Author Topic: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')  (Read 15896 times)

Sinbad7

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #20 on: August 15, 2010, 23:41:25 »
Welcome Daipie and congratulations on being able to follow your dream  I am sure many of us would like to be able to do what you are about to venture on.  So hope you keep us informed of your progress so we can all share your dream too, it has to be the next best thing.

I know you'll get loads of help and advice from this great bunch on A4A.

Good luck

Sinbad

artichoke

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #21 on: August 20, 2010, 08:59:48 »
I also, in an earlier life, had cow, pigs, geese, heavy horses, sheep and vegetable gardens etc - on a small scale, but I made butter and cottage/cream cheese and yoghurt, cooked the less popular bits of pig and so on. I found John Seymour very practical and helpful (though he does make things sound too easy sometimes....)

I had his paperback in the seventies, beautifully illustrated by his wife. All his books now seem to be glossy new editions, but I really liked the old paperback. If you can find it (that is, if you don't know it already), it is really useful and reassuring and practical. You can find all his other books on Amazon and similar.

One thing he recommended that I never managed to do, because our pigs were imprisoned in concrete pens (not my idea....) was to run pigs on bits of land you wanted cleared and manured. If you've seen pigs kept outside in small grassy areas, you can see what he means: instant mud patch, heavily manured, all weeds rooted out by their amazingly strong snouts. Obviously you need really strong fencing that is also moveable.

My daughter put a pig on her garden to clear it, with flimsy fencing - she should have known better, being brought up with them. The pig pushed it over one night and disappeared for ever.....


artichoke

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #22 on: August 20, 2010, 09:45:41 »
I've got the original book title now: "Self-sufficiency: the science and art of producing and preserving your own food" by John and Sally Seymour, 1973.

small

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2010, 18:11:49 »
We kept pigs the Seymour way, that book was invaluable to us, in fact it was when a colleague lent it to OH that we decided to move and 'smallhold'........I still reread it with pleasure although we now only have vegetables...and yes, the illustrations are wonderful.  If you can get a copy, Daipie, it'll see you through the long winter evenings!

Digeroo

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #24 on: August 20, 2010, 18:49:01 »
I would not take too long to think about planting fruit because it takes several years to  get a decent crop and so the sooner you get them started the sooner you will get a crop.  Strawberries are good, you get a small crop the first year and they taste so much better than bought ones.  Some of the supermarket sell fruit trees very cheaply if you are on a tight budget.

Three sisters is a bit of an issue. The original system was designed for leaving them be and harvesting them all in one go in the autumn.  So adapting it to sweetcorn and green beans present problem.  This is the first time in four years that I have not done one due to a problem with manure.  I have found that planting the squashes down the sides worked better for me.  They soon spread.  I only plant beans on the outside corns and make sure they stay with the same plant, it becomes something of a nightmare when the beans twine round all over the place.  Also do not choose a particularly heavy bean since they can pull the corn down.  My stands of corn are not so deep that I can not reach into the middle while still standing on the edge.   The squashes did very well indeed but I am not convinced that it was the best option for the corn.

I planted dwarf beans down the edges of the carrot rows and found this most satisfacrtory by removing the line of carrots closest to the beans first.  As the carrots were eaten the beans spread to fill the space. 

Siani

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #25 on: August 21, 2010, 08:44:39 »
Morning all.

I'm the fiancee (for a few more days) :-) We went and picked up the keys yesterday and had a wander down the garden with fresh eyes - now that we know it's ours! It's very overgrown, but there were so many bits and pieces to discover. Lots of work. Lots to clear if we want to change it around - but i'd say that a greenhouse being left behind with many bunches of grapes growing away inside made my day. Not to mention the fish pond, with fish - (i'll have to have words with my cat). And to break through the growth and spy two apple trees growing at the bottom of the garden was the icing on the cake. They need a bit of a helping hand - but they're there.

