learning to farm

[tsuzmir]

Hi all,
i grow bit of veg atm in a raised bed, have few pots indoors (chillies, cherry tom, etc.) and keep few hens in back garden. together with OH we made a plan to move from the city to countryside in next few years, get a house with 3-5 acres and before we do that i'd like to upskill on organic veg production as I am definitely lacking a theory and my crops would be hit and miss because of that. i am based in Ireland and what i found is an online course with Organic College in Limerick. i doubt anyone here would have heard of it, but i wonder what would be a general feel for doing a distance course with just few weekends down on the farm per semester. the principle is that you study and implement that on your own plot/garden/allotment. they are recommended by org trust and dept of agriculture and while their full time course is meant to be fantastic, i dont know what to think of distance course (cost of this 2 year long course is €600 pa)
i'm looking to get some opinions here and see if perhaps someone on here did something similar?
thanks

[Alison]

I learnt a lot from books and websites but I had a good base from watching my grandad as a child too. The rest was trial and error and practical experience. Some things worked but others didn't. It could work but difficult to know without any reviews. Are there any online testimonials / reviews you can find? Think I'd feel happier to splash out with recommendations. Is there nothing more local to you, even a local gardening group?

[bramble]

Hi there, is there nothing at all nearer home. Is there anybody with allotments nearby that might give you some helpful advice. Do you get any books from the library as they can be a mine of information. Are you growing purely to be self sufficent. If you are already growing some produce at home you are well on your way and just need a bit of experience. Dont do anything until youre sure about the course i Limerick.Hope all goes well for you.

[Guest]

The farm you are after is it a hobby farm selling surplus, backed by a day job or saving,s or is it to be your lively hood? If the latter I would look more into the markets you need to get into. Veg is one of the hardest to get right and make a profit (IMO) Focus for the farm might be fruit, preserves, table birds. Plan ahead and plan some more.

However, I have no issues with courses long distance or not but more often than not it is a personal thing and have different benefits for different people.

[Aberdeenplotter]

My advice would be to try to find a commercial organic grower in your locality and then volunteer to help there. You will learn more from that than you will from any distance learning course and it won't cost you anything either .

[Tiny Allotment]

I am not on my computer at the moment so it is difficult for me to add links etc but I would look up Spin Farming which stands for Small Plot INtensive Farming and also look up a guy called Curtic Stone. He has taken spin farming to another level. He is at the moment doing a week by week podcast going right through a season on the farm. He also rens an online course and has a book out.
As soon as I am on my computer I will post some links.
He is making a massive amount of money from small plots of land and he also focuses on marketing

paul

[ESBkevin]

I admire your intent and courage. Many of us would like the lifestyle but alas age prevents many of us from taking that step now.
I will add that planning is vital and marketing is critical. In an area of rural Ireland many people will already have a veg patch so you need to offer something extra like the 'weekly box' of seasonal veg delivered. That works for many growers but you must offer a year round option so planning is important even if you do a deal with another grower for some product at certain times of the year.
Have reserves, or easy access to such. There will be times particularly early on when something breaks, is inadequate for the task or you forgot to budget for. I can't tell you what that will be but it will happen so funds will be needed and in a hurry. Also expect the cash flow to be mainly out for the early days/months so again reserves.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket, have several income streams even if one seems the best have others running too. It might pay to knit your sheeps wool or make split hazel fences or do youtube diary updates or write a blog or sell 'holidays' to students at harvest time but you need income.

Look at the market and do the research, don't be afraid to try new things but beware cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Good luck and let us know how it goes on.

[Tiny Allotment]

Hi Tsuzmir

Can I ask what you and your wife do now for a living. It may be possible to carry on doing what you do now in a modified way that will give you an income base while you are transitioning to growing.

Even when you are in full production I would still carry on with other streams of income.

Paul

[Bill HH]

To make a living from farming unless you have a large farm is very very hard. I would certainly try to have another income stream if possible. When I was farming I made far more money from the value of our land going up than all the hard work i put in.

[Tiny Allotment]

To make a living from farming unless you have a large farm is very very hard. I would certainly try to have another income stream if possible. When I was farming I made far more money from the value of our land going up than all the hard work i put in.

Have a look at what Curtis Stone is doing on a very small amount of land. Land that he does not even own. He is earning a bloody good living on less that an acre.

paul

[veggiechicken]

I had a quick look for SPIN farming and couldn't make much sense of it. Profit seemed to be the main motive for SPINning - including paying to see what its all about. So I lost interest!
Some people want to move to the country, have a bit of land, grow their own fruit and veg and don't always need to make a profit.

[Scarlet]

^^^^ I just looked at it too! Seems he's getting profit from selling everything besides his squash. Also, their growing climate is very different to ours. Some friends oof mine in the US grow toms, they can harvest much earlier, get bigger crops etc. Follow on crops over summer, autumn - is all quite different.

[bearded bloke]

SPIN Farming stands for Small Plot INtensive Farming. But it isn’t a method of agriculture. It’s a business model.

......... Start Growing! Part 4: Have You Considered SPIN Farming?

[veggiechicken]

Thanks BB for the link. I watched one of the videos and decided my back wasn't up to bending double and straddling a row of veg. What a strange technique.

Give me Charles Dowding and his No-dig methods anyday - and he makes a living from it on a smallish plot.

[Scarlet]

Yep, he's just brilliant. I went to a talk he did a few years back. Really informative and a very nice chap too. He was selling salad bags.