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Farming Friends Forum » Gardening

1. Sheppard
   Member

   Hello again, well since joining the forum last week im happy to say ive managed to get my hands on a nice piece of land around 1/4 of an acre situated a stones throw from my house. So now the hard work begins, firstly i need to clear the site, access is a problem so no heavy machinery!! im thinking of doing it section by section over the year with the hope of it being useable next year, can anybody reccomend the best way to clear the site, it is very overgrown with lots of brambles , small stumps lots of bricks etc etc. should i spray it? cover it? any views would be much appreciated at this stage.

   regards
   sheppard

   Hope to be living the good life soon!!

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. m40mo
   Administrator

   it depends what you want from the land really, is it to grow veg or keep animals, if animals many will help to clear it for you once you have removed anything dangerous to them

   mo x

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. Mama
   Member

   Well done on finding your piece of land .We found the best way to clear bramble was to strim it, horrid job it wraps around you . Then let it shoot which it will be doing soon and then use round up to kill it .We then set fire to the remaing dead growth.Another option is to hire a flame thrower , you only need to scorch the leaves to kill most weed . Physically it is easier in sections as you will then be able to plant a few things once cleared . If you can get hold of a rotavator it saves your back !!Good luck Mama

   Goose Girl

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. Sheppard
   Member

   Mmmm not sure about setting it on fire!!!! although the flame thrower option sounds like fun, Think im going to install the large chicken run and goat pen then install raised beds for the vegtables and fruit i plan to grow then all i would really need to do is level off the pathways inbetween the pens and beds!!! saves clearing it all and the raised beds should make it easier on the back!!! i also need to build a perimeter fence as 2 sides of it border woods were anyone can roam so its going to be a busy few month although i cant wait to get going. i will be attempting to build this small holding with a budget of £0.00 i intend to pay for livestock and seeds only, i will chart my progress as i go along, maybe even supply some pictures to show what im upto along the way.

   watch this space
   sheppard

   Hope to be living the good life soon!!

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. m40mo
   Administrator

   pictures will be good, like a photo diary, you will need very good security fencing you dont want animal visitors, sure you already know about protecting the chickens but do you have deer near you, as lovely as they are they will eat your veggis,
   the flame throwers are very good, I have used one before and once you get a goat or 2 on there they will clear anything else for you
   not sure how you are going to build you raised beds but tractor tyres are excellent for this, maybe you could get some for free from a local farmer, or lorry tyres even,
   looking forward to following your adventure with you

   mo x

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. pinkpoultry
   Member

   I cannot stress enough the importance of a strong safe perimiter fence.

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. Sheppard
   Member

   The tractor tyres are a great idea that i hadnt thought of, i do have access to some square folding crates made form wood that you can stack to any height you like but this is a good chunk of land so it will take alot off raised beds, the more i put in the better as far as im concerned, ive decided to go with some livestock and mainly grow fruit as the father inlaw has an allotment and supplies plenty of veg so we can start to swap produce. i had a spare couple of hours today so went and made a start, the land backs onto a newly built housing estate and it seems all the rubble and waste from the site was thrown over onto my piece of field on completion so im gathering up lots of bricks and chunks of cement but it only seems to be on the surface and the soil underneath seems good quility, ive been told by a local that a guy kept goats-pigs and chickens on there in the past and ive uncovered part of a brick built pig house so happy days!!!!

   Hope to be living the good life soon!!

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. m40mo
   Administrator

   sounds good to me, don't through the rubble away it will make for good drainage in your raised beds and save on compost
   you might find this forum good to, Sally who runs it is also a member on here
   http://topveg.com/forums/

   mo x

   Posted 2 years ago #

9. admin
   Sara @ farmingfriends

   Hi Shepphard, don't know if I have welcomed you to the forum yet so welcome if not!
   Congrats on getting your land.
   You could keep pigs on the land once you have cleared it of anything dangerous as Mo says and any plants poisonous to pigs. the pigs would soon clear the land and fertilise the land too. You could get some weaners to fatten up if you are happy doing this. Some find it hard to take the pigs to slaughter when they are fattened up, so it depends how you feel about this, you could get some young gilts and let them grow on and then eventually you could breed from them. They would need shelter, a tin arc and straw bales, supply of water, a wallowing hole.
   You would need good fencing for pigs, although they can be trained to stay within an electric fence which could be run off a battery.
   Just an idea.
   Good luck with your smallholding.
   Kind regards
   Sara @ farmingfriends

   http://www.farmingfriends.com
   http://farmingfriends.com/shop/

   Posted 2 years ago #

10. Sheppard
    Member

    Hello again peeps, just to let you know im still around and havent been beaten by the extreme brambles yet!!!!!! Since last post ive been busy making an access point to my little plot, also got a good chunk of it covered in heavy duty black polythene to help sweat down some of the weeds ready for digging over, ive managed to get my hands on 30 x 8ft post to make a start on a fence thats needed down 1 side and a greenhouse is to be collected this weekend thats been donated to the cause!! Also ive collected lots of other wood/slabs and bricks and a 1000ltr ibc i will be using for water storage, had a nice fire aswell to dispose of alot of the branches and old growth thats piling up. so far my outlay is £0.00 which is great as i intend to do this without spending a penny!!!!! Next time i post i will try and add some pics so you can get a better picture of what im trying to do.
    laters
    Sheppard..

    Hope to be living the good life soon!!

    Posted 2 years ago #

11. gazzaroo
    Member

    hi sheppard.last year i took an allotment on it was and old unused one weeds up to waste,no fens no newt just weeds,so i got started with some help from my son and dad, we have made pollytunnels got second hand greenhouses and a lot of wood to make the veg beds. soon after starting we took on the plot next door. so we now have 30f by 100f plot ..we have hens and duck ..it the best thing we did..can you see my pic.s on my facebook if you like,,

    http://www.facebook.com/home.php

    Posted 2 years ago #

12. pinkpoultry
    Member

    Oh to have land, the dreams!!! :o) Good luck you guys!!

    Posted 2 years ago #

13. Mama
    Member

    Gary, the link doesn't work for me. Only brings up the FB page not your pics ? Mama

    Goose Girl

    Posted 2 years ago #

14. gazzaroo
    Member

    ooops try this one...my garden
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1219374931&sk=photos

    Posted 2 years ago #

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