the daydream fund challenge thread

Lotus-eater

rhiwfield wrote: »

Of the two plum tomato varieties we had bad blossom end rot with San Marzano plants, clear on the Roma plants and all other toms. Still picking in this mild weather, though getting some botrytis. Still, toms in November is better than last year:)

My experiences of san marzano was terrible BER, so I stopped growing them. Roma just didn't like growing in a tidy fashion and were a pain, so I stopped growing them also.

lostinrates wrote: »

Personally I have no problem with EATING horsemeat...no more than my chickens, or sheep or beef or whatever. I do have issues with long distance live transport and abbatoir protocol. But thats the same with whatever meat it is. If we were less squeamish about here we could be exporting high welfare horse meat which would be a better management of many of the free living UK equids, allowing some discernment back into the breeding stock and a really ethical meat source.

Its no weirder to me...even as a horse owner, than other meat is, and the alternative in existance to me is pretty shabby.

Agreed, I don't get the fuss over not eating horse, the only meat I wouldn't eat is rat (unless starving) and that's because I have a shuddering thing about rats.

lostinrates

rhiwfield wrote: »

. Still, toms in November is better than last year:)
.

I neglected to collect green toms of the outside tomatos...so we had, I think on Saturday, pasta with mainly yellow variety ripe out door toms. We also found another cucumber on the veg patch, and had the last of the nice peppers...also outdoors. The others had gone wrinkly on the plant. Its just so weird this year. I puloled the courgettes up a couple of weeks ago because I couldn't stand any more and we had about a dozen marrows because I wasn't keeping up with picking.

Lotus-eater

I haven't collected any tomatoes for the last month and a half because of an invasion of rats in the greenhouse, they tunnel in every night, I've caught 3, but the rest seem too clever.
Because of that, I haven't had any late tomatoes in which otherwise would have been a great late year

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Hi All,

sorry i havent been around, been too poooooopped to go on the old puter when i come home from work..

Land front..... everything is more or less ready to sign for, BUT....i have a little voice in the back of my head, and my gutt feeling is saying 'leave it'

nearly everyone i have spoken too, have said leave it, as its in the national park, and i wouldnt be able to have a pee behind the bushes without having permission from the parks:D

Doesnt help when people are saying i am mad paying that amount of money for land with practically no prospects of planning for temp accomadation even being considered...

Think i know the answer on what to do, but i have waited soooooooo long, maybe i should follow this gut instinct and wait abit longer???????? especially as work is prob going to go through a bit of a rough time in the next year or so

lostinrates

Oh CTC, I don't know, I wish you luck in making the decision. I would say, for me the dream must include living there...though...not spending petrol to get there every day...if livestock are going to be included you'll be going between all the time.



I had the first egg from the Sicilian buttercup yesterday, a sweet little egg, would be wonderful for children, or the perfect size for less crude scotch eggs. I fond another couple of eggs out in the hay which are fresh enough and haven't been sat on, so looks like I'll be eating eggs more regularly again.


Business accounts show at least a break even for first year trading...but of course, no building work or anything done. I really need to get some business fincance advice, but I'm really struggling even to find a good accountant...we want someone youngish, who'll work with us over years, preferably someone who'll come to the house and who can deal with personal and business stuff effectively and proactively...I want him to propose stuff to us, not for me to ask questions and get an answer...if you don't know the question to ask you lose out forever! My business insurance went up by 4 pence for the next year.....could be worse, but its a hefty insurance anyway.

Davesnave

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Hi All,

Land front..... everything is more or less ready to sign for, BUT....i have a little voice in the back of my head, and my gutt feeling is saying 'leave it'

nearly everyone i have spoken too, have said leave it, as its in the national park, and i wouldnt be able to have a pee behind the bushes without having permission from the parks:D

Doesnt help when people are saying i am mad paying that amount of money for land with practically no prospects of planning for temp accomadation even being considered...

I know what I think. It's a [STRIKE]lovely[/STRIKE] fantastic looking spot and there's a good ag building......but:

National park is like Grade 2 listed to me, so I'd avoid for that reason alone. You will be under extra scrutiny, and the idea is to avoid hassles with 'authority.'