Anyway, as promised, here is the blog that we will keep updated so you can all see our progress. It'll be an added incentive to keep going knowing that you're out there waiting for the next update. We really can't wait to get on with it. We almost don't want to go away on honeymoon because we want to get stuck in - almost ;)

http://breuddwyd.blogspot.com/

Enjoy, and once again thank you for all of your wonderful advice. I've already started looking for the book you mentioned above.

Have a nice day all!

The Summers Family.

1066

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #26 on: August 21, 2010, 08:56:02 »
Hello Siani - and thanks for posting the link, I'll take a meander later  :)

Just to wish you all the best really, oh and have a great honeymoon  ;D

Spudbash

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #27 on: August 21, 2010, 18:10:09 »
And a wonderful wedding day!  :) :) :)

Jeannine

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #28 on: August 21, 2010, 18:44:54 »
Oh me too; I hope you have a smashing wedding

Is this our first A4A wedding?We need pictures of course.

I pray you have a long and happy life togethe, if you each put 50% in to a marruage it workd all the time.

The Summers Family, sounds real nice.

Just exactly what day is it you get married.

You have got a super spot, your description was like The Secret Garden.

XX Jeannine



When God blesses you with a multitude of seeds double  the blessing by sharing your  seeds with other folks.

pigeonseed

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #29 on: August 21, 2010, 21:54:56 »
Yes when's the big day?

I've seen the first blog post - good you remembered to take pictures straight away. It looks wonderful, you must be so excited!


1066

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #30 on: August 22, 2010, 11:15:37 »
I managed to have a look at the photos, and it was obviously, a while ago, a very much loved garden, so I'm sure there will be lots of finds and treasures hidden away there

1066  :)

Digeroo

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #31 on: August 22, 2010, 12:05:52 »
Welcome Siani.  Pictures look great.  Nice to have fruit crops already without having to wait years for them.  Weeds are a pain but do at least point to good fertily in the soil.  Someone used to love that garden and it will soon respond to being loved again.

Good luck with the wedding  We are all rooting for you. 




Siani

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #32 on: August 29, 2010, 20:23:23 »

And how about this for an allotment ;-) True, perhaps a little difficult to maintain.

We are currently in Hawaii (on Kauai, the Garden Isle to be exact) and the big day is on Tuesday. We are very excited - but also pining for our new house back home. So many things at once!

Also, ate Star Fruit yesterday. Yum! Doesn't taste quite the same in the UK.

Hope all of your allotments are doing well - and yourselves of course :)

From,

Siani & Daipie x

pigeonseed

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #33 on: August 29, 2010, 20:56:30 »
Hello! Good luck have a lovely day on Tuesday!

caroline7758

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #34 on: August 29, 2010, 21:05:10 »
Have a wonderful wedding. Just looked up your new home village and it's not far from where my brother lives in Ammanford- a lovely part of the world. Looking forward to following the blog. :D

1066

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #35 on: August 30, 2010, 08:05:43 »
Wow What a picture!!

Thanks for the update, and hope you have a wonderful day on Tuesday  :)

GrannieAnnie

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #36 on: August 31, 2010, 16:36:30 »
Oh, it is THE DAY!  Congratulations and happy honeymoon.
Your garden pictures are exciting. It almost would be a shame to let a pig root around in it since it might pull up interesting hidden plants.  We'll look forward to more photos!
The handle on your recliner does not qualify as an exercise machine.

asj

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #37 on: August 31, 2010, 16:38:36 »
Wishing you every happiness for the future  ;D ;D ;D
War on slugs and snails!!

Siani

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #38 on: February 14, 2011, 18:36:21 »
It's taken us long enough... but we're finally making headway. Married, moved in, made it through the winter with many house-related fiascos - now it's time for the garden to receive some attention in the form of a chicken coop and a herb garden for starters. The pond and bog garden will come later. Hello again all :-)

Updated at -- http://breuddwyd.blogspot.com

GrannieAnnie

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Re: Ein Breuddwyd (welsh for 'our dream')
« Reply #39 on: February 15, 2011, 14:33:47 »
Oh, it looks like a wonderful and exciting challenge! So glad you took beginning pictures and hope you continue documenting all the progress.
The handle on your recliner does not qualify as an exercise machine.

 

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