I bought a smallholding a couple of months ago. 11 acres of land. Middle of a forest in France. Was fortunate that the previous owners had spent 16 years building the place up, planting an orchard, fencing the fields, and starting a potager and polytunnel. They left me their sheep and chickens, and I paid them a couple of thousand euros for a workshop and barn full of equipment. I couldn't face starting from scratch.
I was going to say you're very lucky, but then I thought that it probably took years of hard work to save for such a place. Good luck with your new venture. Regards Jim UK.
An interesting breakdown of the different requirements for various levels of self-sufficiency. I guess I am about 20% - 30% self-sufficient only, with only an average sized back garden in Essex, UK. Thankfully not anywhere near as wet as Ireland; as an ex-motorcyclist I still hate too much rain. I still have to work (self-employed & working from home) to make ends meet, but live a modest, if not even a frugal lifestyle. I have lots of solar panels & a mega-insulated home (all electric). In the garden I erected a mid-size greenhouse, growing strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, mizuna, rocket, cabbage. Outside I have 2x apple trees, 2x cherry trees, a greengage tree, & 2x plum trees; my pear tree died - bah. Gone mad with growing raspberries recently, got some gooseberry bushes, but my blueberries died - bah. Got one enormous grape vine that I planted 35-years ago for wine making & have recently planted 2-more grape vines for desert grapes to grow both inside & outside of the greenhouse. Used to keep chickens for eggs & meat, but no longer, but they were great for fertilising the soil. Got a big crop of spuds this year, with broccoli, cabbage & kale; & will be growing sorrel, purslane, french dwarf beans, many herbs next year. Going mad this year in trying to store my produce; so freeze some, preserve lots in air-tight jars, haven't yet tried dehydrating yet. I do some foraging for cherries & blackberries in the late summer locally also & will maybe try some guerrilla gardening. I had looked for years to try to buy half-acre of land & self-build my own eco-house upon it. However in earlier years I didn't have the money to buy locally, with very expensive land having the required planning permissions; so simply could not afford it. Now I am much older & with my failing body, I physically cannot till such a large area of land & certainly will not be capable in another 10-years’ time. So I just have to settle for what I've got & be content (with noisy neighbours). My version of 'The Good Life', if anyone remembers the TV series. Regards, JohnnyK.
I have no interest in doing any of this. I watch this dude's videos because they are pleasing and he's so good at making them. When someone has commanding knowledge of their subject, and honest love for it, they don't need tons of irritating edits, constant music and noise in the background, or cartoon-y third party overlays.
Thanks for another informative and interesting vid . One thing I wish to mention is you should perhaps factor into it is VETS BILLS. If you have animals , horses, dogs, cats, pigs , chickens etc, people should realise the cost of vet bills which are huge, for everything from inoculations, vets call out etc. I grew upon a small farm and vet bills were one of our most expensive costs. Of course some animal care like worming and small wound care you can administer yourself. But you still have to have a basic knowledge of animal care. Love your vids. Thanks.
Check in with the Portugal embassy, they look for agricultural workers, 7 years work gets you a Portugese pasport. Wages are low, but land there relatively cheap (or for a milder climate with cheaper housing ruins) try northwest Spain (the green part of Spain), rest of the iberian peninsula is turning to desert, for your dreams you need water.
I do have a question about the "endgame" of this (maybe it was answered in a video somewhere): What is the plan for the 20, 30, 40 years ahead? How do you plan to support yourself when your body is unable to do everything you do now? I admire your resilience, it all looks like a great life, one that I'd like very much to have. But the above question concerns me - the solutions I see is children (a bit selfish) or have enough savings to let Mossy Bottom go and move back to civilization? Sell Mossy Bottom?
I live in Aurora, Oregon zone 8b. Our weather is comparable to yours. We have "everbearing strawberries that start producing mid August and finishes early October. If you added some of these strawberries to your land you'd have another round of cash at the end of your main growing season. I highly recommend the variety named "Albion". The best flavored strawberries I've ever tasted. You'll have a hard time resisting eating them all yourself. ;)
Great job! My grandparents told me about the growing of all their food, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, etc. pigs and chickens, goat milk and butter, making. fish from the local lakes, I am 64 years old and my grandparents died at 92 and 97. So I know what you are talking about. Love your show. City life is nice but after living in the city for 30 years I am now happy to be back in the country. 🇮🇪❤️🇮🇪❤️🇮🇪
Daniel - you have a 'book' waiting to be published. All these wonderful video's promoting and explaining making the break from 9-5 to having a 'small holding' is all the content you need. I know I would love to get this book ( with the audio book read by author available too!) . You have a great way of telling the story of farms in your neighborhood and giving fact& figures and real business considerations. Thank you! I am glad to see how mild the weather is - November? during this video.
Hi Daniel question how much land is needed for a small holding how much finance is needed to buy the land legal fees and livestock and fruit trees and grains for the animals and taxes per year how to get started and where to look ? I.e Internet and estate agents ?
When you described your property it sounded almost exactly like my 5 acres here in New Zealand. Heavy clay, mild wet winters, flat, at the bottom of a hill, prone to water logging in winter. Before I bought it, it had been used to farm cattle for 60 years and looked much like your neighbour's property. I started using a tractor (same weight as about 4 cows) to mow it every 2 - 3 months. My neighbours are still running cattle on their section, and the difference between our grass is stark. I have at least seven different types all growing together whereas they have almost exclusively couch grass. My soil is becoming more friable, there are more worms, and the conifer pan is starting to break up. It's amazing how just changing the way you use the land can transform it completely!
Hi Daniel I got my calender to day it is lovely.i like the Christmas card with the sprouts on it .I am still picking my lovely sprouts. My sister and I have a allotment in Dublin. We are both over seventy. I love been out in the fresh air.i have lovely leeks growing..take care Dolores.
This content i have been waiting for...👍 How to count it? This was very good! Our % is now about 70%. No winter crops here, no apples, no bees... Hubby is working in the wintertime, so we need a car. All veges from the land and preserving. Fishing and hunting. Love your videos! Regards from The Moomin land, Northern Finland 👍
I think growing mushrooms indoors is a great option for self sufficiency, in a miniature greenhouse you can grow pounds of mushrooms in a relatively short space of time. Also depending on what species you grow they can be a cash crop if you have the space to amplify your production needs.
