If i got a bit of agricultural land what could i do on it?

[southeast-isher]

If i got a bit of agricultural land what could i do on it?

[Flo]

Enough to go into small holding? Enough to do a market garden (and sell the stuff to yourself)?

[boboff]

Anything Agricultural, Horticultural or Forestry related would be fine. More than 11 acres and you can build sheds without planning.

You could have a picnic, or use it as a camp site for 6 weeks of the year.

You could also grow the grass long to encourage bees, then dance through it naked singing show tunes (I know I love this aspect!)

[southeast-isher]

ah ok so less than 11 acres and you need planning permission for a storage shed?

[southeast-isher]

i would love to start my own forest garden...

[boboff]

I think if its a Temporary shed that would be fine.

I would really recommend it, I have been doing it for 3 years, and it does take along time, but things are starting to shape up how I imagined them.

I am not really buying plants, just seeds, and this takes a long time, and a lot of failures with stratification etc.

The biggest thing I have learnt is when you have cleared ground either with matting or herbaside, you need to plant it up quickly.

Oh and Comfrey is your friend! I also love Jacobs ladder for ease of propogation, and I am not sure if this is right but it's meant to ward off rabbits, which is you plant some trees, you will need to do.

And if you speak to people don't call it forest gardening, call it permaculture or something else, planners don't get Forest Gardening.

[southeast-isher]

thanks boboff

this could be just the kind of project i need to do

[boboff]

http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/fgn2013ver1.pdf


Hi


The above link is all the gardens that are open, maybe visit a few locally and find out what is involved? Open through the agroforesty people that is, there may well be others!

Good luck.

It is funny, we made some picnic benches over the last couple of days from reclaimed wood, and second hand fittings, and sited them in the garden ( we made 2 doubles and 4 singles) so yesterday evening we sat on them, following the sun as it set across the garden, drinking wine, all idyllic etc for my wife, but on each bench we sat on I was updating my todo list for that part of the garden!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still overall it's a winner for me, feeling happy and achieving environmental impact in a good way!

[southeast-isher]

I have a couple of books on the subject but i can't see any section that covers looking for the right sort of land, with factors to consider, etc

is this something you could offer some advice on Boboff?

I am a bit of a beginner but i am assuming you want arable land, preferably without trees already established, in a relatively secluded location? a couple of acres?

[boboff]

Personally go with what you can get.

£5000 a ache is what you can expect to pay.

See what you can find what what money you have.

Recently South West Water auctioned of lots of there spare bits of land, something like that would be ideal.

The ground as always is a matter of whats available and what you can pay, south facing, gently sloped, rich slightly acid soil would be lovely, next to a road, with running water or a stream, all things that can add to the use and price, shelter from SW winds, not too high to be exposed, not to low to be in a frost pocket etc etc, but you will have to tailor your efforts to the plot you have so it is largely irrelevant.

The greener the land is to start the easier to get what you want established, but these is nothing stopping you expect hard work taking on a wooded area covered in weeds and brambles, it will just take longer to get what you want out of it.

I hope that is of some use, not really I know, but it really is a case of finding out what is best for you.... You might get a great bit of land, but it's 30 miles from home, to me, thats not a great bit of land.

[southeast-isher]

boboff... thank you so much! sounds like good advice.