I was also worried that your bank might not have realised the lack of connection between your existing business and the commercial building on-site. There is always a risk that if something is not clear, but discovered later, a bank might want to call in the mortgage. I don't know if I read this right or not, so please excuse this comment. If I got it wrong, I'll delete it later today.:o

The other thing that bothered me a bit was the height above sea level and exposure. Once you go much above the surrounding villages, gardening becomes a whole different ball game. My in-laws are at 750' but sheltered, so they do OK, but we used to live at 750' on a moor when I was a teenager, and stuff was almost blown out of the ground. 'Your' land is a good bit higher than that.

Finally, as lir says, spending money on fuel and a suitable vehicle is another drag if you can't live on-site. You also have to think in that situation what will happen to your animals when the snow comes, the pipes freeze etc etc, though I'm sure you will have considered that.

Sorry to be a party pooper here, but if I'm going to play devil's advocate I may as well do it properly! :o

alfie_1

CTC....sorry you are having doubts BUT...i always sit and think WHY i am doubting something. unless i can answer myself in a positive way to each doubt i personally knock it on the head. having tried to get permission for power here by 1] overhead poles 2] solar help i have been told a firm "computer says noooooooo" by our national park hierarchy..[cant spell!] so the fact it is in NP should make you wary.
if you can alter/correct/convince yourself you can live /use this land WITH these complications then go for it.

hard one for you as your dream is ALMOST at your fingertips but is it and will it give you your dream or become a nightmare ??
wish you all the best. xx

lostinrates

CTC, thinking practically, are you answering the dream here, or looking as a business. Do you think as a business, independant of the dream it would answer needs? It seems to be an ideal spot for caravans for example, which can be really profitable, but are they the dream or does your dream include solitude? Clients/caravans mean that you can rarely ensure it will be isolated heaven, but it can be a super business....if plans allow.


Its an incredibly beautiful spot.....but if you can't live there at least part of the time what will you do with it. If it answers a business need then its a different situation.

One of the useful things when we were buying was to think was this first a business or first our home. That things balanced so evenly at this stage in our life meant that while for a home we would have been remote remote, for business (both here and for DH in London) that would be a negative at this stage in the game for what we are doing. In the future if we sell here it will be the same function for some one else...perhaps a family with London commitments but whose kids have show ponies/or where one of the couple competes....we have such excellent communications by road and rail that its ideal for people half way housing...and its rural enough to be ideal for house parties, but can get to the supermarket in fifteen mins.....so....for us while we do everything planning to be here for ever, its got some resale potential in the back of mind.

choille

CTC - Go with the gut everytime; it's animal & instinctive. If they won't allow a house, business use will be limited too - I would have thought.

less crude scotch eggs. - Wouldn't be Scottish then!

alfie_1

evening all.

well i had my toof out yesterday. they said "we are just going to sedate you a bit as we need you to be awake" fast forward 2 hours and it was a case of "the lights were on but nobodys in " !! i cannot remember a thing. not so much as a word or action ! i cannot remember coming home [was driven] and basically was gaga..... bit of pain today but tolerable.:)
got my knee checked out and it is a form of HMK. the red is the fluid under the skin discoloring it. nothing life threatening so hey ho.....:)

ive agreed to have 2 cats. they are a strange pair. granma and gran daughter. very short legs,tiny frames and thin ?? said to be 5 and 7.....more like 15 and 17 !!:o feel sorry for them and want to fatten them up a bit! dont think theres a humane way of stretching thier legs tho..:D anyway will have to see how they settle ,getting them friday.

i walked round the garden today [partly due to me losing my keys somewhere whilst in a stupour yesterday] and let my greenhouse chooks out, the dopey polish bantams NEVER come out? it is like a deadly sea of marbles everywhere....acorns ! never seen so many. and how come all the warnings re acorn poisoning yet i see the forest ponies eating them ALL the time with no deaths ???? have they built up a tolerance i wonder ???