Our acre smallholding in Leinster was called a bog by the neighbours before we bought it (flooded every winter and was grazed by horses). We dug a few ditches and like you have a yearly system of soil amendment and leaving some parts fallow each year. It is now beautiful productive soil. I've seen people growing tomatoes in forest clearings and vegetables in areas with no original soil. You can do a lot with manual labour to change the initial conditions of your soil.
Daniel, your videos have captivated my heart and mind. My grandpa is from Lofoten and Bodø, Norge, growing up on his family's dairy farm, and that life is one I've forever dreamt of living myself. Born in a city in USA, it's taken many years for me to obtain a tiny acre of land to begin. I appreciate your artful and EXTREMELY informative videos not only for all i learn from you, but it feels as if I'm spending time in Ireland with you, as a friend. Also very happily a loner, the window into your world, and your psyche, is beyond comforting to my soul ....i live with 5 dogs, several kitties, 2 mini pigs, and 10 chickens. Today i begin wheelbarrowing rich black soil into what will be my first large, hopefully-one-day-sustainable, garden. Thank you again Daniel, for allowing me to see your dream come alive, as I follow in your 👣... 🤗
When I hear he says that €20.000 for 1 acre I'm supper surprised. It's a very very cheap price for the British. At my country (Vietnam) it's super rarely we can approach that price. An outskirt land of my small city cost at least $200.000 for 1 acre. Yes, you heared it right. $50.000 for 1/4 acre (while our average income is $2700/year). And the cheapest land I've ever known in Vietnam cost $4.000 for 1/4 acre. If we do the math, you guys come from UK, US, CANADA have a super higher chance to get a land than us (Vietnamese)... It's sad because to get rid of the rat race you need to be a rich guy first. I hope you guys in other countries can get your homesteading dream soon. You guys are so lucky to live in those countries. Good luck!
I so appreciate your videos. You help me sort out what I can do with what I have here in Ireland. We (my 20 somethings and I) are "sort of" neighbours as we share a county lol. We moved from the US eight years ago and just four years ago we moved to Clare. I'm wish my land was flatter. We live on a hill, so much of the acre we have is on a downslope. We have a poly tunnel and a very small greenhouse (which is new) and a few raised boxes. I'd say we are in the 20% range and working our way up as we go. I'm VERY impressed with everything you've done. Thank you for sharing your experience and your lovely property with us all.
I can truly say that you are a good land Steward, a soil building caretaker. I love that distinction between farming and smallholding. I had a high rainfall water rich smallholding, and now I am practicing permaculture tweaked for my use here in a desert area. I feel what you're saying and this video really resonated with me. I am just very far behind you, having started over. Much respect sir. Never stop making these videos
Another great video Daniel thanks. My dad grew up on a wee croft in Donegal and had to do all the things you have mentioned. They were about 60% self sufficient. In days past, they also had a Meitheal system which was a voluntary group help scheme between neighbours. It was vital for crop harvesting and turf cutting . I’ve never heard of it used anywhere else. Have you? Some were quite sophisticated and came with rules and sanctions. I respectfully suggest that you talk to Tim and Sandra who run a small holding in West Cork termed ‘Way out West - a blow in blog’ for some comparative experiences. They are members of a meitheal . Math thu Michael
Life is all about what you give to and expect from it. My grandparents worked hard but knew nothing about Internet or our modern conveniences, and as I grew up in the late 50s and 60 to me they always seemed happy and took pleasure in what life then had to offer,
Being able to do your own mechanical, electrical,plumbing and construction work is a huge advantage in self sufficiency. My biggest achievement to date was rebuilding the automatic transmission in my car from information off the internet and a rebuild kit.
we (family of four) are just in the process of setting up our off grid small holding, here in west cork. we moved in October and hope to be in by end of February. the house is a wreck, so we will live in a small shed till its done. ill be running geese, pigs, chickens and growing veg. we enjoy your videos,
I remember your very earliest videos and how desolate I felt on your behalf. Looking back, the journey has been perfect and I've enjoyed each bit of growth you've achieved. I won't be adopting this lifestyle in this lifetime but I'm putting out intention for the next. Meanwhile, keep making your videos, increasing your subs and please accept my gratitude for providing peace and useful information to us, your viewers.
I would never be a gentleman farmer because I am a lazy bone. However, I love your content. You seem so content to put in the time and labor to cultivate your homestead. Also, your voice is like balm, so soothing. I picture you reading books to children in your local library…….
I love watching your video, they are so interesting. There is such an inter peace that comes from you, your voice is so calm and sweet, I'm sure all your animals feel it! 🌼
Hey 👋 love your name first n foremost & then totally enjoyed video, so informative So now I’m a new subscriber here looking forward to watching all your videos love from Australia 🇦🇺🐨🦘✌️
I came across and started watching your videos before the pandemic and now more than ever I think there is a huge value (and inspiration ) to your videos especially their content . So thank you very much for that 🙏 I started a small garden myself last summer , results were not great ( caterpillars and others small critters really enjoyed my work 🙈) but that just means I will be more prepare this spring summer , I am a carpenter so finding time is a bit of a struggle but I have to say every minute I put in this year was worth it . Love and blessings from down the road in county Limerick 👍🙏💚✅
Thank you for explaining what a small holding is. I learn so much from you. I have 20% self sufficiency, and maybe more as I have chickens, a large garden, and even apple trees. I can my produce and freeze it. I have about four acres. My partner doesn’t share the same motivation but it’s doable.
Found your channel a few weeks ago and have almost watched all episode. I am not really into self sufficienc farming but the way you present it is very attractive and interesting. I love nature, love animals, and I really like the attitude you have to your animals and animals in general it seems like. Are you a vegetarian? I am not but try very hard to only buy organic and locally farmed meat/chicken, sometimes I know the farmer or at least know them by word from friends. I am really impressed with your passion but still so well organised., and the way you keep track of what works and what doesnt. I have just below an acre of land in southern Sweden and I will try to use my inspiration from you to get doing at least something here. Thanks so much for your great informative videos.
