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Post by thereth on Jan 7, 2016 19:04:22 GMT 10
Hey Everyone,
This thread is here so I can catalogue me and Mrs Reths progress in transforming our new 5 acre place into our own little self sufficient prepper stronghold. Mrs Reth has come leaps and bounds in terms of her desire to prep and we are both keen to learn more about and start participating in food production, animal rearing, increased security of our home, more firearms practice and just general things to help us in case something goes awry in the world. Obviously our main concern in the medium term is to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible but we do not intend to begger ourselves in the progress.
We finally have the settlement date booked as 1st Feb, the current owners are giving us permission to start work on the outside before settlement so I will be attending hopefully this weekend and getting pictures :-)
My first aim is to get a small tractor to perform the general firebreaks, cleaning as well as land preparation and the like. I have a couple to look at this weekend but wont be rushing to hard to buy one until I find the right one. 5 acres may not seem like a lot of room compared to some other BOL and retreats but we feel it is large enough for us :-)
Will update this thread as i get photos and more information and projects start. If anyone has any suggestions at any time pleae elt me know, that is half the reason I have this up as a lot of you fine people are far more experienced than I am and I am happy to take suggestions and comments on board
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stubbs
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Post by stubbs on Jan 7, 2016 19:11:24 GMT 10
Good luck Reth, hope you and the Mrs enjoy the journey !
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Post by jo on Jan 7, 2016 21:38:49 GMT 10
Five acres sounds perfect for those who are new to "living off the land" good luck, I'll be interested to see your progress as I too am embarking on a project of maybe two acres (by myself) starting this year....... Wish you well
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Post by Peter on Jan 7, 2016 21:42:59 GMT 10
Sounds great.
One important question - is your property flat or sloping? My father in law has a sloping few acres and found a problem with his tractor wanting to tip over as he turned it. He had to buy a new tractor.
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Post by Fractus on Jan 8, 2016 5:00:27 GMT 10
My suggestion is to plan out on paper what and where you want your different projects. If you have an orchard is it in a good spot? Are the chickens and vege garden in positions that are convenient to the house. What is a good way to fence so you get maximum fox protection with out building lots of seperate yards, where should gates be. This will avoid double doing things. Learned from my own mistakes here on 12 acres
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 8:18:13 GMT 10
Perhaps enrolling in a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) would eliminate a lot of costly mistakes in developing your property??
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Jan 8, 2016 8:42:54 GMT 10
Good luck with it all reth. We moved out to a block last year and are loving it so far. Will be good to see what you do with place
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gasman
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Post by gasman on Jan 8, 2016 10:20:41 GMT 10
Good luck
It's great fun and very rewarding but lotsa hard work
Agree with Fractus:you need and overall plan and look at lots of options
Even then you end up changing and redoing things as your needs change and you find what works for you in your climate
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Post by thereth on Jan 8, 2016 15:50:21 GMT 10
will you be living on this property? Yeah frost. This is our home as well :-) |
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Post by prepette on Jan 8, 2016 19:37:00 GMT 10
Sounds great - can't wait to see pics and hear about your journey
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2016 8:07:23 GMT 10
Nothing like having your own plot of land!!!
Enjoy my friend!!
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Post by thereth on Jan 28, 2016 17:00:28 GMT 10
so small update, Settlement is "tentatively" set for Monday @ 12.15, just need to make sure the sellers settlement agent is free and booya!
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Post by jo on Jan 28, 2016 21:15:33 GMT 10
Good luck
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Post by thereth on Feb 2, 2016 17:42:21 GMT 10
GOT THE KEYS!!! finally!!!!
Will be finishing the move this week and the clean of the old place next week, after that it is all done it will be all go getting the ground prepared!!
In saying that the father-in-law recommended putting in a kill-room/cutting room for my meat produce. I will take some photos when I get a chance of where her recommends putting it and would like to get you guys input.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2016 17:48:13 GMT 10
Congratulations Reth! Enjoy the journey, you'll never regret it (says she who dreams of it lol) Love the idea of a kill-room/cutting room  |
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Post by Peter on Feb 2, 2016 19:26:50 GMT 10
Fantastic news Reth. Great stuff.
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Feb 2, 2016 21:26:25 GMT 10
Perhaps enrolling in a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) would eliminate a lot of costly mistakes in developing your property?? I second this, even if its just watching some permaculture videos online. While I don't have much use for it now (living in an apartment in an Asian city), I hope to do a permaculture design course somewhere in Aus this year, in preparation for when we finally move back to Aus and have a few acres of our own. From the videos I've seen so far, there are many 5 to 10 acre properties around that are almost fully self-sufficient in terms of fruit, veg, energy etc, all designed using permaculture principles, and which need a minimum of maintenance after initial development. |
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Post by SA Hunter on Feb 2, 2016 21:59:57 GMT 10
Mate, I am jealous!!!!!
But, will keep looking for my patch of dirt/paradise!!!!
Look forward to the updates, and the photos of the kill room.
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Post by thereth on Feb 2, 2016 22:06:31 GMT 10
I would love to do a PDC but the idea of taking 2 weeks off work is daunting, I have my own busienss with contracts that have strict SLAs so I cant take time off at any time of the year :'-(
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gasman
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Post by gasman on Feb 3, 2016 7:00:58 GMT 10
GOT THE KEYS!!! finally!!!! Will be finishing the move this week and the clean of the old place next week, after that it is all done it will be all go getting the ground prepared!! In saying that the father-in-law recommended putting in a kill-room/cutting room for my meat produce. I will take some photos when I get a chance of where her recommends putting it and would like to get you guys input. Kill /butcher/ process area is on our list Do pigs sheep and venison regularly and the occasional cow Need power water lotsa lotsa bench space Hanging and block and tackle Band saw mincer sausage making and containers for meat and mixers all take room Fly proof hanging area also needed Properties I have hunted on have these and makes the job a lot easier |
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