12 acres - what could be done?

getmeout

Hi,

Long time reader, first time poster.

OK so I am thinking of purchasing 12 acres of land around my house, 4-5 acres is poor, low lying, fairly wet land, the remainder is good dry land, the majority of it is south facing.

I was thinking of planting the low lying areas with willow or similar fast growing tree's and coppice them on rotation.

Now what to do with the rest of the land to try and make some money from it (if thats possible). I was thinking of planting turnips, potatoes etc for selling at local markets.

Any of you wise folk on here got any suggestions or experiences?

I love hard work and have access to any machinery I need.

Looking forward to your ideas.

lakill Farm

where in the country are you?

getmeout

Midlands, cavan-longford border area

johngalway

getmeout wrote: »

Now what to do with the rest of the land to try and make some money from it (if thats possible). I was thinking of planting turnips, potatoes etc for selling at local markets.

Look up which veg makes the most profit, not all veg is equal in inputs and end value or desirability, some are plain not worth the time unless on a big scale as you'll make a loss. Also think of investing in or DIYing a polytunnel to extend your growing season and the actual plants you can grow. There is a fair bit of info out there in Google-land.

No6

Don't plant willow in wet areas if you are considering commercial harvesting as it done in winter and the machines get stuck in wet ground!!, its sound if you are doing it by hand:eek:

foxylock

If you have access to machinery, why not drain the wet portion then you will have 12 good acres to start with.