some for our chooks cos he gets a subsidy to keep it nature friendly, which is all fair enough. So the neighbour isn't speaking to us any more cos he knows we asked while he's blagging it and hoping to claim some free land eventually. Long story but my very placid husband would quite gladly shop him as the neighbour turned quite nasty when we said we didn't want to nick the land but would ask if we could buy some. What do you think? I know it sounds like a moral dilemma, but if you knew what the neighbour said to my husband... Could he actually claim farm land as his own or is there laws against it? He told us his intentions and suggested we did the same to extend our gardens, which is how we know. Sigh.

Anyhow! Thanks again folks! I will certainly be sending a thank you card to the farmer and some home made fudge I think (not potato fudge..!)

Thanks again for your replies
Best wishes
Lucy

Lizbetty

DrFluffy wrote: »

Would you like to come and open a farm next door to me? I'd LOVE you be your neighbout

Me too!!!!!!!! :D:D

Mojisola

Lucyeff wrote: »

As for nicking stuff...we do have a neighbour who has grown some bushes at the bottom of his garden in the hope of bagging some of the farmers land.

Could he actually claim farm land as his own or is there laws against it? He told us his intentions and suggested we did the same to extend our gardens, which is how we know. Sigh.

Your neighbour will have to fence it off so that the farmer has no access to it for - I think - twelve years. Tell the farmer what's going on - but ask him to walk his field and "discover" for himself so that your neighbour doesn't get mad at you.

You and the rest of your neighbours sound really nice - I wish you were one of my neighbours!

juliapenguin

Maybe Martin could arrange a sort of MSE Old Style new town (now there's a contradiction in terms!!) and we could all be good neighbours to each other and share and barter and have potluck suppers...... and teach each other OS skills that are dying out. I'd love that!

Stardust

juliapenguin wrote: »

Maybe Martin could arrange a sort of MSE Old Style new town (now there's a contradiction in terms!!) and we could all be good neighbours to each other and share and barter and have potluck suppers...... and teach each other OS skills that are dying out. I'd love that!

Im in :T

Kentishmaid_2

Lucyeff wrote: »

Thanks loads for your replies, and tips! :T

Turns out that our lovely next door but one neighbour had already asked the farmer who was more than happy to let us go and fill our boots, which is just fab. There's a lot which haven't been dug up which is a bit strange, as if there's lots of bits been missed. I wonder if he realises this, maybe mags50 could enlighten us as to whether there's a possibility he might've paid someone to do it who's cut some serious corners?

Anyhow. We've told the rest of the nice neighbours and we're having a go at collecting some tomorrow and distributing them round the old folk who can't do it. :jThey never seem to want the eggs from our chooks cos of the cholesterol issues so the spuds will go down a treat!

Int nature fab! We're reeeeally brassic so this really is great.

As for nicking stuff...we do have a neighbour who has grown some bushes at the bottom of his garden in the hope of bagging some of the farmers land. We asked if we could buy some more land as we have a small garden but the owner said no, and the farmer said no to us renting some for our chooks cos he gets a subsidy to keep it nature friendly, which is all fair enough. So the neighbour isn't speaking to us any more cos he knows we asked while he's blagging it and hoping to claim some free land eventually. Long story but my very placid husband would quite gladly shop him as the neighbour turned quite nasty when we said we didn't want to nick the land but would ask if we could buy some. What do you think? I know it sounds like a moral dilemma, but if you knew what the neighbour said to my husband... Could he actually claim farm land as his own or is there laws against it? He told us his intentions and suggested we did the same to extend our gardens, which is how we know. Sigh.

Anyhow! Thanks again folks! I will certainly be sending a thank you card to the farmer and some home made fudge I think (not potato fudge..!)

