Our little adventure into Permaculture and Organic Vegetable growing, starting with a small blank field that floods and making it into a Wildlife haven for birds, insects, amphibians and wild flowers, and at the same time providing our food. Learning as we go, leaning towards Permaculture methods, but not exclusively and adopting any ideas that seems helpful.
1/2 acre for the field part in the photo. Goes back about 10ft behind the chicken shed. There's alot missing on the left and right as the house window where the photo is taken from is almost in the middle. The house, back yard and small front garden sit on almost 1/4 acre. About 3/4 acre (just under) all in.
A very good size for a garden, but not large for a small 'farm'. I guess that's why you focus on selling plants etc on your stall, since less space is required per pound generated? It's ridiculous how much space is required to support someone in the farming industry, due to wafer-thin margins on food production.
Yes, no where near big enough to support yourself, let alone a family of 5 but what we are doing is growing enough to reduce our food bill (from £100 a week down to about £20 for a few months). By selling plants you can earn more than the crop can save you, plus when that plant doesn't sell you can try and sell the crop, then if that fails you can turn it (sometimes) into a different product such as chutney, jam etc and have another go at selling it in that form. What food doesn't sell (like Kale or Courgette etc) you can eat.
Eggs for example. We have 20 chickens, we sell enough to cover their cost (and a small profit), we eat some, and some then go into cakes, that we eat and or sell. Courgette plants I sell (between £3.50 and £5.00 - which is more than you'd get by selling the crop), what doesn't sell has gone into the ground, and then I sell the crop and eat some. This method just gives more chances at turning produce into money while at the same time reducing our food bill.
How big is your plot? I'm not sure from the picture where the boundary is.
ReplyDelete1/2 acre for the field part in the photo. Goes back about 10ft behind the chicken shed. There's alot missing on the left and right as the house window where the photo is taken from is almost in the middle. The house, back yard and small front garden sit on almost 1/4 acre. About 3/4 acre (just under) all in.
DeleteThe brown grass behind the chicken shed isn't ours, and the greenery to the left of the pergola is also not ours.
DeleteA very good size for a garden, but not large for a small 'farm'. I guess that's why you focus on selling plants etc on your stall, since less space is required per pound generated? It's ridiculous how much space is required to support someone in the farming industry, due to wafer-thin margins on food production.
ReplyDeleteYes, no where near big enough to support yourself, let alone a family of 5 but what we are doing is growing enough to reduce our food bill (from £100 a week down to about £20 for a few months). By selling plants you can earn more than the crop can save you, plus when that plant doesn't sell you can try and sell the crop, then if that fails you can turn it (sometimes) into a different product such as chutney, jam etc and have another go at selling it in that form. What food doesn't sell (like Kale or Courgette etc) you can eat.
DeleteEggs for example. We have 20 chickens, we sell enough to cover their cost (and a small profit), we eat some, and some then go into cakes, that we eat and or sell. Courgette plants I sell (between £3.50 and £5.00 - which is more than you'd get by selling the crop), what doesn't sell has gone into the ground, and then I sell the crop and eat some. This method just gives more chances at turning produce into money while at the same time reducing our food bill.