Inherited a Farmhouse and little scared !!!!!

[areia]

im so sorry to hear about you dad my sympathies sent to you and your family

but wow as everyone else has said how lucky are you, people hear are very freindly and there is tons and tons of advise you can pick up from here,
wont repeat what others have said, all i can say is, yes it will be a mammoth task, there will be problems, you may well want to give it up, but you must persiver, as the rewards once you have achived your goal will be so satisfing and im sure you will do your father proud, try not to look at everything as a whole start small, the fields will look after themselves for a time and will most likely do the ground good, there will be times when you have failed crops and you will want to be pulling your hair out, do a plan make lots of lists and put what is most important at the top, and tick off as you go along, there will be delays and things unepected will crop up (pardon pun ) once its done though you can look back and say "i did this" and it will feel great, i wish you all the luck and welcome to the forum

[gemlady]

Hi Bully-Bonce. Sorry to read your Dad has passed away, but sounds like he has left you a wonderful inheritance. Can't add much to what's already been said, but I suppose a lot will depend on how much time you have available (if you are working or have children), just don't try to do it all at once. Good Luck.

I can certainly concur about the geese though!

[Bully-Bonce]

Oh my gosh ! Thanks to everyone for all the great support ... got pleanty of ideas and as Alice and a few others mentioned I need to write down a list of my goals with the house & land. Our main concern is the house but I will get plenty of ideas from this site and start by doing a little bit whilst it is summer with looking at soil and what type of veg's to grow etc No harm in starting them now. I have a small stable block with a big heap of horse manure and people tell me the dung is very good for plants and trees etc.
... I will put my location on the site as also mentioned.

......... AGAIN THANKS A BUNCH TO EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bully-Bonce]

Hi Rat, thanks for your comments ... I was looking at veg, eggs and other growing produce for just my family really and never really thought about selling from the farm. with a full time job I dont think I will have the time or energy. Do you sell yours full time from home and farmers market ? My in-laws have a farm shop selling thier own meats and I help to sell at the farmers market a few miles away. Depending on how I get on when I start my veggy patch I may look at selling etc ... but as they say 'it's food for thought !' My dad did have a few hens years ago in a wooden hut but as we live in the middle of woodland we are prone to badgers and foxes, they used to find a way into the pens to kill the hens so free range is probably out of the question I think ! Tell me more bout your garden/land etc ?

[Bully-Bonce]

Hi Hilary B .... You mentioned goat/s ... do you have one ?

[percy charlie]

i would so love a farm house and land, oh the growing potential. grow what you like to eat and what freezes well that you like, so you can have home grow in winter and out of season. if it were me, i would use the following, 1 acher for a fruit tree orchard for apples, pears, cherries, nectrines, apricots, peachers, damsons, plums, 1-2 achers for fruit bush orchard growing the following, raspberries summer and autumn, currents black, red, and white, gooseberries red and green, goji berries, blackberries, sun berries, logan berries, tay berries, japenese wine berries, blue berries cranberries, i would also put rhubarb in here and strawberries in a boarder all around the edges of each fruit acher. most of these freeze well for pies, crumbles or fruit salads even jam or wine making is another possibility as with selling or supplying local restaurants. 3 achers i would grow veg in and grow potatoes, carrots, parsnips, spring, shallots and normal onions, leeks, beetroot, jeruselum artichoke, asparagus, cabbages, caulis, broccalis, cellery, beans lettuce, radishes and other salad veg, peas most of these if diced up freeze for dinners and soups or pickel, the last acher i would put in some green houses for toms, cucumbers, peppers, chillies, and growing seeds ie beans and peas before planting out then the rest i would devote as a relaxation garden with some flowers orniments, but thats just me, it may give you some ideas though, i do grow most of the fruit in pots as got a concrete garden i cant dig up and tatties are not hard to grow i do it in pots, just have to keep earthing them up and they can be grow nearly all year round. just remember to succesional so a few weeks apart so everything not all ready at once and more managable to prevent bolting asvwell, fruit net is a good investment. also make your own compost for sowing your seeds will save a fortune hope this helps, all the best good luck percy charlie

[Bully-Bonce]

Hi Bully Bounce

Sorry to hear about your dad.

And as many have said: What an inheritance!
If you want to get hens, have you looked at adopting ex-bats? Hilary mentioned them as well.

Here's the website to the battery hen welfare trust. You get to help hens that are perfectly good to carry on living (and laying eggs)!
They give loads of info and help.

Best of luck. keep us updated!
(btw - yes, geese ARE better at guarding than dogs)

Thanks Princess for the wedsite .. will have a scout on it !!!

