This 3 bedroomed detached fully modernized stone built cottage with the option of 4 Acres of land is currently for rent in Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd in Snowdonia, North Wales. The property is located in a glorious rural position, with views towards Bala Lake, and 3 mountain ranges, the Arenig, the Arans and the Berwyns.

The property is totally refurbished throughout and accommodation comprises a large open plan sitting/dining room with wood burning stove, part ceramic tiled floor and part oak floor with spiral staircase to studio. There is a fully fitted oak kitchen and seperate utility room, 3 double bedrooms with an ensuite wet room to the master bedroom. The property is heated by under floor heating.

The property is surrounded by 15 acres of land with the option of taking 4 acres or just the garden and plenty of off road parking. It is ideal for someone who would like to be ‘far from the madding crowd’. The location of the property enjoys an abundance of wildlife, birds, golf and outdoor activities, and is in an area of rural beauty and tranquility.

The property would be ideal for those seeking to live a more rural lifestyle and is currently being marketed by Lifestyle Lets Letting Agents, for more information please Click Here.

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This 3 bedroomed detached bungalow in a rural setting with approx 1 acre of land, plus use of adjoining paddock is currently for rent in Llanharry, Wales.

The property is newly painted and carpeted and comprises 3 bedrooms, fitted kitchen, bathroom with seperate shower, spacious lounge, huge gardens and also benefites from LPG gas central heating.

The property would be ideal for those with equestrian interests and/or those seeking to live a more rural lifestyle and is currently being marketed by Just Lettings Letting Agents, for more information please Click Here.

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This 4/5 bedroomed Farmhouse, with useful outbuildings and about 10 acres of pasture in 2 enclosures/paddocks is currently available to rent in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The unfurnished 4/5 bed farmhouse comprises fitted kitchen, utility, lounge, living room, and bathroom. The smallholding is positioned privately about 14 miles North of Carmarthen with stunning views and will be available early/mid September, viewings taken now.

The property offers an ideal opportunity for someone seeking a greener and more rural lifestyle and is being promoted by Cornerstones Letting Agents (Click here to view full particulars)

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Smallholding berry farming is one of the most profitable ways to utilize growing space. Whether you pick the berries yourself, or establish a pick-your-own operation, there is money to be made in strawberries. If you establish a reputation for having the best tasting strawberries in the county, you’ll do even better.

When choosing strawberry plants, there are several things to consider, but one of the most important is plant type. Strawberries come in three distinct types: June bearing, everbearing, and day neutral. Here are the differences:

June bearing. These strawberry plants will produce a single flush of flours and produce one crop that is harvested over a 2 – 3 week time span. Then the crop is done for the year, and the plant puts its energy into replicating itself through runners. Subcategories divide June bearing varieties into early, mid-season, and late. You can expect the largest strawberries from June bearing plants.

Everbearing. These strawberry plants will produce two or three harvests beginning in spring and extending into autumn. Because they are always fruiting, these plants produce fewer runners. The strawberries tend to be smaller on everbearing plants if they are not fed properly.

Day Neutral. These strawberry plants don’t require long days to produce flowers, so they produce fruit regularly throughout the growing season. While day neutrals tend to produce flowers in flushes, and mature the crop of strawberries before producing another flush of flowers, there will always be ripe strawberries in the patch. As with everbearing strawberries, day neutral strawberries will shrink in size if the plants are not given the right nutrients.

To maximize your profit potential, make sure you only grow the tastiest varieties of strawberries. In the UK, features such as winter hardiness aren’t a serious issue, so look for plants that yield well. Avoid varieties that tend to produce watery fruit, as these do not freeze well.

Here are some varieties that offer superior flavor with acceptable disease resistance and freezing quality:

June bearing: Gariguette, early; Honeoye, early to mid; Tenira, mid; Chelsea Pensioner, late.

Everbearing: Mara Des Bois, Fort Laramie

Day Neutral: Tribute

The flavour of strawberries is somewhat subjective, but if you love true strawberry flavour, then the varieties above will deliver. I have had wonderful results with Honeoye as a June-bearing strawberry and Tribute as a day neutral. I think they will always be my favorites. The Tribute is such a dark strawberry that you will think you canned blackberry jam instead of strawberry. I tried a day neutral variety named “Aroma” one year. What a disappointment. No organic gardening method over the next three years ever coaxed flavour out of that strawberry, and the results with chemical fertilizers were even worse.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new releases. Breeders are always striving to improve some aspect of the strawberries available—flavour, disease resistance, shipping quality. Your best sources are online, as few local nurseries are adventurous enough to bring in an unknown variety. Purchase a few plants and see how they do. If you find a winner, you can multiply the plants yourself, or order in bulk.

