How much land would you want?

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How much land would you want?
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vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:30 am Post subject:
150 acres.

Green Rosie

Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:40 am Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

Quite a lot of meat off a duck too.

Especially Muscovies

john of wessex

Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 2130

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:51 am Post subject:
At on stage I had 1/3 of an acre, which would have been fine on my own but with a baby and a bone idle ex wife was a nightmare. Now I have much less, two more babies & a hard working wife and am very happy with my much smaller patch as it's managable. I suspect that it may be possible to work smaller areas harder with crops, and you have less weeding and watering to do.

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 9:52 am Post subject:

Couple of acres, bit of woodland, bit of grass, bit of veg garden.
Stream would be nice.
Outbuildings would be nice.
Bit of heather moorland would be nice.
Can I specify the soil types too? (Rich fertile, well drained loam, with a bit of clay in an unused area so I can make pots, and a chalky bit for lime loving plants, with some peaty areas for lime haters - and some wetland - unimproved flood meadow would be ace!)

Santa: Pm me and I'll give you the address to drop the deeds off!

eta: OH says a further 8 acres would be nice!

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 10:47 am Post subject:

About 10 acres I think would be a sensible amount. Only about 1 or 2 acres of that would be actively used for animals and crops the rest would be left as woodland. The rationale being that coppicing, foraging and other low level activities in the woodland would provide fuel and supplemental food and (IIRC) about 10 acres is needed to provide sufficient fuel for a household. Of course I may have misremembered that figure but nonetheless the principle would be to have a large amount of woodland and a small amount of actively used land.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 10:49 am Post subject:
I'm happy with what I've got.

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 10:50 am Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

I'm happy with what I've got.

Same here - more land = more hard work, there are only so many hours in a day.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 10:50 am Post subject:

john of wessex wrote:

At on stage I had 1/3 of an acre, which would have been fine on my own but with a baby and a bone idle ex wife was a nightmare.

Now I have much less, two more babies & a hard working wife and am very happy with my much smaller patch as it's managable.

I suspect that it may be possible to work smaller areas harder with crops, and you have less weeding and watering to do.

Oddly I've always found that larger areas are not proportionately that much more work, it takes just as long to dig quarter of an an acre as it does 5 rods, it's just that one is done by hand with a fork and one with a rotovator. Bigger areas require slightly bigger thinking but get a lot more in return.

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 11:19 am Post subject:
Depends a lot on wealth, health and how many people are committed. We have two acres with fruit trees, flower beds, veg garden, bees, chickens etc. which is just about what we can cope with. All fine if the weather's good, I'm not working and OH is well but for the other 50 weeks of the year there's usually something drifting into chaos!

T.G

Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Posts: 7280
Location: Somewhere you're not

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 12:24 pm Post subject:

Say around 300 .. some set purely to park land to gallop in about 100, cattle and sheep grazed� including a 150 acre wood areas managed to allow riding through and produce. The rest to farm land, growing crops and forage. Ideally several acres for a small market garden type affair for local people, produced sold as non-profit, veg boxes given to the elderly in the remote villages, set up on a community lead free basis.

We have a fair few acres less, sadly� but can make up for it with the Pennine bridleway

arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 1:51 pm Post subject:

Green Rosie wrote:

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?

Pretty sure thats acres.

ETA: There's lovely diagrams in his books of what he'd do with them

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 2:15 pm Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

I'm happy with what I've got.

On reflection I would also like to own the 50 acres of woodland opposite my patch.
Purely to manage as a natural environment & to keep the motor bikes out.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 2:33 pm Post subject:
In the not-to-distant future I shall probably be downsizing from an acre and a bit to practically nothing - not much more than a large courtyard garden. There is the possibility of another smallish bit of land that would make a perfect veg garden, but it won't be the end of the world if it doesn't happen. I am quite looking forward to the enforced idleness!

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 2:54 pm Post subject:
I knew there was a good reason to come to that last gathering. I am way behind on the gossip!

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 11 3:32 pm Post subject:
S'OK. This is breaking news!

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