Daydream thread continues.....

Rummer

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

I know the hazel/cob nuts are very productive by the amount of squirrels that are there:mad: practically every flipping tree is a hazel/cob nut tree.... So i think there will be a race in the autumn between me and the tree rats for the nuts....:rotfl:
/

I have a vision of you and a squirrel on a starters block getting ready to race :rotfl:

Sparklight

rhiwfield wrote: »

Sparklight, a few thoughts:

Outlets: Gate sales, Internet, local market/car boot. If you are selling then car boots are well worth considering, ideally under cover so you can have all year round presence.

Some products to sell:

• self built planters, nest boxes, bird tables (guy I know sells a lot each week, a lot by word of mouth). Sadly, he has cancer now and is winding down, but would expect to sell £200 a week from home and at car boot
• Eggs, not sure about profitability, egg seller turns up weekly at car boot
• Antiques/bric a brac.
• Plants
• Produce (fruit/veg). Honey/jam/preserves/cakes
• Services (laundry/dog walking/ironing/gardening/seamstress/lawnmower/tool repair/bookkeeping etc)
• Courses (cooking/beekeeping/chickens)
• Fishing/camping

I think trying things to see if they work is a good idea, there will probably be tax implications of running a small business. A theme running through this forum is the need to have external sources of income as smallholdings are not sufficiently profitable to cover all bills, but may chip in a few thousand each year, as can any home based business

It's also worth thinking how your land can cut costs. Firewood, fruit, veg, eggs. Also energy from renewables like wind and solar can generate income and reduce bills.

Thanks
Some really good ideas to think over
Cheers for the help

Sparklight

Davesnave wrote: »

I took it that Sparklight had previous experience with keeping animals, so was looking for other activities to complement the basic smallholding, and maybe even help to pay for it in the first few years.

The Internet is certainly a tool which can be exploited, but some activities, like many on rhiwfield's list, are better done either by going out to meet the punters, having them come to you, or a mixture of the two.

Ironically, when we only had 1/4 acre, we could turn over £12k+ in a year with the plants, but we didn't sell any of them from home. Now, because we have much more land to maintain, we know we'll never have the time to achieve sales like that. The worst thing about selling at regular run of the mill events, was that DW had to do a lot of it on her own, or sometimes we'd do two simultaneously with one van, which was really hard! I had to spend most of the time propagating & potting.

The beauty of gate sales is the fact that one doesn't have to be present, so a property on a decent road with adequate parking is a huge bonus. However, getting Joe Public to hit the brake pedal and pull in isn't easy, so it also helps if there's a regular market you can join to raise your presence.

Whatever the product is, it's crucial to enjoy making/doing it and to get an 'image.' For example, someone in our village who makes preserves has very carefully thought out branding, with a traditional sounding name, pleasing old-fashioned looking jars and a distictive logo. They do have an internet presence, but I bet 90% or more of their products are sold face to face through the hard graft of going to markets. The little present packs of three for £7 go particularly well, because they look classy.

Many thanks Dave for your kind reply
Gate Sales looks like it could be something worth looking into further.
Thanks again

Sparklight

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

LIR..... hope it is good news from the tests, but as you said... it could be the start of other things etting in:o

Sparklight.....nice to meet you:T

It will take a very long time to make any sort of money/profit from your land/home...

The best way to look at it, what do you injoy? growing plants, chickens making things/crafts, cooking etc..

Trying to make money from something you love doing is half the battle, as you injoy doing it, plus you will allready have product knowledge.. which is key to any successfull venture.

I personally wouldnt call ourselves green when it comes to the country life...BUT we have loads and loads to learn..... common sense is also paramount....

Do you want to earn enough money to cover your basic bills? living expenses? or to top up what you have allready coming in?

If you give us some more info, and your ideal dream then we will help you or give you or personal views and experiences.. on things...

Flip its warm:eek:

'Make money out of something we love doing'
Probably a good starting place for a home based business
Thanks for your kind reply and good advice

Lotus-eater

CTC, if you want some nuts I would start controlling the squirrels now. ie killing them lol

RAS

Lotus-eater wrote: »

CTC, if you want some nuts I would start controlling the squirrels now. ie killing them lol

yep

If you want a nut harvest you need to start with a squirrel harvest some months previous.

You need to catch them and then shoot; lots of info availabble re clearing greys out of Northumberland. Catch, clear, wait a month and repeat.

Apparently they are OK eating - a bit like rabbit.

Lotus-eater

I wouldn't mention it to any locals though, some people can be a bit funny about killing squirrels as they have cute furry bits.

lucielle

Yes they are very hot on killing them here as we still have reds about. Trouble is with all the cuts they've made there isn't as much money to keep the blighters under control. I know the gamelkeeper who has the contract for our part.
L

Davesnave

The only place we've seen squirrels here is in the mini valley at the bottom of our land, where they follow the tree line. The hazels there are bog-standard and laid or coppiced, so there aren't that many nuts on them, or if there are, the squirrels have them first.

It's a fair old haul without tree cover for squirrels to reach our garden from the valley, so they probably give the idea a miss, which is just as well, because we have half a dozen filberts at various stages of maturity, planted as a windbreak hedge. There's another four or five still in pots as well.

I toyed with the idea of putting the potted filberts into the hedgerow, but in the end I decided not to. I think they would just encourage more tree rats and we'd still see no benefit.

It has blown a real hoolie here today, but I've got more garden dug and I also took a bit of time out to explore. Found a place not two miles away that's like the land time forgot, full of wild flowers, butterflies and dragonflies.....Apparently, it's all owned by an old lady who doesn't farm it very well. While I certainly wouldn't want the hay from the field I was in, which was mainly buttercup & dock, I have to admit, the insect life was impressive.

And there's a river....;)

rainbowcattail

Thanks Davesnave for greenhouse advice, left everything open today in there!

hope all had a good day

x