Hello all, hope you all keeping fit and healthy. I forgot to mention that the increase in toads has also helped keep the slugs down in the garden, the wild life pond has been great so far. I read every comment but may not answer all, also there might be a long delay in reading them, im now spend very little time on youtube. thanks so so much and keep safe and well.
Hi Gary & Vicky ! Good to see you back on RU-vid. Have you considered growing comfrey for tomato food? I bought the ‘BOCKING 14 ‘ which is a non-seeding variety. Other comfrey will flower & spread their seed everywhere & take the garden over. Anyway comfrey leaves can be chopped and soaked in water to create a steeped organic super tomato food. Also can be simply dug into the soil to improve it. Comfrey send their roots down metres and bring up into their leaves all the nutrients & goodness which is untapped. We are just clearing our land of scrub and brambles, the previous owner also took cuttings & planted tonnes of willow trees . Then didn’t maintain them. But our comfrey is happily growing massive in the old veg garden. We bought the small root segments off eBay and I thought they hadn’t taken - few months later I had these huge leaves appear! Next year we can start on the smallholding , we’ve been here a year in 3 days. Our dreams of chickens and veg were put on hold to sort out the damp and drainage problems. Great video and we have ponds (balancing ponds) for when it’s wet season up here in the Shropshire / welsh hills - so that’s good to know about duck weed as we can certainly add that . You cracked me up about always keeping a spare cockerel . 😂Take care both!
I'm 25 from Greece and this is what my backyard looked like when I was young. Pasturing chickens, food scraps and old bones, fruit trees and lots of chicken poop on anything cemented. We'd have chicken soup twice a week, the tastiest eggs ever everyday and never stress about buying most of our food in general. I took it for granted but after years being away I have to say I'd much rather go back to that. Glad to see you live out the life! Keep it up!
Hello, what a lovely comment to read ! thanks so much for popping by. I think this way of life is now essential because of the cost of living crisis that's only going to get worse. Yes the food tastes so much better as you remember and living off the land with your own hard work your never short of healthy food. Thanks so much and take good care.
Great to see you going back to how things used to be done before commercial firms got too involved. I always remember helping my Nan boil up the potato and other peelings for the chickens. We also collected pond weed and weeds from the woods and garden for them when taking the dog for a walk. A lot different in those days though. The Geese had a very large run to clear too which would always grow back for them. Have you thought about keeping Rabbits for food as well? I know a lot of people don't like it nowadays but it's all meat if you eat meat X Take Care and Stay Safe X
Hi Gary, great video, mate. I totally agree with you about the government. I would add that all political elite is criminal and corrupt. You are not allowed to join the ‘club’ unless you are a part or approved by the syndicate.
I’ve just replied to a comment saying like minded people - my ducks last day is set for later this month for the exact reason. They lay very expensive eggs which I just can’t justify anymore & I do love duck meat 😋
I just came around your channel because of the soap making video; you remind me of my pa so much, I can't haha. Thanks for the tips, maybe they'll come in handy one day. I've been subscribed to RU-vid channels of some US farmers for years, they're usually focused on their kids, garden, religion; slice of life kind of videos. I never hear them complain about prices or the government, so your take on that is kinda a breath of fresh air. Eggs doubled or even tripled in price here in Moscow since the beginning of winter. Everything becomes more, and more, and more expensive, I'm glad sugar and sunflower seeds went down a bit finally, something went down for a change.
Hello, Moscow ! wow lovely to here from you, yep im sick of governments ! i can govern myself quite easy without their help. thanks so so much for leaving a comment, take good care, stay safe.
I must admit they are pissing me off, its not nice to see other struggle so much ! I went to the shops last week and was shock at the prices of food ! but I'm very grateful we are having an Indian summer here for a longer, bigger harvest ! 22 C yesterday here and same again today ! we are very busy preserving all our food. Its starting to feel like smallholding is for real now to survive not just a fun game with a fall back on the system if things don't grow well ! Thanks , love and peace back, take good care.
Hi Gary. I hope you and the family are well. This is really interesting content, as saving money on animal feed. Duck weed and wild bird seed, worth thinking about. Great to hear what else has been happening with your stock. Watch those tomatoes, lol! Love your criticism of our govt. Glad to know that your egg sales are doing so well. Thanks for this vid. Take care. Johnny and Jacob. 🤓 🧔
So lovely to see you again Gary, even just for a short time, wow Duckweed, who would have thought that stuff was useful. Sorry to hear about the ducks but I bet they tasted great. Never thought there was a lot of meat on ducks anyways. Take care all and yes never trust a politician. x
Hello, sadly we are no longer renting the van out, Sophie my daughter who is 18 is living in it now, she wanted her own space. thanks and take good care
Did you say that you also ferment chicken grain in a former vid? I heard a 'chickenlady' once say that she makes her feed go much further by doing that. Always good to see you post updates.
Hello, if my memory is correct i did not mention fermenting grain, i have heard of this and your comment also reminds me to start doing this ! so thanks very much i can cut my costs even more, thanks and take good care.
