Dominic Allen

yeah, avalanche lily, so beautiful and good food for bees!

Wall finished and horse manure ready to be put in polytunnel beds, going to need a lot more but it's a start!

kay fox wrote:You have a wonderful place and the hard work you have put into it certainly shows.  We can't wait to see all you do with it.  Tell us about the community around you.  Have you met the people, what sort of industry is there, do you plan to sell any of your food commercially, etc.  I'll never visit Ireland but I can see it through your eyes.  

Hi Kay, thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement!

The community is nice Kay, I've only been here a few months really, but there are a lot of farmers around who are really helpful with the use of machinery, pointing me in the right direction for a trades man and a source for manure for the garden etc. I am still trying to find some permies around here but I know it's just a matter of time!

No I don't plan on selling commerically kay, I just focusing on becoming as self sustaining as possible. Not 100% , as a) it's very close to impossible and b) besides physical sustancne etc I'd like to trade and interact and support the community as much as possible, so if there's things I can afford to buy in or hire,, locally , I will to support the community and build relationships and friendships etc.

That being said, I am planning on growing mushrooms too, so If i have a surplus of veg and food and mushrooms , I will definitely consider selling locally. But I also will always try to balance out with peace of mind, I don't want stress!! lol

The local town has about 5000 to 6000 people, so relatively small but it has everything you need , in terms of hardware stores, socialisation, supermarkets etc . But it's also small enough to feel homely. Its by the sea so fishing , tourism, farming etc  would be big industries here. But the farming generally speaking would be a lot of small scal farms with people maybe having 30 head of cattle kind of thing .

I live 10 mins drive from the local town, so I have plenty of seclusion ! yaay!

You never know, maybe one day you'll end up over in Ireland for a visit and I can show you the local traditional music and food!

Nancy Reading wrote:Looking good!

I have polytunnel envy - mine is still waiting a replacement cover.

What are you hoping to grow in there this year?

Tips: think about watering. I have a leaky hose system that I can turn on and forget for a few hours. Also ventilation - it can get very hot in there on a sunny day.

O yeah forgot to say, thanks for the pointers on the ventilation and drip feed system.

For ventilation, I think I'll put a 6 inch opening at the top of the doors on both sides to allow for constant air flow and pollinators. At 40 ft , especially at the middle , I don't want dead pockets of air. My last tunnel I dropped the doors a few inches from the frame for this reason but this tunnel installation was included in the price so I have to improvise with what they have now.

I've been thinking about the drip feed hose, nancy how do you find it ? does it work well?

Nancy Reading wrote:Looking good!

I have polytunnel envy - mine is still waiting a replacement cover.

What are you hoping to grow in there this year?

Tips: think about watering. I have a leaky hose system that I can turn on and forget for a few hours. Also ventilation - it can get very hot in there on a sunny day.

Thanks nancy, hope you get your cover sorted soon!

This year I'm not sure, I'm a little late to the party this season, but hopefully should have enough time to get a few things in like onions, potato's, beetroot etc outsoide, for the tunnel the usual suspects chard, courgettes, peppers, bell peppers, cucumbers, some herbs like basil, tomatos, i think i'd like to have a try at some pumpkins, I seen some funky blue heirloom ones that I might give a try for some fun with my son.

But for now, I need to fill the beds with manure/compost which i'm sourcing bit by bit as soon as they are filled and in the comings weeks i'll plan out what i'll have time in the season to germinate, and plant out for this year ! can't wait!

Finally ! 18ftx40ft

Hey this i great news ! Reading your post makes me feel excited for you! Lots of exciting adventures ahead! I wish you all the best with it !

Nancy Reading wrote:

Dominic Allen wrote:
I don't live alone anymore! I got a cocker spaniel puppy who's keeping me company and helping out around the place now.

Well she thinks she's helping anyhow!

I've had solar panels installed and I'm currently getting about 83% of my electricity from them. I'll add more panels/batteries in the future to bring it to 100.

Impressive how few you've needed. Do you consider you are a particularly low user of electricity?

I've reused the stone from that wall and started building another dry wall , which is much stronger.  

Looking much neater than any of my efforts!

Looks like you've got plenty going on still, but nice to see it starting to come together. Polytunnel in time for the summer perhaps?

Hi Nancy,

Yeah I would consider myself a low user of electricity. I basically live on my own, and usually it's just things like my laptop and phone being charged along with a tv and fridge. Then the washing machine and dyer(in the winter) every two weeks probably.

I had the panels installed on Jan 20th this year and in the 12 weeks they've been in I've used 680 kwh , so about 57 kwh per week which would equate to about 2950 kwh over the year if i keep up that rate. I've fed back to the grid about 190 kwh. Considering it's only April , i expect my electricity usage should drop a fair bit during the summer to maybe September or October.

Not sure if that makes any sense!  All i know is i'm not expecting to have any electricity bills for the year.  

40ft polytunnel is supposed to be coming tuesday! So fingers crossed! I'd love to get some growing done before the summer is out! SO expect me to be on here loads asking lots of questions!

All the best

Looks amazing.

I'm half considering putting in a pond for similar reasons.

Does anybody know if a second area with a drainage pit is necessary? For excess water in the pond to run into, drainage pit of stones?

They are so good for biodiversity.

Jeff Steez wrote:Wow, remarkable. I have a book on Ancient Ireland I've been reading. I have some Irish ancestry, it's probably the first place I'd backpack if I ever get the chance to travel.

Congratulations, enjoy the moss.

Thanks Jeff, if you ever fancy a visit over, give me a shout! I live on my own, and I have woofers etc over!

All the best