Any Tom and Barbaras out there living GOOD LIFE

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When we come back to England we are talking about the possibility of doing a 'good life' type thing ( thought not in surburton!! and DH would keep his job)DH has been reading about commercial farming etc.

Anyone doing it? Reccomend a good book to give an insight into what its really like etc? Give me an idea what might be the best way to start - it would have to be a really slow build up as we have no experience

TIA

no one got chickens then?

Someone on here has chickens,but I read yesterday about her letting them out and feeding them.Ummmm....Hunkermunker maybe?

You might find this downshifting website useful?

Oh, I would love a pig

I have Rhubarb, Strawberries, Potatoes, chives, rosemary and radishes in my garden. All in very small amounts but they are there. Can I join.

no im more of a margo

where I am in the states our 'yard' is the size of a hanky - I like the idea of fruit - raspberry bushes, strawberries etc. of course tomatoes.

Malory - how much space do you need for a pig? Are you planning to eat yours? Whats the time frame form piglet to sausage?

soory - add brain again...stopped in the middle of my post - I don't intend to do any of this with hanky sized yard - meant to finish with ...looking forward to beiing back in england with a reasonable garden

We have a veg plot and loads of toms and peppers and herbs. Do lots of free fruit picking nad jam making too. Love it but tis lots of hard work too.

I'm a sort of semi Barbara.I grow a lot of our fruit & veg & will grow even more when my poly tunnel is finished.Always go fruit picking & make jams,chutneys ect.Have no animals or hens yet.But I suspect that in the end,we'll end up with a small holding somewhere.

If you do go for livestock,be prepared for early starts in all weathers,no days off & very few holidays.I grew up on a farm & although it was great fun,my parents never had a day off,apart from 1 weeks holiday a year,18 hour days are the norm during lambing & harvesting.

There is quite a lot of red tape attached to animal husbandry too,cattle have to have 2 tags & a passport to move them anywhere off your land.I'm not sure about pigs,as we haven't had them for years.

Can you get hold of any magazines where you are?Farmers Weekly is quite helpful & there are quite a few small holding magazines about.They would give you an idea of what costs are involved ect.

If you have any questions,I'll be glad to help.

I have hens.. my seven lovely ladies. A selection of rare breed ones for their wonderful blue eggs or deep chocolate ones.

I grow lots of my own veg in the garden too. I bake everything from scratch pretty much due to dd2having dairy allergy that way she doesnt feel left out.

I have an eating apple tree, and a neighbour's tree overhangs our garden and provides us with cooking apple windfalls! (What we dont get the hens scoff).

We have a lot of fruit bushes and I make jam from that. I freeze the Blackberries whole and use those in deep midwinter as a treat.
We are getting a couple of pigs next Spring.. cant wait.

I live in town but pine for the countryside and a lovely old farm.