How self Sufficient are you??

Kevhog1988

Just wondering how self sufficient are people?? Do any of you do the following??

• Rear your own animals for meat
• Grow your own veg
• Create your own fuel

At the moment I'm living in Manchester so I'm not very but parents at home have both there own veg plot and help out in a local community one so they get veg from that too. My exes father sends eggs out with my son every weekend so they dont buy them either. I am trying to convince them to get a lamb or two after xmas.

my3cents

1) Plan on becoming a vegan when SHTF However we do have an acre of land and keep chickens.
2) Yes but to be self sufficient will need to put a much bigger part of the garden over to veg
3) Could be as we have enough woodland nearby, not mine but I can take any fallen trees and could make more use of it. Yet we are self sufficient in fuel as I scrounge timber from all over, just come in from cutting up a load of scrap timber that was ripped out of an old hall and would have been dumped. If the winter is a cold one then for extra comfort we'll use some coal but wouldn't have to.

Sheep btw if you have never kept them can be a PITA!

Wood also heats the water and we could live off grid if necessary. Water would be the main concern but there is a local spring for good drinking water.

laoch na mona

not very, I grow my own veg but not in a big enough way, the heating in my house is run off a stove with a back boiler so the potential for fuel self sufficiency is there, however I'm in college and my mother and sisters don't share my willingness to scour the surrounding area for fire wood.

I'm hoping when I finish college I'll be able to do more to be self sufficient

aaakev

my3cents wrote: »

1) Plan on becoming a vegan when SHTF

Really???

PG.Tips

Had dinner today, our own home raised pork, and carrots, parsnips, leafy sprouts from the garden. Only thing on plate not home produced was the spuds!

We have Carrots,parsnips, Kale, sprouts and herbs in the garden. White and purple sprouting broccoli starting to crop soon.
Onions and Garlic stored in the shed.
Runner beans in freezer. Most of two pigs in the freezer.
Did have jam we made, but we've eaten it all :0

Would have some fish too, if I could catch some !

Kevhog1988

PG.Tips wrote: »

Had dinner today, our own home raised pork, and carrots, parsnips, leafy sprouts from the garden. Only thing on plate not home produced was the spuds!

We have Carrots,parsnips, Kale, sprouts and herbs in the garden. White and purple sprouting broccoli starting to crop soon.
Onions and Garlic stored in the shed.
Runner beans in freezer. Most of two pigs in the freezer.
Did have jam we made, but we've eaten it all :0

Would have some fish too, if I could catch some !

How much land is this from?? Some pics would be great. I would be more interested in self sufficiency than survivalism

PG.Tips

theemigrant wrote: »

How much land is this from?? Some pics would be great. I would be more interested in self sufficiency than survivalism

We have nearly 3 &1/2 acres, but most of that is field. The pigs take up little room, I guess I use maybe a 1/3 of an acre for the 2 pigs each year. The veg garden is again at the most a 1/3 of an acre.

Kevhog1988

PG.Tips wrote: »

We have nearly 3 &1/2 acres, but most of that is field. The pigs take up little room, I guess I use maybe a 1/3 of an acre for the 2 pigs each year. The veg garden is again at the most a 1/3 of an acre.

What do you do with the field??

my3cents

PG.Tips wrote: »

We have nearly 3 &1/2 acres, but most of that is field. The pigs take up little room, I guess I use maybe a 1/3 of an acre for the 2 pigs each year. The veg garden is again at the most a 1/3 of an acre.

A third of a acre sounds a lot less than it really is. Its a bit more than 1500 square yards. Then consider that a traditional allotment in the UK is 300 square yards so you have the equivalent of 5 allotments under cultivation.

Superdaddy

Currently on a small rented property but big plans ahead. Bought 5 acres and now building on it. Currently have hens, grow herbs, tomatoes and chillies in the conservatory. Onions, strawberries and more herbs in a raised bed. Make jams, sauces and alcohol. Shoot deer, goats, rabbits, duck and pheasants. Rear brioler chickens. Catch my own fish at sea from a kayak, had some lovely thornback ray at the weekend. Rarely buy meat and never buy fish. Make sausages, burgers, etc.
Most of my heating is from timber i source and cut myself.
Getting a herd of sheep and pigs next year and plan on a house cow in the future.

Kevhog1988

Superdaddy wrote: »

Currently on a small rented property but big plans ahead. Bought 5 acres and now building on it. Currently have hens, grow herbs, tomatoes and chillies in the conservatory. Onions, strawberries and more herbs in a raised bed. Make jams, sauces and alcohol. Shoot deer, goats, rabbits, duck and pheasants. Rear brioler chickens. Catch my own fish at sea from a kayak, had some lovely thornback ray at the weekend. Rarely buy meat and never buy fish. Make sausages, burgers, etc.
Most of my heating is from timber i source and cut myself.
Getting a herd of sheep and pigs next year and plan on a house cow in the future.

