tv programme last year leaving jobs and living off the land

COOLTRIKERCHICK

there was a programme on last year... i think it was on itv..

about 3 families.... that give up their jobs...... for a year and had to manage with £30 cash.... per week and had to grow and rear as much food as they could to support and feed themselves and the families.....

these people gave up good paying jobs..... so they must have been financially sound.. so their mortgages and household utility bills etc were covered....

it was based on the good life series of the 70's

one of the couples really got into it.. and at the end of the series were looking to move down devon way to carry on with the life style...

one of the other families were really well.... loved their luxuries too much.......but the guy still carried on breeding pigs in his works yard..( he was self employed )

the other family ..the mother went back to the school teaching..... and within hours of her going back to work her.... asthma came back......

i must admit i love this type of programme.... but being realistic.. how truthful are they ? as these people had to dig up their back gardens and sow and plant veg etc.... and also rear pigs or chickens....

the only ones that went to rent extra land were the couple that reaaly made a go at it.. and sold the extra produce to cover the price of more seeds etc....they also sold one of the 2 cars that they had.

i must admit i would love this type of life.... either with a small holding or with my allotment which i must admit since i had it last year not much was done until now....

i should imagine in reality how could they grow enough food to feed the family of 4 all year...

does anyone grow enough food for the family for the year ?

i have been doing the no shop at supermarkets for a month .even though ti was for a month i now shop in independants......markets etc.....

so maybe i could try and grow as much as poss.... maybe another challenge coming on here....

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, CTC! Sounds like a programme we would have enjoyed - not sure how we missed it You can be *self-sufficient* for a family of 4 on about 5 acres. Obviously, you'll still need to but things like tea, coffee, citrus, etc.

We're seriously aiming to buy a smallholding in the Yorkshire Dales in about 5 or so years' time. We'll have a pension to cover our bills, and other household expenses.

I'm sure it's possible.

Penny. x

COOLTRIKERCHICK

my dream has allways to live in an old welsh traditional farm cottage....

but unless i win the lottery it will allways be a dream:mad:

someone we knew sold their smallholding tradi.. welsh farm house with barn attached extra for 60k about 6 -7 years ago.... it is now worth 350k......

people are buying these types of property and mdernising them sooooo much the character has been taken out of them.....

but you never know maybe i should start playing the lottery again.....as they say ...'you got to be in it to win it '........lol......

kethry

i think there's a huge difference between being as self-sufficient as possible (which yes, would take a smallholding) and growing fruit and veg, to give you at least some from the garden, almost all year round.

the latter can be done, i think, provided you have a big freezer. As an example: I've currently got lots of tomato, aubergine, courgette, pepper and chilli plants. If i manage to get the veg/fruits off them that i hope (i.e. a huge harvest) then i'll be batch cooking my own pasta sauces, then freezing, to provide at least one pasta sauce meal per week for almost a year. i will then only need to buy my own onion and garlic to make the sauces up, and then whatever i make with the sauce (i.e. minced beef or bacon bits) and pasta, at the time. that way i hope to have one meal almost totally free, and much healthier for you as its home grown.

Ditto with fruits and other kinds of vegetables - like salad stuff, and i'm growing leek and celeriac as well. I figure if i can get one or two "free" meals a week from the garden, then i'm doing bloomin well for a garden that is 11 meters by 10 metres, and a small greenhouse.

hope that's food for thought!

keth
xx

Dithering_Dad

Hi TCT, I saw the first episodes of the program but then I heard that it had been cancelled due to lack of audience figures? I'm assuming that I'm mistaken (or they decided not to cancel it and failed to tell me!!)

I also love these sorts of "change your life" programs. My other favourite was the "Pay off your mortgage in 2 years", I enjoyed it so much that I decided to have a go myself, except I'm trying to do it in 3. Perhaps once the mortgage is gone I'll be able to plough up the garden and try self-sufficiency (hmnn, not sure what Mrs Dither would make of that idea!)

I suspect that with greenhouses/poly tunnels, global warming, crop rotation, a huge fridge and lots of pickle jars you should be able to be self sufficient. Especially if you make enough produce to barter for other goods.

KittyBoo_2

Keeping a couple of hens if you have enough space is another good way of becoming a bit more self sufficient.
I am going to get 4 soon and will keep 6 eggs for me per week and then sell the rest.They are lovely to have around and will help out with the bugs in your garden and eat lots of scraps too.

scrimperjan

I loved that programme, it was called 'The Real Good Life' - there is a website, www.realgoodlife.co.uk - not much info really but it also has a link to a website that the young couple - the guy with the long hair and his wife - have set up. Apparently they have now rented four acres to grow vegetables to sell and are still going strong. But I seem to remember they had very good jobs to start with and sold their house for a lot of money. This lifestyle looks wonderful on TV but probably wouldn't be so appealing on a cold, wet November day with four long months to go before Spring!

I grow what I can in my tiny back garden, but I'd love to have a bigger place where I could keep a few chickens and grow most of my own food. I would also like a little craft business to keep things ticking over financially....Oh, yes, and a tall, strong, handsome bearded man to help with the heavy work in the garden, whilst I baked wholemeal bread in the Aga...Ah, well, you're never too old to dream!

azjh77

I'll take one of those - minus the beard though.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

scrimperjan wrote: »

...Oh, yes, and a tall, strong, handsome bearded man to help with the heavy work in the garden, whilst I baked wholemeal bread in the Aga...Ah, well, you're never too old to dream!

ooooooo you've seen my hubby then:D

https://www.orangefall.com he's the bass player..... well he's tall strong and bearded.....and a man ..lol..... ( love him to bits..oh ye.. and he's had a few newcastle browns in that photo.....)

scrimperjan

Phwoar! Yes, he would do nicely...is he any good with a spade?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

scrimperjan wrote: »

Phwoar! Yes, he would do nicely...is he any good with a spade?

well he's very good with his dibber ....:D