Another amazing & lovely vlog. Daniel you consistently outdo yourself. I love the concept for the new series of interviewing people trying to achieve some level of self-sufficiency similar to you. Additionally, what you stated about how it’s rather arrogant to think our ancestors were unhappy because they lived hard lives (paraphrasing). What a great line, “A hard life isn’t necessarily a bad life, but an easy life is hard to give up at least entirely.” So true, Daniel. So true. But the more of us who do do, the better off we’ll all be on Mother Earth.✌🏼🌍🌏🌏👍🏼
Great video! Good for thought. We have 40 acres, high desert mountains. Short grow season, very little rains. I'm always grappling with the sufficiency issue. Plants vs water vs animals. # acres not a problem. I am going to watch this through a few times because many of the points are universal. Thank you!! It's our future dream to maintain some type of self sufficiency
Excellent video with facts very well thought out and clearly presented. I would add (for city people with very little knowledge of farming/gardening) that in some places the land can be very stony. Farmlands have been already worked on, but if you need to clear new land, you'd rather avoid stony land. I do gardening on a stony land and just digging a hole for a shrub or a small tree is hard work, this outside the existing flower benches, that is.
Thank you for this informative video! I am loving the new series on dream cottages. I'm about to move over to County Kerry for uni and eventually start the dream of my own homestead! Been following this channel for years and can't wait to one day start my own ✌️
Love your videos! They are really well produced and you are an incredible narrator. I appreciate you taking me along on your journey. I am a small acreage farmer and your assessment is quite accurate. I am in Northern California and my family has been working a 80%-100% farm for over 5 years. As you indicated, the 80%+ part is by far the most difficult. In my opinion, to achieve 80% - 100% the farm needs to be viewed as a business, rather than a way to subsidise a rural lifestyle. If you ever update this video, or do a part 2, I would add to the 80% or 100% part the importance of value added production (canning, candy making, dehydration, freeze drying). You mentioned milk/cheese production, but in my experience, that is a very large undertaking and requires a rather large investment. You should also include a bit about regulations. I don't know about Ireland, but in the U.S. once you process a product beyond it's raw state, you will need to adhere to some level of regulation. We actually do U-Pick raspberries and blackberries. It is a good way of increasing revenue and draws people to the farm. Downside -- insurance costs, but this is probably only a problem in the United States. Might want to talk about farm education. You are doing this through UA-cam, but providing on property tours and on hand instruction is a good way of providing outreach and increasing income. Hosting small groups also reduces need for parking, bathrooms, and other facilities that would be required to support U-pick. I would further the discussion to the importance of retail sales. This is definitely a stumbling block for many small farmers. Understanding pricing, access to markets and creating a "brand" can make a big difference in farm economics. You may have hit all of these subjects in your other videos, I am only gone through a dozen or so. Keep up the good work!
My dreams ✨ one day when im out of debt ill be coming on over from the US. Idk if it will be tomorrow or in 15 years but ill be there. My roots are crying for me to come home. 💕 thank you for the constant inspiration.
Just recently found this channel, I to am on a journey to self sufficiency having bought a 13 acre plot of mixed woodland and pasture earlier this year. I’m trying to get rid of a bit of debt in the way of a mortgage before I jump off the hamster wheel and dive head first into full time smallholding/farming. If my wish comes true I’ll be able to build a tiny house on the land someday 🤞🏻. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻
In your calendar video I thought we wouldn't hear from you til next year so I'm glad that wasn't the case. You do a great job preparing your video content. INformative and well done. You do have a good voice and the videos are peaceful. Your videos give me hope and focus. I applied to be your volunteer and hope that works out. Best wishes. Deanna, USA
Hi Daniel! I ordered the Calendar, so excited. It brings me peace to see Ireland, you, moss, the kittens ... just living naturally. That's how I want to live. Right now I have a backyard (and front yard suburban garden). Buckets of peaches, apples (with worms sometimes, that's ok), plums, 200x more blackberries than I can jam, jelly, juice, or freeze, strawberries (someday I will make your strawberry wine recipe), and many veggies. But honestly, probably not even 10% self sufficient yet. I was wondering if you have considered the "Rocket Mass Heater" for your cottage? It uses only 10-20% of the firewood that a traditional fireplace uses (even efficient ones), and the warmth is more of a radiant warmth that lasts and lasts. plus, the pets love to sit on the clay / adobe / cob hearth because it is slightly warm. -Robert
I’m looking to move my family to Ireland. I’ve been put of being English and a single mum. I work remotely and have (and would buy) a small holding. I’m watching you and looking at Ireland properly. We keep sheep, goats, pigs and poultry right now
Hello Mossy Bottom, could you please talk about what work is actually needed on daily basis? Why is it taking so much time, what activities? As an IT guy I can see a lot of cheap automation, e.g. you do not need to bring water or to your animals, inexpensive automation can do it for you. Considering to change my lifestyle, so I appreciate your channel a lot!
This was a very good lecture with plenty of excellent advice! Starting from a very good information pack on farming and gardening and down to a great analysis of rural life psychology! In my view this guy could easily do some teaching for agricultural university students. I have done a degree in Forestry and Horticulture and I am still learning a lot from these videos. Thank you.
I’m about to turn 18 on April 29 and I’ve been thinking of starting to save money. Once I turn 18 I will get new job and start saving to hopefully buy land in Ireland or somewhere in Europe. It’s my dream to live self sufficient. I’ve been watching your videos a lot and it just make me more excited and eager to live self sufficient like you.
Well done Mossy. I've been following you for more than a year, you have achieved so much for a single person, thankfully with the help of volunteers who obviously support your ambitions. I wish more people would choose to do this however as you know it's budget, courage and location. Keep being who you are. Thank you, warm hugs
Wonderful episode! So much food for thought! We are going to aim for 70% self sufficiency 🤞🏻 I really appreciate how you broke this all down - thank you for sharing all this helpful information Daniel!
I would add rabbit very early if only for the free direct use vertilizer for the vegetable garden (and the urine for pestcontrol). Even if they are just 1-2 pairs of fixed animals that are just there to cuddle produce manure and eat some green bits from the veg you don't want to eat.
Thanks for your breakdown of the different levels of small-holding practices, very important to think about what level we all need to consider. Much respect from me here in Sydney, Australia. Keep up the great content.....and thank you.
