the daydream fund challenge thread

Davesnave

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Amazing chillies Dave!

60p a month, hardly worth all the fencing for that, but you've still got to keep it in good condition somehow. What's the long term plans with the pasture land?

Yes, chillis have been good, but the local market is limited.

The fencing cost much more than sheep will ever recoup, but then we got the place at a knock-down price, and all that had been factored-in. As you say, it's important to keep the land in good condition and, morally, we shouldn't have taken it if we intended to let it deteriorate further.

Long term, if the plants work out, we shall have enough to do on the garden/nursery patch, so the fields will stay rented-out for sheep and we'll pick up the odd freezer pig/pile of logs for hay. On the other hand, if we find the plants aren't doing so well, then some of the field space will go to pigs, as I prefer them to sheep.

We might also do more with hens, either rare breeds or a larger area for free range, using hybrids. Although we can get free range eggs cheaply here, they honestly aren't that good, and many friends have been saying the same thing. There are enough people with money around about who would pay more for quality, I'm sure.

But we can't do it all, so it is still wait & see time here.

ukmaggie45

fuddle wrote: »

I envisage this being a journey of 10 years + but I'll be in my 40's by then, not too late huh?

Hi there Fuddle and welcome! :beer: Provided you keep fit and healthy it's never too late! While we don't have anything approaching a small holding, we do have a good sized garden. :j I'm now 62 and OH is 65.

We bought the house last December, and currently it's being extended and renovated. We might begin moving stuff over from home sometime in December if we're lucky. The garden has been a lot of work, the house was owned by an elderly gentleman who had spent the last year or so of his life in a nursing home. The garden had been quite neglected, though his daughter did some pruning and the lawn was mowed.

Bottom of the garden was totally overgrown with brambles and buddleias, so we began clearing the top growth as soon as we completed. The long cold and snow didn't help, but we just kept plugging along with what we could do. The place doesn't look a lot better at present as we've not really been able to do much since early September when the build started. But we've had onions, garlic and lots of spuds this year, and some beans and a few peas. We're planning for next year now, and so far OH has put in about 200 garlic cloves! :T

It'll be much easier to garden more effectively when the house is habitable again (there isn't a toilet there at present) and we can sleep over the odd night.

Our current house is a terraced, we only have a small North facing walled back yard, but I've had fun gardening there over the 37 years we've been here! Luckily it's only a 2 minute drive to the new house, so I did a fair amount of gardening over the summer. Well, I did a bit, but mainly sat and brooded over where to put things. I have ME/CFS so can't do much in the way of digging etc, but I start the seeds off and do as much of keeping on top of the pruning as I can. It's a matter of 5-10 mins "work" and then half an hour sit down to recover.

If the weather's good this weekend I think I might pick over the elephant garlic we grew and plant up some of the best cloves. It's so expensive to buy, you get it by the clove rather than the bulb, and it seems to work out about £1 a clove. I'm too mean to pay that this year as am feeling a bit strapped for cash with the building work. But this will be our forever home, so we're age proofing it as much as possible - having downstairs shower room so that if we reach the point when we can't make it up the stairs regularly we'll be able to live on the ground floor!

Progress on house gets reported on the First Time Renovation thread, but I've got a Flickr set on the house renovation if you just want to do a quick catch up. (It's only got 365 photos in it so far!)

Sorry, wittered on long enough!

rhiwfield

Davesnave, in awe of your chillies, its one thing that I just cant seem to get right (two if you count my pathetic attempt at growing leeks this year ). Also impressed that local council got involved with the village shop, its always seemed to me that the heart gets ripped out of villages when the PO, shops and pub goes.

Lir, while I totally agree with your sentiment about animals I'm such a wimp that my hens, instead of going for the chop when they stop laying, are more likely to get stannah stairlifts up to the pop hole.

Choille, gales? We've had lots of warnings but not a lot of wind. Having said that the met office are forecasting 67 mph gusts for us tomorrow night but no weather warning, so dont know what to expect. Just in case everything is battened down

Maggie, cornering the garlic market?. Even with the hens we dont get through more than 40 bulbs

Absolutely gorgeous weather here atm, though a sharp frost this morning. Went to beach for DW's morning stroll then off to Ikea for a quick skip dive ( cot sides for firewood and some wood sheets) and a second brekky. So thats just 99p for 2 full breakfasts and 2 drinking chocolates (brekky was bogof). Came home stuffed and out in the garden doing winter clearance working it off.

