What to do with 10 acres of land

[scbk]

If I was being cynical I would say register the land as a croft, put a couple sheep in there, get a grant to build a huge shed/fences/roads, get planning permission for a croft house (as you need to tend the sheep) then in 10yrs time decroft/sell the house and get permission to build a croft house (as you need to tend the sheep) etc etc 

Edited January 20, 2021 by scbk

[Danny Boy]

If I was being cynical I would say register the land as a croft, put a couple sheep in there, get a grant to build a huge shed/fences/roads, get planning permission for a croft house (as you need to tend the sheep) then in 10yrs time decroft/sell the house and get permission to build a croft house (as you need to tend the sheep) etc etc 

[emoji1] I see your evil plan.....

[Khriss]

21 hours ago, Lowestoft Firewood said:

I would run with all the ideas mate, Goat Yoga retreat, where you house the yogarists in a fancy hut and sell them the weed.

Large cannabis factory discovered near Bank of England

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

---

The Square Mile's first-ever cannabis factory was found after a tip-off about a "strong smell".

 

 

 

Even in Town   😳  K

[Mrblue5000]

Wall to wall Sitka spruce, leave it for 30 years, don't thin it, clearfell at year 30, rinse and repeat. This will piss off any neighbours, they'll probably leave, buy them out, plant more Sitka. Pretty soon you'll have 1000 acres of Sitka. If it works for state owned forestry surely it will work for you too. 

[Paddy1000111]

On 20/01/2021 at 08:52, Lowestoft Firewood said:

 

Composting loos - all part of the experience 😀

I've been to a site that does this in South Devon near East Prawle. The site is beautiful but the toilets were horrible, especially in the mid summer heat. I found a field in the middle of nowhere that had a thick hedge and overlooked the sea during the sunset. Honestly, the most beautiful s*** of my life. 

[Khriss]

43 minutes ago, Mrblue5000 said:

Wall to wall Sitka spruce, leave it for 30 years, don't thin it, clearfell at year 30, rinse and repeat. This will piss off any neighbours, they'll probably leave, buy them out, plant more Sitka. Pretty soon you'll have 1000 acres of Sitka. If it works for state owned forestry surely it will work for you too. 

Shame shame 😉  k

[Danny Boy]

On 21/01/2021 at 13:46, Mrblue5000 said:

Wall to wall Sitka spruce, leave it for 30 years, don't thin it, clearfell at year 30, rinse and repeat. This will piss off any neighbours, they'll probably leave, buy them out, plant more Sitka. Pretty soon you'll have 1000 acres of Sitka. If it works for state owned forestry surely it will work for you too. 

That's a bit too hands off for me I think. Although I might do that with a section.

 

Hypothetical plan so far:

Improve drainage.

Use 50-75% of the area for a Willow or similar coppice.

Use 10-20% of the area for a Xmas Tree nursery.

Possibly channel all drainage into a central pond.

Have a couple of Polytunnels for fruit & veg & 'erbs.

An are for Blueberries.

Use the firmest part of the land for a little Orchard.

Randomly plant an eclectic mix of around 50 trees throughout & leave them to grow.

Get Geese in.

Get Ducks in.

Get a static caravan.

 

 

Keep em coming!

Starting to sound fun now 😄

[Danny Boy]

Anyone on here have any experience of using Miscanthus as a Coppice?

[Mrblue5000]

54 minutes ago, Danny Boy said:

Anyone on here have any experience of using Miscanthus as a Coppice?

Not exactly experience, but I tried to do a masters on it, long story.

But to get decent yields it needs good soil, dry land for harvesting and a hot summer. The big advantage is that it can be harvested at 25% moisture content in March / April before the new shoots appear. Big disadvantage of it was that some bright spark discovered that it was high in HCl so not good for boilers. It cost a lot for the rhizomes to get it established. There was perhaps 2000 acres of it planted in Ireland in the noughties, but it is all gone around here now as there basically was no market for it, there might be a bit left in Wicklow / Wexford where it is used as animal bedding instead of straw. I think Drax(?) power station was doing it in UK, maybe 15 years ago.

 

Drax ends miscanthus contracts and reviews straw supply - Farmers Weekly

WWW.FWI.CO.UK

---

The UK’s largest power station is to stop buying miscanthus from UK growers from next year. The company is also...

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Mrblue5000
added a link

[Danny Boy]

Not exactly experience, but I tried to do a masters on it, long story.
But to get decent yields it needs good soil, dry land for harvesting and a hot summer. The big advantage is that it can be harvested at 25% moisture content in March / April before the new shoots appear. Big disadvantage of it was that some bright spark discovered that it was high in HCl so not good for boilers. It cost a lot for the rhizomes to get it established. There was perhaps 2000 acres of it planted in Ireland in the noughties, but it is all gone around here now as there basically was no market for it, there might be a bit left in Wicklow / Wexford where it is used as animal bedding instead of straw. I think Drax(?) power station was doing it in UK, maybe 15 years ago.
 

Drax ends miscanthus contracts and reviews straw supply - Farmers Weekly

WWW.FWI.CO.UK

---

The UK’s largest power station is to stop buying miscanthus from UK growers from next year. The company is also...  

Well the soil is far from good & dry so perhaps that rules that out....

Am I right in thinking after 20 years or so of coppacing willow or anything for that matter, the ground is gonna be a bit of a state full of stumps & not really available to do much unless it's cleared 1st?