Currently running from a polytunnel and a front garden in a semi detached house in County Antrim. You're very welcome to come and visit us, we're not too far away.
I am not interested in becoming self sufficient but love this channel and found this video to be excellent and very interesting. I think you have a wider audience than you may think.
Very interesting and set out suggestions. I have recently( july21) moved to a modern 1979’s bungalow on 3.5acres. Hoping to have a small camp site next summer of 10 tents. To help support me.
Very cool episode. Great to learn from you and to see you doing thing I will be doing in the near future. Love your approach towards nature and land!! Thanks for sharing!
My husband was born in Ireland (co. Waterford) and his parents moved here to the US when he was very small. His parents have moved back for their retirement, and we have planned to move there at some point. The 60-80% self-sufficiency level has been my dream. We're older though, not yet near retirement, but closer to it than to "just starting out" at this point. This content is really helpful. I think my ideal would be a larger piece of land mostly for plant-based food crops and layer fowl and an area set aside for a tiny house B&B park for folks who want to experience tiny house living or farm life. What are the legalities of tiny houses in Ireland? I know that houses tend to be smaller there, but I also know that the building codes are different (from here at least) and that there's a stigma against Travelers and I wonder how all that might impact starting a tiny house community or tiny house based business.
The biggest challenge to building a touristy b&b detached house here would probably be planning permission: it's handled by local county councils and depending on what county you're in can be very difficult to acquire (particularly the detached structure). Stigma against travellers isn't about people who travel specifically, Irish Travellers are a specific ethnic community, tourists are generally welcomed with open arms so that shouldn't be a big concern for you
@@cormacdonnelly365 I think Alex probably realizes the difference between tourists and Travellers, but may be concerned about the kind of tiny houses common in the US - built on trailer beds instead of on a foundation, often to avoid certain housing regulation requirements - and the potential association between homes on wheels/caravans and Travellers, given the stigma against the latter.
I have always embraced Mother Earth and worked with her, she tends to be kind to me😂🌞🌻. Often had disappointments but at the same time unexpected triumphs. Its a great feeling to be sat eating a complete meal that you 'n' Mother Earth made from a small urban garden. Put your mind and back into it with love.... you don't always get what you want, but do get what you need along with smug satisfaction🤣. Love your channel...and also Kris Harbour's. So therapeutic to watch. Thank you xxx
Have you considered any of the Teasgasc courses? Getting professional training in agriculture and horticulture could be very useful. Especially if you want to move up the value chain and become certified organic.
I so look forward to your videos! They are full of knowledge you have gained and relaxing to watch. I also have concerns though, of how you will sustain this smallholding if you are alone in old age? Blessings from the land of Oz.
Your content is excellent, thoroughly informative, I would love to do what you’ve done(in my own way) I’ve Spaniels so I don’t think the rabbits would work for me 🙈🐕 but my health and age couldn’t take it now, great to see though and I hope it gives some more able and youthful folk an enticement to live a life which is kinder on the planet 🙏🏻🏡💚
Many thanks for this excellent video. I moved to Ireland just last month to do precisely what you've featured here: maximal long-term self-sufficiency balanced by daily joie de vivre. I've been looking for lands in those very 'badlands' of County Roscommon and Mayo, and have been confused by ratings of 'fair quality land' on what looks like perfectly arable acreage! Looking forward to the stories from others in Ireland, as this country is (apart from the slugs) remarkably well-suited to this lifestyle. Thanks again.
Appreciate your thoughtfulness and advice! We are at the very beginning of our homestead journey in a forested area of Idaho, US. We have many things to consider.
I am so appreciating all the great content on your channel! You have a real talent for creating these almost mini documentaries; your topics and presentation are thought provoking, informative and entertaining……..spot on!! Thank you for taking us along on your journey 😀👍
Another great thought provoking video! I guess I'm at 20-30% self sufficiency, growing fruit, veg and keeping chickens in a back garden plus an allotment. A smallholding is out of the question (for many reasons) but I'm already working towards being at least 50% when I retire in a few years. Developing my perennial crops will stand me in good stead for then :-)
I bought a smallholding a couple of months ago. 11 acres of land. Middle of a forest in France. Was fortunate that the previous owners had spent 16 years building the place up, planting an orchard, fencing the fields, and starting a potager and polytunnel. They left me their sheep and chickens, and I paid them a couple of thousand euros for a workshop and barn full of equipment. I couldn't face starting from scratch.
I was going to say you're very lucky, but then I thought that it probably took years of hard work to save for such a place. Good luck with your new venture. Regards Jim UK.
Sounds great. Thanks for sharing.
Your blessed x
Bon courage et bonne chance!
🇫🇷 🍀🍀🍀 🇫🇷
Wow you got a great deal
An interesting breakdown of the different requirements for various levels of self-sufficiency.
I guess I am about 20% - 30% self-sufficient only, with only an average sized back garden in Essex, UK. Thankfully not anywhere near as wet as Ireland; as an ex-motorcyclist I still hate too much rain.
I still have to work (self-employed & working from home) to make ends meet, but live a modest, if not even a frugal lifestyle.
I have lots of solar panels & a mega-insulated home (all electric). In the garden I erected a mid-size greenhouse, growing strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, mizuna, rocket, cabbage. Outside I have 2x apple trees, 2x cherry trees, a greengage tree, & 2x plum trees; my pear tree died - bah. Gone mad with growing raspberries recently, got some gooseberry bushes, but my blueberries died - bah. Got one enormous grape vine that I planted 35-years ago for wine making & have recently planted 2-more grape vines for desert grapes to grow both inside & outside of the greenhouse. Used to keep chickens for eggs & meat, but no longer, but they were great for fertilising the soil. Got a big crop of spuds this year, with broccoli, cabbage & kale; & will be growing sorrel, purslane, french dwarf beans, many herbs next year.
Going mad this year in trying to store my produce; so freeze some, preserve lots in air-tight jars, haven't yet tried dehydrating yet.
I do some foraging for cherries & blackberries in the late summer locally also & will maybe try some guerrilla gardening.