Thanks again for your replies
Best wishes
Lucy

Not too sure about 'squatter's rites' after 12 years but farmer will have the field boundaries mapped and so will DEFRA (Dept for environment,food and rural affairs)so margin funding can be paid. Said mapping is now often done using sat nav. Sorry chooks can't move but enjoy tates, I scrump carrots aswell, with permission though.:j

mags50_2

Sorry didn't notice that I'd been asked a question before Lucyeff

Asked hubby about the corner cutting...and he said that it could be down to just the size of the machinery...i.e. potato planters are far smaller than potato harvesters...so the harvesters can't get into the corners to actually harvest the potatoes that the smaller planters have planted...IYSWIM

Also a good suggestion about the farmer 'walking' the fields and catching out the bushes planted on his land! They've probably already been spotted by the farmer and your next-door neighbour might get a bit of a shock when they are uprooted! or he is told/asked to remove them.

And I wish you all lived nearer...I'd do some bartering for potatoes for things you might have that I could use

HTH

dronid

juliapenguin wrote: »

Maybe Martin could arrange a sort of MSE Old Style new town (now there's a contradiction in terms!!) and we could all be good neighbours to each other and share and barter and have potluck suppers...... and teach each other OS skills that are dying out. I'd love that!

I think a lot of us would be up for that! Mind you, it's not up to Martin to create it. We just have to arrange that we all buy houses close together - maybe take over an old village!:D

Oddly enough, where my mother moved to in Spain there are dozens of derelict villages which people are doing exactly that!

Anyone for a commune?

peb

It's good to see things like this happening - I'm near the rhubarb triangle (and one of my friends lives "in" it and this seems to be fairly well guarded; people being rude and taking the proverbial maybe.

With regard to "squatters rights" the actual term is possessory title. It is possible to claim possessory title after 20 years and then wait 12 years for the title to be made absolute. However the Land Registry has certain rules and frequently rejects applications; for example I have never successfully been able to make a claim unless the land is fenced off. The farmer simply needs to make sure that he has told your neighbour of the positoin so that the "without hindrance" statement cannot be made....

Ps Donid _ I love your sign off!

Lizbetty

Ooh, you might be up the road from where I used to live peb! I lived in Stanley some years ago, in Crofton now. And I'm just eating a rhubarb muller light (which unfortunately has never seen Yorkshire, but nevertheless...:rolleyes:!

Thanks for the advice on the land, it's good to know his grand plan to steal land won't work. We will mention it to the farmer though. Our neighbour planted all sorts out there, including what has turned out to be hugest willow tree ever (not good when we have had subsidence) and holly bushes and so on. A couple of us have runner beans growing against our back walls but one of the neighbours had asked the farmer and these are only for a couple of months a year, we wouldn't dream of trying to nick the land.

The Money Saving Expert commune sounds like a fab idea! Too many people are just out for themselves these days. One of our lesser known neighbours even came along and helped themselves to some spuds my husband, dad, friend and 2 toddlers had spent ages digging up, she never even asked! She just came out with a bag and said ooh, look at all those and filled up her bag, and went! No can I or please or thank yous. Shame my husband is so gentlemanly, I doubt I would have been so polite as to let that one go :rolleyes:

It's great to share though, when everyone is of the same spirit. We've swapped all sorts with our neighbours, we always give away our eggs if we have too many (apart from to the man next door, lol!). I do think if you believe in karma it's the best way forward, and it is really good to help out esp older neighbours who may have once thought they were forgotten. Some folk have tried to pay us for the eggs (we flatly refused) but at the same time have done us some lovely favours, so it's swings and roundabouts. Even just getting to know them and visiting with the kids is a nice favour for me as I'm a stay at home mum and staying at home with 2 toddlers drives me crackers sometimes, lol! We're brassic and so all the usual trips to the Petting Farm are usually restricted for us...hence the time to waffle on here when the kids are busy!

Mags50, my husband is from Grimsby, his mum lives there now so not so far away from you more than likely. It'd've been a pleasure to have given you some of the spuds, you sound like a lovely lady! We would have offered up eggs too but the chooks are on go slow with the dark nights, lol! Since I started Slimming World I'm waiting for them to lay the b-uggers so I can have me sin free omelettes :rolleyes: :rotfl:

Anyway, back to my cook book (imaginatively titled 'Potato', lol! Honestly!).

Thanks again for all your advice. I will keep my eyes peeled for the sign pointing to the new MSE Village and will start saving for the removal men! :beer:

Best wishes to everyone
Lucy