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How much land would you want?
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Marches



Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Posts: 171
Location: Nr Peak District, England
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 12:29 am    Post subject: How much land would you want? Reply with quote
    

How much land would your ideal plot consist of?

I'am lucky enough to have a large garden despite living in the suburbs, it's half an acre but my neighbour has 1 and a half acres for a garden which I'm secretly jealous of.

The land me and my folks rent is just under ten acres and we use it for growing some crops and sub-rent some to the dairy farm next door.


Ideally though I'd just have around 2 or 3 acres really, I think that is enough for any body unless they intend to farm on a commercial basis.

A area of potatoes, brassicas, root veg, soft fruits, compact fruit trees, rhubarb, hazel trees for the nuts and oats is my idea of a good plot. Of course you may not be able to get full self sufficiency on a smaller plot, but at least you're largely there.


One problem in the countryside is wasted land, especially by people from cities just buying up rural property for the views and tranquillity whilst leaving the land to go to waste or under utilising it.

Another problem in my opinion is the horse craze which wastes a lot of land and pushes land prices and rent up for everyone else, especially us folks who actually want to use the land productively!


So anyway, what is the ideal size of a plot to you and what sized plot do you already have?

A useful online measuring tool someone else originally posted on here can be found here:
https://www.freemaptools.com/area-calculator.htm

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

pends

none or lots depends how it is used

Marches



Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Posts: 171
Location: Nr Peak District, England
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dpack wrote:
pends

none or lots depends how it is used


Well the idea is that you state how much and what it is / would be used for.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

my first thought was how many cows could it support in a strip grazed meadow system

sorry

domestic .5 acres including 1 of garden ,1 of useful trees ,3 of grazing/ hay

pannage ,forage ,and fuel from the common

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 3:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

When we moved her we thought an acre would be ideal....
now we would really like 7.
Ideal plot would have a small wood and some sort of stream....

Andrea



Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have around 11 ha. The forest land is underutilised at the moment, but we have plans for it all.

Behemoth



Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 8:04 am    Post subject: Re: How much land would you want? Reply with quote
    

Marches wrote:


One problem in the countryside is wasted land, especially by people from cities just buying up rural property for the views and tranquillity whilst leaving the land to go to waste or under utilising it.


That Capability Brown has a lot to answer for.

mochyn



Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have 3 acres and that's just about right, I think, for what we do. we've had pigs for some years now, but they're going, leaving poultry and ducks as well as fruit cage, polytunnel, veg garden, two greenhouses, flower beds and orchard. the pigs' top field will become (hopefully) a forest garden and we'll leave their woodldand to regenerate and see what's there before we do anything with it. I wouldn't mind a few acres of woodland though, for firewood and to let go.

woodsprite



Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 2943
Location: North Herefordshire
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 8:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We used to have almost 5 and on that we had a large veg garden, fruit cages, polytunnel, 4ewes 1ram(and lambs for 6 months) 2 cows, 2 sows (and their litters), hens ducks and geese in the yard. We managed the land very carefully and always had enough grass even managing to make a bit of hay a couple of years.
I'd have 5 acres again.

Green Rosie



Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:
When we moved her we thought an acre would be ideal....
now we would really like 7.
Ideal plot would have a small wood and some sort of stream....


SNAP!!

We have 0.8ha but would really love double that + a woodland for firewood and to allow the pigs to roam in and a little stream for water power.

Nicky cigreen



Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9702
Location: Devon, uk
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

there is never enough land - however much you have, a lil bit more would be nice.

we have 2 acres, in which we have 2 greenhouses, 7 12x28 ft veg beds + 2 smaller ones, a fruit bed, some outbuildings, a pig run big enough for 3-4 pigs, 2 chicken runs, a duck run, a small newly planted orchard, and we have 4 sheep (and another one being companion to someone else's ram elsewhere). and we have raised turkeys from poults. We mostly keep ourselves in meat and veg.
So far we have kept ourselves in firewood with donations and our hedging efforts (hedges were neglected for some years)

I'd like a bit more grazing, and a small woodland please. actually we planted a strip of the land where it is boggy for coppicing but its some way off. I'd like a mature woodland added to our land please.

so i reckon a total of 5 acres would do us nicely.

arvo



Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Seymour recommends 1 or 5 doesn't he?

Though I remember on here a while ago there being some dicussion on how much land it was possible to feed a family on. Can't remember what the outcome was.

Green Rosie



Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

arvo wrote:
Seymour recommends 1 or 5 doesn't he?

Though I remember on here a while ago there being some dicussion on how much land it was possible to feed a family on. Can't remember what the outcome was.


Is that acres or hectatres?

earthyvirgo



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'd like enough land to be largely self-sufficient in soft fruit and veg, to have a small orchard and to be able to keep the 'eating' garden largely separate from my shrubs and flowers.

I think I'd like ducks but not sure I could justify that until I was confident I'd be able to kill one if I had to.

EV

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ducks are easy to kill. Same as a hen only a stronger pull (and hold the legs nearer to the body).
Quite a lot of meat off a duck too.

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