I had looked for years to try to buy half-acre of land & self-build my own eco-house upon it. However in earlier years I didn't have the money to buy locally, with very expensive land having the required planning permissions; so simply could not afford it. Now I am much older & with my failing body, I physically cannot till such a large area of land & certainly will not be capable in another 10-years’ time. So I just have to settle for what I've got & be content (with noisy neighbours). My version of 'The Good Life', if anyone remembers the TV series.
Regards, JohnnyK.
Best segue ever:"an easy life can be difficult to give up" flips to the yawning cat! Hilarious 😂
is it just me or are the comment section on these videos just the nicest community
This is my dream but due to disability I have to be content with living vicariously through you and others on YT.
I have no interest in doing any of this. I watch this dude's videos because they are pleasing and he's so good at making them. When someone has commanding knowledge of their subject, and honest love for it, they don't need tons of irritating edits, constant music and noise in the background, or cartoon-y third party overlays.
Thanks for another informative and interesting vid . One thing I wish to mention is you should perhaps factor into it is VETS BILLS. If you have animals , horses, dogs, cats, pigs , chickens etc, people should realise the cost of vet bills which are huge, for everything from inoculations, vets call out etc. I grew upon a small farm and vet bills were one of our most expensive costs. Of course some animal care like worming and small wound care you can administer yourself. But you still have to have a basic knowledge of animal care. Love your vids. Thanks.
A teenager from Egypt hoping that one day I own my own land in Canada and live freely
Canada doesn't look too free at the mo, young chap 🤔
I think Canada nowadays is as "free" as Australia, though...
Welcome! Have some friends that moved here from Egypt. Try the Okanagan. Keep in touch. Read up on what it takes job or profession wise.
That’s an oxymoron. If you’re in Canada you’re not free anymore.
Check in with the Portugal embassy, they look for agricultural workers, 7 years work gets you a Portugese pasport. Wages are low, but land there relatively cheap (or for a milder climate with cheaper housing ruins) try northwest Spain (the green part of Spain), rest of the iberian peninsula is turning to desert, for your dreams you need water.
I do have a question about the "endgame" of this (maybe it was answered in a video somewhere):
What is the plan for the 20, 30, 40 years ahead? How do you plan to support yourself when your body is unable to do everything you do now?
I admire your resilience, it all looks like a great life, one that I'd like very much to have. But the above question concerns me - the solutions I see is children (a bit selfish) or have enough savings to let Mossy Bottom go and move back to civilization? Sell Mossy Bottom?
I just realized you passed 100K subscribers, congrats!!!
This is a very wise guide. He has my fullest admiration.
I live in Aurora, Oregon zone 8b. Our weather is comparable to yours. We have "everbearing strawberries that start producing mid August and finishes early October. If you added some of these strawberries to your land you'd have another round of cash at the end of your main growing season. I highly recommend the variety named "Albion". The best flavored strawberries I've ever tasted. You'll have a hard time resisting eating them all yourself. ;)
Great job! My grandparents told me about the growing of all their food, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, etc. pigs and chickens, goat milk and butter, making. fish from the local lakes, I am 64 years old and my grandparents died at 92 and 97. So I know what you are talking about. Love your show. City life is nice but after living in the city for 30 years I am now happy to be back in the country. 🇮🇪❤️🇮🇪❤️🇮🇪
Daniel - you have a 'book' waiting to be published. All these wonderful video's promoting and explaining making the break from 9-5 to having a 'small holding' is all the content you need. I know I would love to get this book ( with the audio book read by author available too!) . You have a great way of telling the story of farms in your neighborhood and giving fact& figures and real business considerations. Thank you! I am glad to see how mild the weather is - November? during this video.
Hi Daniel question how much land is needed for a small holding how much finance is needed to buy the land legal fees and livestock and fruit trees and grains for the animals and taxes per year how to get started and where to look ? I.e Internet and estate agents ?
Would this all be possible without helpers/volunteers? You seem to have a lot to manage. It's a great set up though. Looks amazing.
When you described your property it sounded almost exactly like my 5 acres here in New Zealand. Heavy clay, mild wet winters, flat, at the bottom of a hill, prone to water logging in winter.
Before I bought it, it had been used to farm cattle for 60 years and looked much like your neighbour's property. I started using a tractor (same weight as about 4 cows) to mow it every 2 - 3 months. My neighbours are still running cattle on their section, and the difference between our grass is stark. I have at least seven different types all growing together whereas they have almost exclusively couch grass. My soil is becoming more friable, there are more worms, and the conifer pan is starting to break up.
It's amazing how just changing the way you use the land can transform it completely!
Your typo is no accident I think. May your soul be blessed
I'm so glad to hear there are more worms in your soul 🤣
Very useful thanks
@@danielh6992 Elucidate us?
Hi Daniel I got my calender to day it is lovely.i like the Christmas card with the sprouts on it .I am still picking my lovely sprouts. My sister and I have a allotment in Dublin. We are both over seventy. I love been out in the fresh air.i have lovely leeks growing..take care Dolores.
This content i have been waiting for...👍 How to count it? This was very good! Our % is now about 70%. No winter crops here, no apples, no bees... Hubby is working in the wintertime, so we need a car. All veges from the land and preserving. Fishing and hunting. Love your videos! Regards from The Moomin land, Northern Finland 👍
I think growing mushrooms indoors is a great option for self sufficiency, in a miniature greenhouse you can grow pounds of mushrooms in a relatively short space of time. Also depending on what species you grow they can be a cash crop if you have the space to amplify your production needs.
Our acre smallholding in Leinster was called a bog by the neighbours before we bought it (flooded every winter and was grazed by horses). We dug a few ditches and like you have a yearly system of soil amendment and leaving some parts fallow each year. It is now beautiful productive soil. I've seen people growing tomatoes in forest clearings and vegetables in areas with no original soil. You can do a lot with manual labour to change the initial conditions of your soil.
