Becoming self sufficient from scratch-my diary

Lotus-eater

tomsolomon wrote: »

Little tip....

You cant eat the cats.......:rotfl:

Alot of the world would disagree with you

Tastes like [STRIKE]chicken[/STRIKE] rabbit.

poppet

can I join you ? We began our self-sufficient'ish journey 2 years ago, starting with 2 hens, followed by 2 pigs...2 lambs..christmas turkeys and lots of veg (hopefully)

Like you I have decided to keep a blog where I post photos of the plot and record our bumpy progress (steep learning curve)

Good luck with your adventure - it's great reading how you are getting on - keep posting! :T

bonsibabe

Well done to you Moozle:j ! I'm in the North of Scotland too, capital of the Highlands for me!

My garden is builders rubbish with a layer of turf and assorted rubbish on the top:mad: so when hubby gets some time off work he will be out there trying to sort it all out!

I think I will have to start small this year with just a few pots to see how it goes but have big plans for next year!! We only moved in here 3 months ago so am concentrating on getting the inside sorted first but I have my brand new compost bin, am getting another one ordered next week, am waiting for my bokashi unit things to arrive to compost what can't go straight into the compost bin and am recycling like nothing on earth!

I'm lucky that I only have 2 kids aged 7(today!) and 4 so they are helping with the recycling and they will be helping with the composting as well!

We're off when the weather is a bit better to the woods for a bramble picking trip! The kids love brambles and am going to see what else we can find while we are there! :A

Looking forward to following your journey with interest. Godoluck!

Moozle_2

Thankyou for all the luck everyone is sending me! Everyone is so nice on here:smileyhea

Well, todays update: Neighbour with the hen coop wants £40 for it, which I think is a bargain.... especially considering one of my friends just paid £330 for an Eglu, and another neighbour £120 for an Ark which is rather flimsy compared to mine. So, hopefully if my husband gets home reasonably early (for the kids) i will be off to pick it up this afternoon.
I am trying to be aware that the point of this project is actually to lower my cost of living and I worked out that its going to take a lot of eggs before I would get back the cost of an Eglu or similar. :rolleyes:
Tomorrow I am off round to see another friends hens hopefully to get a few ideas and see what I need to get and hopefully help me prepare.

As far as raising funds goes, I need a bit more work on this? Going to root some more ebay stuff out. :think: Hoping that this initial outlay is going to serve me well in the years to come. The £40 on the coop is not really 'spare' this month but at least its spent in a proactive way.
My kitchen windowsill is overflowing, however I have an idea for a cold frame made out of junk.... if it works i'll take a photo and post.:rolleyes:


Happy gardening!

Moozle_2

Poppet, your set up is very impressive and I love the idea of the honesty box. That would certantly go down a treat in my area.

poppet

Moozle wrote: »

I have an idea for a cold frame made out of junk.... if it works i'll take a photo and post.:rolleyes:
quote]

Moozle, not sure if you hav one near enough to you, but I was at the tip yesterday and "liberated" a roll of chain link fencing and some posts which someone was just about to dump in the container. At the same time I noticed several old windows and glazed doors and thought they would be handy for making a cold frame with - if your idea dosn't work, try the tip and see if they've got anything you could use.
Im going to get hubby to make an enclosure for the hens with the fencing I nabbed. Its nice having the hens free ranging all over the garden but the Poo is getting on my nerves now - it's everywhere! On the back door step, outside the french doors, you can't help but walk in it when putting the washing out on the line.

Lotus-eater

poppet wrote: »

Im going to get hubby to make an enclosure for the hens with the fencing I nabbed. Its nice having the hens free ranging all over the garden but the Poo is getting on my nerves now - it's everywhere! On the back door step, outside the french doors, you can't help but walk in it when putting the washing out on the line.

That wire fencing will be perfect, especially if you got the thinner type as the thick is somewhat heavy to put up and needs good posts.

Chickens do tend to congregate where you least want them to be
Many years ago I used to let mine free range over the entire garden in the winter, maybe with a couple of winter crops fenced off, but like you I got fed up with poo on the patio. Especially in wet weather, it's dangerous and slippy.

What I do is have a roll of chicken wire, 900mm high, with some posts that can be pulled up and pushed in easily and rotate them round the garden like that. Need a veg bed clearing of bugs and seeds? No problem, send the tidy up squad in and make sure they concentrate on that area by fencing them in.

poppet

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Chickens do tend to congregate where you least want them to be

Like in the kitchen :rotfl:

Moozle_2

LOL, at the chickens!!
Well I picked my coop up, its beautiful and would have originally cost loads brand new, and its like new. As we speak hubby is laying a few paving slates and moving things around in the garden to make way for another veg bed.:D So,I really feel like i'm getting somewhere now. I will definately have a look down the tip for some stuff, its a fair way off but I have stuff I need to take anyway so it wouldnt be a wasted journey and i'll wait till I need to go shopping or something.
Now just need to find where i'm going to get the hens from?

SEE

poppet wrote: »

Like in the kitchen :rotfl:

Great photo:D