Although the leeks were !!!!, just lifted another parsnip and its a monster . First year I've grown them and delighted.

Lotus-eater

rhiwfield wrote: »

then off to Ikea for a quick skip dive ( cot sides for firewood and some wood sheets) and a second brekky. So thats just 99p for 2 full breakfasts and 2 drinking chocolates (brekky was bogof).

Can you skip dive at Ikea? A good reason to go at last!!

We've got a family card which gives you really cheap breakfasts, maybe that's the same as you used. They're good value, but free wood bits too!

lostinrates

rhiwfield wrote: »

Lir, while I totally agree with your sentiment about animals I'm such a wimp that my hens, instead of going for the chop when they stop laying, are more likely to get stannah stairlifts up to the pop hole.

Oh, the hens can stay and pop their clogs naturally or when ill, but when you breed you get boys. One of my cochins is seven, still lays three eggs a week. she's a doll and could stay if she laid one a year. There is no eating such an old bird and she's been a contributor so if she stops laying she's earned her retirement here.

It also means I can argue the case against camalids, donkeys, etc etc.

rhiwfield

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Can you skip dive at Ikea? A good reason to go at last!!

We've got a family card which gives you really cheap breakfasts, maybe that's the same as you used. They're good value, but free wood bits too!

Yes, used the family card to get price down but to get bogof as well is unreal. AFAIK Ikea Cardiff put out wood every morning on trolleys (so easy to take) from anything thats damaged, which means that loads of perfectly good stuff is left out. This morning there were lots of chipboard sheets, hardboard, cot sides. Often there's plywood sheets. We've had table tops before now and the other week got a large breadboard in good nick. At Cardiff its all under cover, the only problem is that local traders have cottoned on so you often see white van men loading up. And there's never much real wood . Usually go when petrol tank is low as its 4/5p a litre cheaper at the nearby Asda than at our local Tesco.

Davesnave

rhiwfield wrote: »

Davesnave, in awe of your chillies, its one thing that I just cant seem to get right (two if you count my pathetic attempt at growing leeks this year ). Also impressed that local council got involved with the village shop, its always seemed to me that the heart gets ripped out of villages when the PO, shops and pub goes.

Although the leeks were !!!!, just lifted another parsnip and its a monster . First year I've grown them and delighted.

The Parish Council here are pretty good and canny at getting grants. They've just got another for a wildlife area on the village field.;)
We lost the school a while back, but this place still has two pubs, although I only visit one. It's a very cosy place, and no matter who comes in, the customers will always speak to them and include them in conversations.:)

I grew a lot of chillies/toms for sale at the farm shop, only to find that the two owners were not singing from the same hymn sheet, so I was stuck with them. Then, such was the discord, one owner left, and now the shop is closing. All v. sad, but the chillies were a bonus. There's a lot more than in that piccie!

The best sweet peppers this year were 'Kaibi Round' from Real Seeds. Relatively early, with thick walls and a very sweet taste.

My leeks have done well, but somehow, I missed off the word 'Mammoth' when planting the seed, or I might not have been so surprised at their size. Parsnips have been OK too, but I didn't thin them enough, so they are various in size. Can't get the hang of digging them without damage, either.:(

Well, it is a fabulous day out there and, having got one trough plumbed in, I'm off to do a few more photos....

ukmaggie45

rhiwfield wrote: »

Maggie, cornering the garlic market?. Even with the hens we dont get through more than 40 bulbs

We do go through a LOT of garlic. Grew a couple of dozen bulbs this year, and it's all gone already. It's good stuff for the immune system, and I frequently get cravings for it, hardly surprising since my immune system seems to be weirdly out of kilter. But it just tastes so good too, especially with chicken. Like roasting whole cloves too, makes a nice meal with roasted potatoes and whatever other veg are to hand. Slurp! (wish there was a drooling smilie!)

Plus DD1's fiance is a garlic fiend, he was overjoyed when OH emailed him to tell him about our Sunday afternoon at the garden! :rotfl:

I think it's a cost effective thing to grow too, as it's so expensive in the shops.

Looked out of the window this morning to see snow on the hills in Wales. Not clear enough to see as far as Snowdon though. Taken some photos to show OH when he gets in from work.

lostinrates

ukmaggie, we eat a lot of garlic too. we've got to get to making veg beds soon.

I'm thinking of you all in the bad weather that's forecast. especially choille. Its still clear and still here, cross fingers and touch wood nothing gets damaged in the winds.

Poosmate

Edwardian Farm is on on BBC2 at the moment for anyone interested.