Daniel, your videos have captivated my heart and mind. My grandpa is from Lofoten and Bodø, Norge, growing up on his family's dairy farm, and that life is one I've forever dreamt of living myself. Born in a city in USA, it's taken many years for me to obtain a tiny acre of land to begin. I appreciate your artful and EXTREMELY informative videos not only for all i learn from you, but it feels as if I'm spending time in Ireland with you, as a friend. Also very happily a loner, the window into your world, and your psyche, is beyond comforting to my soul ....i live with 5 dogs, several kitties, 2 mini pigs, and 10 chickens. Today i begin wheelbarrowing rich black soil into what will be my first large, hopefully-one-day-sustainable, garden. Thank you again Daniel, for allowing me to see your dream come alive, as I follow in your 👣... 🤗
When I hear he says that €20.000 for 1 acre I'm supper surprised. It's a very very cheap price for the British. At my country (Vietnam) it's super rarely we can approach that price. An outskirt land of my small city cost at least $200.000 for 1 acre. Yes, you heared it right. $50.000 for 1/4 acre (while our average income is $2700/year). And the cheapest land I've ever known in Vietnam cost $4.000 for 1/4 acre. If we do the math, you guys come from UK, US, CANADA have a super higher chance to get a land than us (Vietnamese)... It's sad because to get rid of the rat race you need to be a rich guy first.
I hope you guys in other countries can get your homesteading dream soon. You guys are so lucky to live in those countries. Good luck!
I so appreciate your videos. You help me sort out what I can do with what I have here in Ireland. We (my 20 somethings and I) are "sort of" neighbours as we share a county lol. We moved from the US eight years ago and just four years ago we moved to Clare. I'm wish my land was flatter. We live on a hill, so much of the acre we have is on a downslope. We have a poly tunnel and a very small greenhouse (which is new) and a few raised boxes. I'd say we are in the 20% range and working our way up as we go. I'm VERY impressed with everything you've done. Thank you for sharing your experience and your lovely property with us all.
I can truly say that you are a good land Steward, a soil building caretaker. I love that distinction between farming and smallholding. I had a high rainfall water rich smallholding, and now I am practicing permaculture tweaked for my use here in a desert area. I feel what you're saying and this video really resonated with me. I am just very far behind you, having started over. Much respect sir. Never stop making these videos
Another great video Daniel thanks.
My dad grew up on a wee croft in Donegal and had to do all the things you have mentioned. They were about 60% self sufficient.
In days past, they also had a Meitheal system which was a voluntary group help scheme between neighbours. It was vital for crop harvesting and turf cutting . I’ve never heard of it used anywhere else. Have you? Some were quite sophisticated and came with rules and sanctions.
I respectfully suggest that you talk to Tim and Sandra who run a small holding in West Cork termed ‘Way out West - a blow in blog’ for some comparative experiences. They are members of a meitheal .
Math thu
Michael
Life is all about what you give to and expect from it. My grandparents worked hard but knew nothing about Internet or our modern conveniences, and as I grew up in the late 50s and 60 to me they always seemed happy and took pleasure in what life then had to offer,
Being able to do your own mechanical, electrical,plumbing and construction work is a huge advantage in self sufficiency.
My biggest achievement to date was rebuilding the automatic transmission in my car from information off the internet and a rebuild kit.
As someone who’s watched someone close struggle with car projects in recent years, that’s really impressive. Good job 👍
we (family of four) are just in the process of setting up our off grid small holding, here in west cork. we moved in October and hope to be in by end of February. the house is a wreck, so we will live in a small shed till its done. ill be running geese, pigs, chickens and growing veg. we enjoy your videos,
I remember your very earliest videos and how desolate I felt on your behalf. Looking back, the journey has been perfect and I've enjoyed each bit of growth you've achieved. I won't be adopting this lifestyle in this lifetime but I'm putting out intention for the next. Meanwhile, keep making your videos, increasing your subs and please accept my gratitude for providing peace and useful information to us, your viewers.
An easy life is hard to give up, but a hard one could be a happy life, great philosophy, so, Daniel, when is your book coming out.
Always very interesting and well spoken.
I would never be a gentleman farmer because I am a lazy bone. However, I love your content. You seem so content to put in the time and labor to cultivate your homestead. Also, your voice is like balm, so soothing. I picture you reading books to children in your local library…….
Physically, I'm probably limited to 20%, but that's still something I hope to achieve. This video is really helpful, thanks!
19:30 "Do what you love", says it all.
Seriously useful.
Hey, nice to see you’ve uploaded a video before the New Year 😊
I love watching your video, they are so interesting. There is such an inter peace that comes from you, your voice is so calm and sweet, I'm sure all your animals feel it! 🌼
Hey 👋 love your name first n foremost & then totally enjoyed video, so informative So now I’m a new subscriber here looking forward to watching all your videos love from Australia 🇦🇺🐨🦘✌️
I came across and started watching your videos before the pandemic and now more than ever I think there is a huge value (and inspiration ) to your videos especially their content . So thank you very much for that 🙏
I started a small garden myself last summer , results were not great ( caterpillars and others small critters really enjoyed my work 🙈) but that just means I will be more prepare this spring summer , I am a carpenter so finding time is a bit of a struggle but I have to say every minute I put in this year was worth it .
Love and blessings from down the road in county Limerick 👍🙏💚✅
Thank you for explaining what a small holding is. I learn so much from you. I have 20% self sufficiency, and maybe more as I have chickens, a large garden, and even apple trees. I can my produce and freeze it. I have about four acres. My partner doesn’t share the same motivation but it’s doable.
I really needed a Mossy Bottom video! Thanks as always for the great content and delivery, really informative and wonderfully explained
Congrats on 100K followers!! Love all that you have done/do and cannot wait til you work on the Cottage.
I had to vaxinate my horse against covid recently…
He is in a stable condition..
Found your channel a few weeks ago and have almost watched all episode. I am not really into self sufficienc farming but the way you present it is very attractive and interesting. I love nature, love animals, and I really like the attitude you have to your animals and animals in general it seems like. Are you a vegetarian? I am not but try very hard to only buy organic and locally farmed meat/chicken, sometimes I know the farmer or at least know them by word from friends. I am really impressed with your passion but still so well organised., and the way you keep track of what works and what doesnt.
I have just below an acre of land in southern Sweden and I will try to use my inspiration from you to get doing at least something here. Thanks so much for your great informative videos.
Another amazing & lovely vlog. Daniel you consistently outdo yourself. I love the concept for the new series of interviewing people trying to achieve some level of self-sufficiency similar to you.
