the daydream fund challenge thread

kazschow

choille wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your dog Alfie - hope he makes a good recovery.
Dave sorry about Mr Dog - difficult people are a bit of a problem for me & I try & avoid as they get reet up my nose.

Welcome - It'smehonest.

rhiwfleld - You've missed free listing which seems to happen every 2nd wekend now.
Snow on the tops here & now blowing a gale - caravan rocking & arolling.
Feel down with the prospect of another Winter in the metal can - cabin fever looming!

I'm terrified of the thought of a winter in this derepit tin shed Chollie, you have my sympathies

rozeepozee

My sympathies to all those spending winter in a caravan... You must be a hardy lot!

We are counting down til the auction on Friday at the same time as moving to a new rental property, so if we aren't the highest bidder for the smallholding, at least we have somewhere bigger and better to live!

A question: is clay soil improvable? Apparently this place has 3 acres of "very heavy" clay soil and it's not good for growing or keeping horses on, or other animals for much of the Winter from the sound of things! This is according to the farmer who has been looking after the field and keeping some calves on there. It's clearly very wet in parts. Can it be drained etc? We don't plan to be growing loads tbh, we are more likely to want to do a CCC 5 pitch caravan site, but I'd like some idea of what we're letting ourselves in for if we buy. So far, I've been happy to grow salad veg and herbs in raised beds and reclaimed baths!

kazschow

good luck rozeepozee. I bought my property at auction to

rozeepozee

I'm a little nervous, Kazschow...

Davesnave

Rozee, heavy clay is usually fertile, but wet clay may not be great for the sort of crops farmers want to grow, or good for heavier animals in the winter. Even though we're on arable-friendly land here, where the soil is light, there are places at this time of year when it's decidedly soggy because of small springs.

You will have noticed that there is a lot of heavy soil in West Wales and many fields full of soft rush. It's one of the down-sides. When we were really interested in a property, we'd take a spade along = and ask to dig a small hole!

In the garden, clay is improvable with the addition of grit and organic matter in good quantity, and as you've suspected, deep beds are the way to go.

Edit: Fields can be drained, and there are ways of laying drains without major land disturbance, but you need somewhere appropriate to drain to (probably not a problem for you) and there's a cost involved.

kazschow

rozeepozee wrote: »

I'm a little nervous, Kazschow...

I was bricking it lol But you'll be fine

rozeepozee

Thanks for the support, guys!

It's made me really think, what do we really want this land for?!? I'm not interested in horses, although with the amount of excitement my children show, every time a horse passes us on the high street, I suspect it might not be up to me in the end...

The nicest thing about the property for me is the dingle dell/woodland with the stream running through it.

alfie_1

rhiwfield wrote: »

Still getting in touch with my feminine side. If this goes on I'll be growing flowers instead of veg

Just found out that one of Du Cros' swimsuits was modelled by Zena Marshall, Miss Taro in Dr No. Awake now Davesnave?:rotfl:

Managed to borrow a mannequin to model all the stuff DW bought, results can be a little too lifelike!! 30+ items now listed, a few bids would be nice :cool:

Have to say that Mr Dog sounds a right PITA.

rhiwfield, that is an impressive display of goods...me ..i wouldnt be able to part with half of that !! thats my problem...im a hoarder !!:D

p.s. i bet you had fun "dressing" your mannekin !!:rotfl:

alfie_1

rozeepozee wrote: »

My sympathies to all those spending winter in a caravan... You must be a hardy lot!

We are counting down til the auction on Friday at the same time as moving to a new rental property, so if we aren't the highest bidder for the smallholding, at least we have somewhere bigger and better to live!

A question: is clay soil improvable? Apparently this place has 3 acres of "very heavy" clay soil and it's not good for growing or keeping horses on, or other animals for much of the Winter from the sound of things! This is according to the farmer who has been looking after the field and keeping some calves on there. It's clearly very wet in parts. Can it be drained etc? We don't plan to be growing loads tbh, we are more likely to want to do a CCC 5 pitch caravan site, but I'd like some idea of what we're letting ourselves in for if we buy. So far, I've been happy to grow salad veg and herbs in raised beds and reclaimed baths!

a friend has a clay based garden and BF trenched it ,laid drainage pipes [those plastic tubes with little slots in ?] across the lawns [big area] and then shingled,infilled,put turf back and its the first summer that the lawns have been dry... so sounds like a lot of work but with a mini digger [£65 a day hire] its certainly attainable. and cures the problem ..he also created a pond at the end of the [manmade] ditch to which all the water now runs and already wildlife has moved in. so could be quite a feature ??? so dont be put off too much, most things are sortable..
p.s. friend has to mow more often as grass is on overtime now !!

rozeepozee

Thanks, Alfie. I have a fear that we may just end up making a ridiculous city type error, presuming that we can use the land in a way that isn't possible. We wondered about the logistics of putting in drainage, so it's good to know it's feasible.