Author Topic: an acre of our own...  (Read 2747 times)

Flying_Monkey

an acre of our own...
« on: 31 May, 2009, 10:02:33 pm »
Not allotmenty as such, but we have now just about acquired an acre of land and a small wooden barn (it all comes with the house we are buying in Ontario!).

At the moment, it is all just lawn and the odd tree (we'll keep the sweet chestnut and the sugar maple but the spruce are going). But great plans are afoot for an orchard, and nut trees and tonnes of soft fruit and a greenhouse all along the south-east wall of the house and an edible hedge and rotations of western and Japanese veg and wild flowers... oh, and chickens or maybe ducks. The only problem with the latter is not that there are foxes, which there are, but that there are coyote - which apparently won't bother waiting until it's dark to take a chicken.

There are a few other things that are not ideal about the site, mainly that it is on a gradual north-facing slope, and the barn need urgent attention before it falls down, but hey, you can't have everything, and with Lake Ontario literally across the road, we are delighted... what with moving and everything we'll miss this growing season, but we can get everything prepared for next year.

In 5 years time we aim to be pressing our own apple juice and making maple syrup and being self-sufficient in a fair number of things, and what we can't do ourselves can be found on the island - there is an organic buffalo (bison) farm, and CSA vegetable growers and talk of reviving the cheese-making tradition that had all but disappeared.

I am just so excited! Will keep you all posted and there will be pictures of the site soon.

Julian

  • samoture
Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #1 on: 31 May, 2009, 10:24:16 pm »
Woot!  :D

Flying_Monkey

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #2 on: 31 May, 2009, 10:33:38 pm »
Woot!  :D

You (or other interested YACF-ers) will be very, very welcome to pop over and help out in you fancy a break!  Free food and board for a bit of garden work etc. The community is pretty cool. Our street has a some self-builders and a lesbian couple, one of whom, a landscaper, we just met today... and the island has also just become home to the second largest wind farm in Canada  - the turbines are just beautiful. It all makes me very happy!


LinzWakeley

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #3 on: 01 June, 2009, 06:31:46 am »
Wow that's amazing. My daughter and I are going to meet my husband in Montreal at the end of next month. My husband's company moved him out there at Easter. He will have to travel regularly to Toronto. Your plot sounds wonderful.   

Flying_Monkey

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #4 on: 01 June, 2009, 12:14:18 pm »
We actually saw a young fox sunbathing on the main street in the village yesterday! Cheeky bugger... there are just hundreds of birds and animals here. It's amazing. We will really have to watch out for the chickens when we get them though...

Flying_Monkey

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #5 on: 05 June, 2009, 08:39:59 am »
'just about acquired' has moved on to 'just had the mortgage application accepted and sent back the signed contract...'  ;D

LinzWakeley

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #6 on: 05 June, 2009, 08:48:51 am »
'just about acquired' has moved on to 'just had the mortgage application accepted and sent back the signed contract...'  ;D

Fabulous.  Congratulations.

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #7 on: 14 June, 2009, 05:20:54 pm »
Where is this FM? Sounds great.

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #8 on: 15 June, 2009, 08:53:17 am »
Hmmm... perhaps a bit too far for you to participate in the Landshare programme.   ;)
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Flying_Monkey

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #9 on: 16 June, 2009, 08:12:59 am »
Hmmm... perhaps a bit too far for you to participate in the Landshare programme.   ;)

We generously share the island with 1300 other people and Canada's largest wind-farm already, thank-you!  :smug:

It's all official now, moving in date, 1st September.

Flying_Monkey

Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #10 on: 29 September, 2009, 03:13:16 am »
We've been here a couple of weeks now. We've been laying plans, ordering fruit trees for the orchard, building compost bins, working out where the chickens will go, found out who we can borrow a Rotovator from so we can plough up the area where our vegetable patch will be (before the winter sets in), and started saving for the greenhouse we are going to build along the south side of the house. It is fantastic. I am very happy.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: an acre of our own...
« Reply #11 on: 29 September, 2009, 09:07:32 am »
Happy is good :thumbsup:

Have fun.  It'll be a lot of work (and diversion of potential cycling/camping time), but it should all be worth it.
Getting there...