Have you any pics of the kayak setup? a cousin of mine does this in new zealand too.

Superdaddy

theemigrant wrote: »

Have you any pics of the kayak setup? a cousin of mine does this in new zealand too.

I am part of a club called the Irish Kayak Angling club. www.irishkayakangling.com/forum
All the info and pictures you could ever want are there. The Christmas Party and awards night is on in Ranelagh, Dublin on Saturday evening and there is a kayak demo on a Dublin beach on Saturday prior to the party. There's member in every county of Ireland and newcomers are well looked after and it is all free.

PG.Tips

theemigrant wrote: »

What do you do with the field??

Mainly it's grazed by our stroppy Pony! I have a good 1/2 acre that's fairly overgrown, that I haven't got around to tackling yet :0

Some I've planted with Apple trees. I've considered planting some of the field up with timber, but I'm undecided. Once it has trees established I've lost the option of grazing.
My fencing or lack of is a barrier to getting Sheep, which I've considered.

Fencing is so damn expensive. I'm looking to plant a double row of Hawthorn around some areas this winter, they're cheap (30 euro for 100). In four years that would be fairly stockproof.

PG.Tips

my3cents wrote: »

A third of a acre sounds a lot less than it really is. Its a bit more than 1500 square yards. Then consider that a traditional allotment in the UK is 300 square yards so you have the equivalent of 5 allotments under cultivation.

That's very true. I'm not sure my veg garden even is a 1/3 of an acre, I think the Haggard itself is that size, but I'm not using all of it.

PG.Tips

Superdaddy wrote: »

Currently on a small rented property but big plans ahead. Bought 5 acres and now building on it. Currently have hens, grow herbs, tomatoes and chillies in the conservatory. Onions, strawberries and more herbs in a raised bed. Make jams, sauces and alcohol. Shoot deer, goats, rabbits, duck and pheasants. Rear brioler chickens. Catch my own fish at sea from a kayak, had some lovely thornback ray at the weekend. Rarely buy meat and never buy fish. Make sausages, burgers, etc.
Most of my heating is from timber i source and cut myself.
Getting a herd of sheep and pigs next year and plan on a house cow in the future.

Sounds great.

You must be committed if you're considering s house cow!

my3cents

PG.Tips wrote: »

That's very true. I'm not sure my veg garden even is a 1/3 of an acre, I think the Haggard itself is that size, but I'm not using all of it.

I used to have an acre of walled veg garden, I used under half and a good chunk of that was over to soft fruit.

With less than 1/4 of an acre I could do most of the veg for several families excluding main crop spuds, found it better to grow what tasted good like first earlies and salad potatoes (like pink fir apple). Also had about 300 square yards over to asparagus

To do that area properly took about 2 days a week.

Superdaddy

PG.Tips wrote: »

Sounds great.

You must be committed if you're considering s house cow!

A good dexter cow should provide all the milk, butter, cheese and beef we need. Had considered goats but just don't like the milk, not worth having just for cheese and I can shoot feral kids (goats!) for meat when I want them. I like good food and don't mind working for it.

Kevhog1988

Superdaddy wrote: »

A good dexter cow should provide all the milk, butter, cheese and beef we need. Had considered goats but just don't like the milk, not worth having just for cheese and I can shoot feral kids (goats!) for meat when I want them. I like good food and don't mind working for it.

Im buying a kayak after watching your videos. Where do you shoot the goats out of interest? I love goat meat

Superdaddy

theemigrant wrote: »

Where do you shoot the goats out of interest? I love goat meat

I normally shoot them in the head

aaakev

theemigrant wrote: »

Im buying a kayak after watching your videos. Where do you shoot the goats out of interest? I love goat meat

Give away hunting ground location on a public forum??! Your mad!!

Kevhog1988

aaakev wrote: »

Give away hunting ground location on a public forum??! Your mad!!

General location was all i was wondering i.e. dublin mountains, wicklow mountains, Kerry etc. There were a lot of feral goats on a bog close to me in Kildare a few years back. I must check if there still there.

aaakev

theemigrant wrote: »

General location was all i was wondering i.e. dublin mountains, wicklow mountains, Kerry etc. There were a lot of feral goats on a bog close to me in Kildare a few years back. I must check if there still there.

ah yeah i get ya! I shoot them in co tipp the last few yrs. If they are around and you fancy bagging one r 2 ill gladly help out!

Kevhog1988

aaakev wrote: »

ah yeah i get ya! I shoot them in co tipp the last few yrs. If they are around and you fancy bagging one r 2 ill gladly help out!

Certainly, ill check over xmas. I used to chase them on the pony for the craic but the farmer wasnt too happy about me jumping the hedge into his lamd ðŸ˜ðŸ˜