Soak oats and you will save even more money on feed. Once soaked for 12 hours, the oats swell, scatter a load on the floor space, they will naturally sprout and chickens will root around for them. The rest will sprout too once put out to dry in hessian sacks, or something similar. Your chickens will eat less but will get all the nutrients from the oats. Better feather, healthier birds too.
I love how resourceful your and your family are. Hats off to you! Couldn’t agree more about the BS government. We will all find a way. Sending you all lots of love. Ive jacked in all social media too and feel so free!! So good on you.
Hello, its lovely to here from you, to be honest im grateful for the small income we get from this, it helps us progress to a more self sufficient life here and not to be a slave to the system as much ! I do enjoy connecting with like minded people and find it very comforting in these times, but the less I'm staring at a screen and getting on with jobs the happier i feel ! Thanks so so much, peace and love and I'm off out to cut some winter wood in this wonderful mild weather and plant next years garlic !
Hello Gary, Long time no see. Great to see you as I often think of how you and your family are getting along. Great to see you are coming up with new ideas to save the pennies. Are you starting to prep for winter? Best wishes from Plymouth
Hello, sorry for a very late reply, ive had a little break from here. hope all is well at your end and you had a great Christmas and new year. Yes we were all prepped up for winter, we are still eating from the garden, we have potatoes still in the ground, kale, parsnips, spinach, broccoli and Brussel plants that never produced brussel sprouts , but we can eat the leaves on them , we also are still eating frozen veg from the garden, like carrots, peas and beans. We are managing now to supply our own food all year round which has been very hard to do in the past. Dry wood is getting a little low but all has been good here apart from cars and electrical stuff keep going wrong ! washing machine has packed up, needs new motor brushes which im going to fit as soon as they arrive in the post, our electric car went wrong, main solar panels on the roof went wrong, also vickys petrol car got written off ! when someone hit her up the arse ! she was un hurt. but all this happened around each other ! and the god dam rabbits eating bark off the fruit trees that was not protected with wire mesh ! Anyway, how are you keeping, is all going to plan at your end ? thanks Nathan take good care.
Hello Gary and family. Thanks for the tips! We only have the 3 hens now, one is ten years old this year! These tips are great help and may help me cut my feed bill down completely! God bless you, me and Becky might be visiting your region for a couple of nights early next year, would be lovely to pop in and see you. Take care, Jordan and Becky x
hello, its always lovely to hear from you, glad you doing well. Wow that is a very old chicken ! my oldest one in the past was about 8 years, you are treating them very well for that age ! it would be lovely to see you again, your always welcome to visit. thanks Jordan and Becky, take good care.
I wonder if you could dry the duckweed, like hay and straw when it’s prolific in summer, for winter use, my best wishes to you and yours Gary. Take care
Good to just pop in Gary and find you are winning the inflation battle. Yeah, real inflation is much higher for sure. But you have imagination and resourcefulness on your side. Ponds and oranges - very good. Mark
Hello Mark, its lovely to here from you, hope all is good at your end, yes we are beating the inflation here just about, but that comes with even more hard work than previous years, 8 hours of flat out work on most days !. We planted the most food ever this year and we are eating mainly from the garden. I still feel the worst is to come with this economic downfall. It looks like oil prices are going to go through the roof very soon because of the war mongering governments ( middle east conflict where 30% of the oil comes from ) and as you know that effects our shitty oil dependent system ! bring back horses ! ha ha ! convenience comes as a very high price ! If only we could have peace on earth and work together as nations things would be great but governments are too fucking dumb to get that ! Thanks Mark, keep safe and well, be free !
@@ESCAPINGTHEMATRIXFORGOOD Ah, Gary I've been protesting about this system for many years myself. The human ego will pick up on fine points and fight over it. You might be right about the downturn. Keep on being resourceful mate - I'm always in the skips at the mo - I save a fair bit. Peace.
Hello Jim, wow so lovely to hear from you, that is great news about the small holding ! you have got your smallholding at the right time, i feel the shit is going to hit the fan even more in the coming months ! summer time when all is fine is coming to an end, winter makes times harder. fuel prices are about to get even higher ! adding to the cost of living crisis. From some of the information im watching and reading it looks like our economy is heading for a big crash ! good luck, hope your keeping well, take good care.
Another good extra thing to feed chickens, although it does require a setup to produce, is algae, the types that are human edible like spirulina, chlorella.. I can't remember if it is up to 20% of there diet or up to one third, but all it takes to produce is sunlight and water with air bubbled through, and depending how you do it maybe some feed, although there is ways to make it more efficient, as an example you can setup up chlorella in an alkaline solution that it eats from and lowers the ph which you then raise again by bubbling through CO2, or smoke from a fire, or wood gas from charcoal production. It is also human edible but I would not recommend more that a teaspoon or so a day as it is very high in protein and can cause bowel issues if you have too much.
Hello Rose, thanks so much for watching the videos. Im wondering how local ? how many miles roughly, don't really want us to give away locations too much on here although it is quite obvious where i am if your familiar with the area. Thanks keep safe and well.
