Spring has Sprung - The Good Life

Three Generations of the Good Life

First Blog

This is a new blog about the progress my family make living together.

We are an extended family of 6, with 3 generations. Myself (Tammy) my husband (Mark) our two children (Hazel 14 and Jack 11) and my parents (Adrian and Lynda) together we would like to be as self sufficient as possible,  enjoy life to the full, not be a slave to work, being self employed and having all the benefits that living together will bring.

Growing Veg Again!!

With warmer longer days now here I am enjoying my time back outside again, before with the shop, it did not allow me the time to spend doing other things that I enjoy and I think it is really important to have lots of hobbies and interests rather than just one and unfortunately with the time I had to dedicate to the shop that is what it was like, I lived and breathed it, sometimes not even having enough time to make jewellery!!

Now tho, I can divide my time up and depending on the weather and if I have an event to attend, will depend on what I decide to do.  This way I get to enjoy the things that make me happy.  And also the things I believe are important, I believe people need to learn how to look after themselves by feeding themselves etc, this way with any luck we can teach the next generation the skills that one day (maybe in the not so distant future) they will need to survive.

Moving to my parents smallholding has enabled me to start growing vegetables again, and as I spent 4 years nearly working for a small farm shop in Surrey, it is something I really enjoy, especially when growing for myself and my family as its very theraputic and rewarding and in an odd way I find it very relaxing!!

However as there are no established veg plots here, I have alot of hard graft ahead of me (and Mark) together we have spent alot of time removing the many conifer trees, that have been very strangely placed around (some are very close to the house which are blocking out alot of light), the original plan was to put the vegetable plot in their place, but this would take too long as the tree roots need to be removed and the soil condition would be bad, we wouldn't end up with enough time to grow anything! so we came up with a plan to use a patch of grass which is flat clear of weeds and Dad is sick of mowing!!

And so today I dug our first bed! I would like to make the area (which is about 15mx7m) into a very pretty cottage garden with little grass paths between 1.8mx3m beds and arches (with beans and sweet peas etc) going over the path ways.  This year we will dig between 4 and 6 beds to start with and if we find we need more then we will dig them as and when.  I dont believe in using machinery for this job on this scale, a turf cutter does not take enough away and a rotovator does not go deep enough.  So I have gone for the remove the turfs, dig a trench, turn the turf upside down (grass down) in the trench and cover with soil from the next trench technique.

I half expected to get so far down and find it was tarmac, but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the soil.  For now I have covered it with a tarpaulin, so that when it rains it doesnt get too wet and also to help warm it up a bit, ready for planting.

At the weekend I finished clearing out an old greenhouse, which Dad had started, and Jack help me to sow spinach, brassicas, broadbeans, spring onions and leeks, but as it is still a bit chilly, I wrapped them all up warm in bubble wrap. A few weeks ago I sowed the tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and basil, so far the basil and a couple of varieties of tomatoes have germinated, but altho they are on my lounge window sill it may be a little cold for the Italian varieties.

Our front garden we are going to make into another cottage garden with a mixture of soft fruits and flowers/shrubs. Mum has tried hard to keep the weeds at bay and we now have hundreds of primroses and snow drops appearing.  Mark layed the hedge alongside the drive so this should help to allow a bit more light to cover the bed and he has also planted willow around the edge, he also plans to plant willow along the field fence line to create a barrier from the wind (a living fence) and a screen, this we will then be able to harvest once a year and have a go at basket making.

We are hoping with all this effort (including the planned polytunnel) will mean we can comfortably feed ourselves with the majority of our fruit and veg needs for all 6 of us, all year round and as Mum and Dad like to entertain family and friends and we will too (something that also got neglected) we should have plenty for that too.  Once the whole area is in production we should also have surplus which we can take to markets etc.

We have lots of plans for the future, we would like to be able to use the barn for workshops and eventually be able to have an open gallery, which would be great for selling our surplus fruit and veg!  We will be getting chickens soon and hopefully eventually a couple of goats as I love goats cheese, we may even get into making it and selling it at market along with chocolates! And preserves from the veg patch (I used to make jams, chutneys and curds and sell them to the farm shop). We may even get into cut flowers.  As well as being self sufficient with some of our food we would also like to do the same with our energy, we are looking into renewables at the moment and deciding what is best for our situation and budget.

I am in my elliment! And cant wait for the summer to arrive and hopefully this year we will have a good summer and I can change my skin colour from the very scary white back to the golden glow I used to have.

However tomorrow and Thurday it is due to rain, so I will be back in my workshop making new stuff ready for Market on Friday (Tiverton Pannier Market) and Saturday (Taunton Blackdown Hills Business Association) which as it is Mothers Day on Sunday I am hoping will be busy.

Jack's Comments

As a young boy I'm begining to do more activities like wittleing, climbing trees and gardening. As I have a dog I have to interact with her, once a day I walk her and sometimes feed her. As I have a father who is very artistic he has incuraged me to paint. I am also a musician because I learn the Ukelele(Finally).