Additionally, what you stated about how it’s rather arrogant to think our ancestors were unhappy because they lived hard lives (paraphrasing).
What a great line, “A hard life isn’t necessarily a bad life, but an easy life is hard to give up at least entirely.” So true, Daniel. So true. But the more of us who do do, the better off we’ll all be on Mother Earth.✌🏼🌍🌏🌏👍🏼
You are a good teacher and excellent presenter. 👏❤️ And your singing is not half bad either 🎵
Great video! Good for thought. We have 40 acres, high desert mountains. Short grow season, very little rains. I'm always grappling with the sufficiency issue. Plants vs water vs animals. # acres not a problem. I am going to watch this through a few times because many of the points are universal. Thank you!! It's our future dream to maintain some type of self sufficiency
Excellent video with facts very well thought out and clearly presented. I would add (for city people with very little knowledge of farming/gardening) that in some places the land can be very stony. Farmlands have been already worked on, but if you need to clear new land, you'd rather avoid stony land.
I do gardening on a stony land and just digging a hole for a shrub or a small tree is hard work, this outside the existing flower benches, that is.
Thank you for this informative video! I am loving the new series on dream cottages. I'm about to move over to County Kerry for uni and eventually start the dream of my own homestead! Been following this channel for years and can't wait to one day start my own ✌️
Love your videos! They are really well produced and you are an incredible narrator. I appreciate you taking me along on your journey.
I am a small acreage farmer and your assessment is quite accurate. I am in Northern California and my family has been working a 80%-100% farm for over 5 years. As you indicated, the 80%+ part is by far the most difficult. In my opinion, to achieve 80% - 100% the farm needs to be viewed as a business, rather than a way to subsidise a rural lifestyle.
If you ever update this video, or do a part 2, I would add to the 80% or 100% part the importance of value added production (canning, candy making, dehydration, freeze drying). You mentioned milk/cheese production, but in my experience, that is a very large undertaking and requires a rather large investment. You should also include a bit about regulations. I don't know about Ireland, but in the U.S. once you process a product beyond it's raw state, you will need to adhere to some level of regulation.
We actually do U-Pick raspberries and blackberries. It is a good way of increasing revenue and draws people to the farm. Downside -- insurance costs, but this is probably only a problem in the United States.
Might want to talk about farm education. You are doing this through UA-cam, but providing on property tours and on hand instruction is a good way of providing outreach and increasing income. Hosting small groups also reduces need for parking, bathrooms, and other facilities that would be required to support U-pick.
I would further the discussion to the importance of retail sales. This is definitely a stumbling block for many small farmers. Understanding pricing, access to markets and creating a "brand" can make a big difference in farm economics.
You may have hit all of these subjects in your other videos, I am only gone through a dozen or so.
Keep up the good work!
Wow, I’m first to comment. I just love these videos.
You have so much wisdom.
My dreams ✨ one day when im out of debt ill be coming on over from the US. Idk if it will be tomorrow or in 15 years but ill be there. My roots are crying for me to come home. 💕 thank you for the constant inspiration.
Daniel,
What a refreshing change , to listen and watch a well thought out ,and articulately spoken series of videos. I wish you a long and happy life.
Just recently found this channel, I to am on a journey to self sufficiency having bought a 13 acre plot of mixed woodland and pasture earlier this year. I’m trying to get rid of a bit of debt in the way of a mortgage before I jump off the hamster wheel and dive head first into full time smallholding/farming. If my wish comes true I’ll be able to build a tiny house on the land someday 🤞🏻. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻
In your calendar video I thought we wouldn't hear from you til next year so I'm glad that wasn't the case. You do a great job preparing your video content. INformative and well done. You do have a good voice and the videos are peaceful. Your videos give me hope and focus. I applied to be your volunteer and hope that works out. Best wishes. Deanna, USA
This should be part of required curriculum for all school age students.
You are my biggest inspiration now for how I want to spend my life. I'm 24 now, almost done with uni, no savings. Hope I can make it work some day!
Daniel, you are a natural story teller! Delighted for another excellent video...well done!
I am one of your first subscribers very happy for your channel to grow. Keep it up the good work
Hi Daniel! I ordered the Calendar, so excited. It brings me peace to see Ireland, you, moss, the kittens ... just living naturally. That's how I want to live. Right now I have a backyard (and front yard suburban garden). Buckets of peaches, apples (with worms sometimes, that's ok), plums, 200x more blackberries than I can jam, jelly, juice, or freeze, strawberries (someday I will make your strawberry wine recipe), and many veggies. But honestly, probably not even 10% self sufficient yet. I was wondering if you have considered the "Rocket Mass Heater" for your cottage? It uses only 10-20% of the firewood that a traditional fireplace uses (even efficient ones), and the warmth is more of a radiant warmth that lasts and lasts. plus, the pets love to sit on the clay / adobe / cob hearth because it is slightly warm. -Robert
I love this channel. Keep up the good work.
I love this channel 😊
I’m looking to move my family to Ireland. I’ve been put of being English and a single mum.
I work remotely and have (and would buy) a small holding.
I’m watching you and looking at Ireland properly. We keep sheep, goats, pigs and poultry right now
Hello
Mossy Bottom, could you please talk about what work is actually needed on daily basis? Why is it taking so much time, what activities? As an IT guy I can see a lot of cheap automation, e.g. you do not need to bring water or to your animals, inexpensive automation can do it for you. Considering to change my lifestyle, so I appreciate your channel a lot!
Love your regenerative approach to soil / growing. I'm sure it's the future! Thanks for your informative + generous content.
This was a very good lecture with plenty of excellent advice! Starting from a very good information pack on farming and gardening and down to a great analysis of rural life psychology! In my view this guy could easily do some teaching for agricultural university students. I have done a degree in Forestry and Horticulture and I am still learning a lot from these videos. Thank you.
we've been waiting for your next view, thanks Daniel. We are on the search for a property with some land to move to next year
I’m about to turn 18 on April 29 and I’ve been thinking of starting to save money. Once I turn 18 I will get new job and start saving to hopefully buy land in Ireland or somewhere in Europe. It’s my dream to live self sufficient. I’ve been watching your videos a lot and it just make me more excited and eager to live self sufficient like you.
This as something I want to do. Move out to Ireland and have a small homestead.