@@ESCAPINGTHEMATRIXFORGOOD looked you up and not as close as I thought , going to learn a fair bit from your videos I think though , keep um coming I’m near Bournemouth
@@rosehall5151 yep we are east suffolk, , self sufficiency mean freedom from the system and its that system which is bringing everyone down at the moment ! good luck and take care.
Hey Gary, thanks for the tips. I remember a guy at my old old allotment used to grow duck weed in an old bathtub (for compost) so that’s an option. We are are also struggling with poultry feed costs and have been experimenting with building compost piles in the chicken run - check out permapastures farm and edible acres for ideas of how to do this. They both import waste food but we haven’t done that and are still making a difference. We just use our garden waste and food scraps mixed with their bedding - will add fallen leaves in the autumn. As well as the scraps it’s attracts worms and bugs and the chickens love it. Plus it speeds up composting time incredibly (ready in about a month). Also sprouting your seeds means they have more nutrients in them and so you need less…
Hello, sorry for such a late reply, its lovely to hear from you, happy late new year to you. thanks for the tips, I'm managing to keep half a dozen eggs to just £1.20 here and making a good profit, I'm the cheapest in Suffolk and they fly of the stall fast , my chickens have just come into lay again after a 2 month break, but did have one chicken lay on Christmas day ! I did see a video about a chicken farmer with a huge mountain of compost, high as a house ! and never imports feed. Thanks so much for the tips, i will be trying to get the feed imports even lower this year and eventually zero imports in the future, im also thinking of starting up a worm farm to help. Thanks so much Brighid, good luck for this year and take care
We live on a marsh and are surrounded by drainage ditches which are covered in duckweed in the summer I'll have to get meself a net and bucket and collect some of that free chicken food. 👍 I'm told that if you grow comfrey as well as being a good fertiliser and compost starter the chooks love to eat it as well.
I will be giving that a go! It just so happens we have a fairly massive pond but it was completely taken over by cattails. I started slowly clearing those, and it didn't take long for the duck weed to capitalise on the free space. Want to try growing more sunflowers as chicken feed next year as well (plus they look nice). Always feel a bit uncomfortable buying the layers pellets when it's probably questionable as to where they're sourcing the soy and other feedstock from. Feel like it's a bit self-defeating trying to grow our own food if the chickens are being fed feed that comes from Brazil or similar!
Hello, there will be some more videos coming, just having a little break and also not much is going on here because winter is quiet. I'm decorating the cottage and making the place warmer as to burn less wood. All quite boring really ! thanks so much and take good care. Ps we are no longer fostering children for Suffolk council so i now have more freedom of speech with out fear of getting the sack ! ha ha, its great !
Great tips Gary. Already thought about sprouting chicken grain to make it cheaper and more nutritious, but chick weed is a brilliant idea. Question: do you put your oranges and lemons indoors over winter and if so, when do you put them out? I don't seem to have any success with citrus at all, either grown from seed or a bought in plant. Any suggestions?
Hello Dilly, sorry for such a late reply. Ive been enjoying a break from social media. Yes my lemon and orange tree comes into the conservatory every winter, these cold snaps would kill them. I water my trees with pond water, i also add a dressing of wood ash, rotted chicken manure and wood chips every year. Its taken me over 10 years to get the hang of these citrus trees ! I hope your all keeping well, i wish you a late but happy new year, thanks so much and take good care
hello, hope your keeping well, i will be doing some more videos, but having a little break from here. Im getting more pissed off with the governments and the system than ever and finding myself ranting more like an old man !! , these rants will be in some future videos. At the moment not alot is going on here apart from decorating the old cottage, i cant wait to get back into the garden. thanks so much David, take good care
oh wow, i will have a look at what's going on and prices, we have still not ate all ours, also you have reminded me to make some bean burgers from them to use some up ! thanks and take good care.
Hello, that's a great idea because in the height of summer is grows faster than i can use it, i will google this, thanks so much thunder ridge lambing queen ! ha ha hope your keeping well and your homestead is continuing to thrive, God bless.
Can you not contact a local farm with chickens, and ask if you can buy a large sack of chicken feed? They probably pay less than half what you do. You might find they are happy to help, and become your regular feed supplier?
Hello Bry, hope all is well ay your end. I used to go direct to the millers factory to get this feed, this millers supplies many farms and zoos around the country, i also used to buy in bulk to get a 10 % discount, sometimes, as much as 15 x 20kg bags that lasted 5 months. Whilst waiting for a order to be made up i had a good nose around the factories shipping area and found a huge order for rhino feed to be shipped up north ! they even sell giraffe, camel and emu food ! but anyway they became too expensive even though they were the cheapest about. It all went up in price when the Ukraine war started and their grain got blocked. If the shit really hits the fan we put the old boilers in the freezer to eat, go down to 5 chickens and not import any feed. This weather is great ! hope your enjoying your bimbles with Bodhi. we are just over 20c here ! thanks Bry take good care.