Bully-Bonce


''The best students get the hardest lessons''

[Bully-Bonce]

i would so love a farm house and land, oh the growing potential. grow what you like to eat and what freezes well that you like, so you can have home grow in winter and out of season. if it were me, i would use the following, 1 acher for a fruit tree orchard for apples, pears, cherries, nectrines, apricots, peachers, damsons, plums, 1-2 achers for fruit bush orchard growing the following, raspberries summer and autumn, currents black, red, and white, gooseberries red and green, goji berries, blackberries, sun berries, logan berries, tay berries, japenese wine berries, blue berries cranberries, i would also put rhubarb in here and strawberries in a boarder all around the edges of each fruit acher. most of these freeze well for pies, crumbles or fruit salads even jam or wine making is another possibility as with selling or supplying local restaurants. 3 achers i would grow veg in and grow potatoes, carrots, parsnips, spring, shallots and normal onions, leeks, beetroot, jeruselum artichoke, asparagus, cabbages, caulis, broccalis, cellery, beans lettuce, radishes and other salad veg, peas most of these if diced up freeze for dinners and soups or pickel, the last acher i would put in some green houses for toms, cucumbers, peppers, chillies, and growing seeds ie beans and peas before planting out then the rest i would devote as a relaxation garden with some flowers orniments, but thats just me, it may give you some ideas though, i do grow most of the fruit in pots as got a concrete garden i cant dig up and tatties are not hard to grow i do it in pots, just have to keep earthing them up and they can be grow nearly all year round. just remember to succesional so a few weeks apart so everything not all ready at once and more managable to prevent bolting asvwell, fruit net is a good investment. also make your own compost for sowing your seeds will save a fortune hope this helps, all the best good luck percy charlie

Thanks Percy Charlie ....Oh my gosh you certainly know your stuff !!! I have printed off everyones suggestions and writting them down. The only other thing with my land is that as we have a stable block at the bottom of the field, several horses that use the stable are out in the field especially in summer. I may eventually look into getting hubby to fence off a large-ish section for my fruit/veg's etc. Thanks for your bundance of info ! Bully-Bonce

[Hilary B]

Hi Hilary B .... You mentioned goat/s ... do you have one ?

Not at the moment (not for a few years now) but I have kept goats. For about 16 years we were never without at least a couple, and at one point numbers got up to about 20 (which was getting a bit silly).

[denise]

Hi bullybonce,

Just found this thread and read it through with interest, lots of ideas and information came your way, what great project - sad circumstances.
I wondered how you was doing and how things had moved on, I am sure everyone would love an update. X

[rustylady]

Hi bullybonce,

Just found this thread and read it through with interest, lots of ideas and information came your way, what great project - sad circumstances.
I wondered how you was doing and how things had moved on, I am sure everyone would love an update. X

Hi Denise. Just read your post and wondered why you had resurrected this thread. Bullybonce hasn't visited the Vine or posted since 2008, so I doubt very much that you will get a reply.

[denise]

Ok rusty just thought maybe still around - thanks for the info x

[lindyloo]

Very sorry to hear about your loss, but can't help but wish i was in your current situation. I think as others have said, do what is necasary and write lists/ prioritize.

I would start out slowly and small, and then in time the things you enjoy, or which are most productive, will fall into place naturally. Probably, as others have said, get fruit trees and bushes planted now, and beds prepped for next year. If you are having hens, then i would start with only 3 or 4, as in my experience, they dont lay as much in the winter, so there is no point in feeding a lot of them. If you want to have some poultry, and you have the courage and strength of heart to do it, ( i wouldn't) I would think that turkeys might be a good option as a money spinner. Also, a couple of pigs might be an option, they aren't that hard work, and could clear any overgrown areas for you as well.

Do you know the nieghboring farmers very well- because if you do, I think they are the ones to talk to, about what is best money spinner for your area, and they will know the land too, and what it is best suited for.

And also, I think you would have to be clear about whether you wanted to really farm, or whether you want a self- sufficient lifestyle. Do you want to go into food production with livestock, and all it entails, or keep a few animals for your own usage. And do you want to be active in running the farm, or not. As you already have horses there, I guess as liveries, it might be that that is your best area as a moneyspinner- maybe expand the facilities to take in more liveries, and hire out crosscountry course etc.

And then there is the land management- it might be better financially, to lease out the outlying land to a nieghboring farmer. These are all things which you would probably need to consider.

[lindyloo]

oh- sorry- just noticed the date of this thread. I wonder what happened in the end?