Well done Mossy. I've been following you for more than a year, you have achieved so much for a single person, thankfully with the help of volunteers who obviously support your ambitions. I wish more people would choose to do this however as you know it's budget, courage and location.
Keep being who you are.
Thank you, warm hugs
Wonderful episode! So much food for thought! We are going to aim for 70% self sufficiency 🤞🏻 I really appreciate how you broke this all down - thank you for sharing all this helpful information Daniel!
There’s so much more than scattering seeds and carrying water. I’m impressed with your knowledge!
I would add rabbit very early if only for the free direct use vertilizer for the vegetable garden (and the urine for pestcontrol). Even if they are just 1-2 pairs of fixed animals that are just there to cuddle produce manure and eat some green bits from the veg you don't want to eat.
Thanks for your breakdown of the different levels of small-holding practices, very important to think about what level we all need to consider. Much respect from me here in Sydney, Australia. Keep up the great content.....and thank you.
Currently running from a polytunnel and a front garden in a semi detached house in County Antrim. You're very welcome to come and visit us, we're not too far away.
I am not interested in becoming self sufficient but love this channel and found this video to be excellent and very interesting. I think you have a wider audience than you may think.
Very interesting and set out suggestions.
I have recently( july21) moved to a modern 1979’s bungalow on 3.5acres. Hoping to have a small camp site next summer of 10 tents. To help support me.
Very cool episode. Great to learn from you and to see you doing thing I will be doing in the near future. Love your approach towards nature and land!! Thanks for sharing!
I've only just found your channel this week. I'm a neighbour of yours in the North. Well done thankyou for a very inspiring channel . Best wishes..
My husband was born in Ireland (co. Waterford) and his parents moved here to the US when he was very small. His parents have moved back for their retirement, and we have planned to move there at some point. The 60-80% self-sufficiency level has been my dream. We're older though, not yet near retirement, but closer to it than to "just starting out" at this point. This content is really helpful. I think my ideal would be a larger piece of land mostly for plant-based food crops and layer fowl and an area set aside for a tiny house B&B park for folks who want to experience tiny house living or farm life. What are the legalities of tiny houses in Ireland? I know that houses tend to be smaller there, but I also know that the building codes are different (from here at least) and that there's a stigma against Travelers and I wonder how all that might impact starting a tiny house community or tiny house based business.
The biggest challenge to building a touristy b&b detached house here would probably be planning permission: it's handled by local county councils and depending on what county you're in can be very difficult to acquire (particularly the detached structure). Stigma against travellers isn't about people who travel specifically, Irish Travellers are a specific ethnic community, tourists are generally welcomed with open arms so that shouldn't be a big concern for you
@@cormacdonnelly365 I think Alex probably realizes the difference between tourists and Travellers, but may be concerned about the kind of tiny houses common in the US - built on trailer beds instead of on a foundation, often to avoid certain housing regulation requirements - and the potential association between homes on wheels/caravans and Travellers, given the stigma against the latter.
I have always embraced Mother Earth and worked with her, she tends to be kind to me😂🌞🌻. Often had disappointments but at the same time unexpected triumphs. Its a great feeling to be sat eating a complete meal that you 'n' Mother Earth made from a small urban garden. Put your mind and back into it with love.... you don't always get what you want, but do get what you need along with smug satisfaction🤣. Love your channel...and also Kris Harbour's. So therapeutic to watch. Thank you xxx
Amazing episode with such thought provoking advice. Your channel is one of the best things to happen to youtube. Much thanks! ☘
this guy would have had the best weekly BBC show ever!
great video - we're working on buying land in Clare and found this really inspiring and useful!
Hello! Thank you for sharing. I am really interested in this type of life. 😁
Have you considered any of the Teasgasc courses? Getting professional training in agriculture and horticulture could be very useful. Especially if you want to move up the value chain and become certified organic.
I so look forward to your videos! They are full of knowledge you have gained and relaxing to watch. I also have concerns though, of how you will sustain this smallholding if you are alone in old age? Blessings from the land of Oz.
For inspiration you should check out a documentary on a 72 year old man living alone and farming lots of goats, cattle and chickens with no help.
@@Staronqueen what is the documentary called?
Your content is excellent, thoroughly informative, I would love to do what you’ve done(in my own way) I’ve Spaniels so I don’t think the rabbits would work for me 🙈🐕 but my health and age couldn’t take it now, great to see though and I hope it gives some more able and youthful folk an enticement to live a life which is kinder on the planet 🙏🏻🏡💚
Another great one.
Many thanks for this excellent video. I moved to Ireland just last month to do precisely what you've featured here: maximal long-term self-sufficiency balanced by daily joie de vivre. I've been looking for lands in those very 'badlands' of County Roscommon and Mayo, and have been confused by ratings of 'fair quality land' on what looks like perfectly arable acreage! Looking forward to the stories from others in Ireland, as this country is (apart from the slugs) remarkably well-suited to this lifestyle. Thanks again.
Appreciate your thoughtfulness and advice! We are at the very beginning of our homestead journey in a forested area of Idaho, US. We have many things to consider.
I am so appreciating all the great content on your channel! You have a real talent for creating these almost mini documentaries; your topics and presentation are thought provoking, informative and entertaining……..spot on!! Thank you for taking us along on your journey 😀👍
Struggling to dehull einkorn wheat, they must have had longer days centuries ago 😁
Lots of farms around here substitute their income by using spare areas for storage rooms, small business units and craft shops.
Just completed my PDC here in South Africa. Love watching your videos Daniel!
Thank you for again anninspiring video. Bye from Friesland, Holland. 50% selfmsufficient ☺️
Thank you so much for your input and for sharing what you have learned very useful ! Wishing you the best! God bless you and keep you in his care!
Outside in your tee shirt in November! fair play to you Daniel, I've my feet up in front of the stove enjoying your video😀
Another great thought provoking video! I guess I'm at 20-30% self sufficiency, growing fruit, veg and keeping chickens in a back garden plus an allotment. A smallholding is out of the question (for many reasons) but I'm already working towards being at least 50% when I retire in a few years. Developing my perennial crops will stand me in good stead for then :-)
Thank you! If you go on vacation, who looks after everything?