how easy/hard would it be to live as self sufficient as possilbe inn the uk?

celerity

I'm tempted to import the book from the US as I'd prefer an updated edition. If anyone finds a UK source please post though!

Thanks,

/\dam

zeupater

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

.... we could prob be self sufficient for wood/fuel for quite a few years ....

Sorry, but there's a difference between self sufficiency and plundering your own resources .....

To be 'self sufficient' on wood/fuel you need to be planting a crop now before you even start to think about harvesting what you already have ... I don't know what you have but you could consider coppicing along the boundaries of your land ... if you're looking for a quick source for decent diameter splittable logs from scratch get something cheap & simple like a leylandii hedge in now, it'll be supplying big logs in around 20 years time (small 10years+) and providing shelter whilst your main coppice & shelter source is maturing ....

A good tip is to not overestimate how much wood you have standing or underestimate what you will burn .... we would typically burn 3cubic metres (or more) of hardwood in a heating season which would equate to around 5cubic metres of softwood, in both cases around 2 tonnes seasoned and dry .... it doesn't seem to be much wood when split and stored undercover but it looks like much more when in leaf and vertical ... .... this usage is supplimented by gas when required and is for a very well insulated house, burning in an 8kW burner, so make allowances depending on your own building & circumstances as you could need substantially more wood than we do ...

HTH
Z

mymerrywidow

i will never be ss, but i am very aware of our carbon footprint. i have solar panels, recycle as much as we can, have water meters. reuse the bath water. grow our own veg and fruit. make paper logs/bricks.

stockpile food/meat when its reduced to 90%off in the supermarket.

Gigervamp

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Been thinking about this...

if/when we could dispatch our own chickens, then we would be self sufficient in chicken and eggs..

We are getting some pigs in the next few months... so potentially we could be self sufficient in pork susages etc.

It would be much more viable if we were able to feed our chickens and pigs scraps. Nowadays, unless we grow feed for them, we have to think about the cost of buying in feed.

Of course, if you were completely off grid, the likelyhood of being found feeding your chooks and pigs scraps would be minimal.

<rant> I can understand to a point why they brought that legislation in. It was idiotic to be feeding cattle, meat, but to stop all chicken and pig keepers from feeding anything that has been in a kitchen is ludicrous.
How do they police people who bring a chicken into the kitchen because it's poorly? It's food will have been in the kitchen.
Just goes to show that the people who make these laws have absolutely no idea of the real world. </rant>

Sorry. I'll get my coat!

paddyrg

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

was that tippee valley paddy?

will keep an eye out for that book thanks...

Preselis - and if you know the area, you'll know exactly what I mean ;-)

As for the book, I saw the updated edition on Amazon UK for £7.70 or so new (shipped from the US, mind), funnily enough the 70's ones seem to change hands at the same or more secondhand! I bought a copy in a charity shop in Australia for about 20p a decade ago, and my wife still ranks it amongst her favourite birthday presents ever. It feels so natural and innocent without being too 'worthy' about it (I hate it when books or people get overworthy and supersmugserious - turns me right off!)

celerity

Thanks Paddy, ordered from Amazon for the same price but shipped from th UK.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Gigervamp wrote: »

It would be much more viable if we were able to feed our chickens and pigs scraps. Nowadays, unless we grow feed for them, we have to think about the cost of buying in feed.

Of course, if you were completely off grid, the likelyhood of being found feeding your chooks and pigs scraps would be minimal.

<rant> I can understand to a point why they brought that legislation in. It was idiotic to be feeding cattle, meat, but to stop all chicken and pig keepers from feeding anything that has been in a kitchen is ludicrous.
How do they police people who bring a chicken into the kitchen because it's poorly? It's food will have been in the kitchen.
Just goes to show that the people who make these laws have absolutely no idea of the real world. </rant>

Sorry. I'll get my coat!

totally agree with you...

I am going to have a feed room, and any veg i buy for our use, instead of taking it into the house to prepare, i am going to prepare them in the feed room,( basically it will be stored in the feed shed until we need it...lol) so all the peelings etc can be given to the animals...and then the cleaned veg can then be taken into our kitchen....

paddyrg

celerity wrote: »

Thanks Paddy, ordered from Amazon for the same price but shipped from th UK.

Did it arrive yet? Hope you like it :-)

celerity

paddyrg wrote: »

Did it arrive yet? Hope you like it :-)

Nope, supposed to arrive yesterday but it's a no-show so far .