For information on how to multiply strawberry plants, see the article Multiplying Strawberry Plants for Smallholding Profits.

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange.

Article by Denise Rutledge for Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Amid the current huge growth in interest in self sufficiency and grow your own, a new national garden show dedicated to these topics is being launched this year.

The Edible Garden Show is being staged from Friday 19th March to Sunday 21st March at Britain’s most famous agricultural venue, Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire.

The Edible Garden Show 2010 will provide a unique opportunity for people from all walks of life, whether town or country dweller, realist or dreamer, novice or experienced gardener to unite with like minded individuals, learn from the professionals and purchase from the wide range of gardening essentials on show.

Whether your interest lies in growing your own fruit and vegetables, poultry keeping, organic herbs, sausage making, bee keeping, home baking, home brewing, or you just have a general interest in being self sufficient, the Edible Garden Show is the place to visit for all those with an interest in growing your own.

As well as exhibitors, the event will include a host of seminars and a packed programme of practical demonstrations. The Women’s Institute National Cookery School is also set to play a key role with their series of cookery demonstrations and food related events.

The new show has already won official endorsements from the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, and the Royal Agricultural Society of England, two of the most high profile organisations in the gardening and agricultural world.

Billed as ‘THE ultimate Grow Your Own event for visitors and exhibitors alike’, the Edible Garden Show will also provide a unique opportunity for exhibitors to present their products and services to the buying public and stands are available to book now.

To book tickets for The Edible Garden Show 2010 and learn more about the event, visit the show’s website here.

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Firstly, we would like to thank everyone at Rural Smallholdings Magazine for publishing the original article about our Eco Hamlet project in Croatia, the response has been fantastic!

Within three months of the article being published, we received over a hundred enquiries and they are still coming in each month, it certainly seems as though we have hit on an idea that appeals to many people.

By the end of October we have already welcomed some twenty people to Croatia interested in viewing the Eco Hamlet project and the first three properties have been sold, with one couple having already moved over, and several more planning to do so early in the New Year.

There are three more properties available for sale within the hamlet itself, as well as nine others very close by, so any interested readers are still welcome to get in touch.

At the moment anyone with general building skills would be of great benefit, as would those with marketing and business development experience in the rural tourism sector.

A recent development has been the opening of a small hotel, restaurant, horse riding centre and fishing lake complex, just down the road from the eco hamlet, so people are really getting on board with the Eco tourism aspect of the project.

Thanks to the success of this first project, we have now found another village ideal for creating a similar community, which we hope to get under way by the summer of 2010, just as Croatia is likely to join the EU and a very special party is sure to be had!

Thanks once again to all at Rural Smallholding Magazine, your help is much appreciated.

Keith Pierce

Please click here to visit the Inland Croatia site.

This post was submitted by Keith Pierce.

The current recession and ‘credit crunch’ has led to more and more people seeking smallholdings in order to live a more self sufficient lifestyle and escape the confines of city life.  But with smallholdings and property with land for sale being more popular than ever, how do you get ahead of the game and find one for yourself?

With the number of people looking for smallholdings far outnumbering the number currently available, any advantage you can give yourself in your search will help to ensure you are at the top of the list of potential buyers or tenants.  So what can you do to gain that advantage? 

First, ditch the mainstream property portals as many owners of smallholdings and properties with land are seeking a more direct approach to finding a buyer or tenant for their property.  You could waste hours searching through the property listings on these sites, with only a slim chance of finding the kind of property you are looking for.  Owners of smallholdings and properties with land are far more likely, particularly in the current climate to advertise on specialist smallholding property portals such as www.greenshifters.co.uk.  Websites such as Greenshifters.co.uk specialise only in smallholdings, equestrian properties and property with land and so are far more targeted than mainstream property sites who may only list the occasional property of this type.

On Greenshifters.co.uk owners of smallholdings, farms and properties for sale with land place an ad for their for sale and for rent property and there are also ads  for anyone looking to exchange a property, an alternative to consider if you are having trouble selling your current property.  You can sign up for regular updates by email which will let you know as soon as a new property is listed in any of the smallholdings for rent, smallholdings for sale or for exchange listings.  This will give you an immediate advantage unlike others who are searching for a smallholding who just visit the sites regularly hoping to spot their dream smallholding, because you will be notified instantly when a property is listed.

As well as signing up for updates you can place a ‘Wanted’ ad listing the type of property you are looking for and your requirements and let potential sellers and landlords know a little about yourself and your smallholding experience and plans.  This can be an added advantage because often owners of smallholding properties do not advertise their properties and instead do the research themselves to find a potential buyer or tenant.  Placing a ‘Wanted’ ad on Greenshifters.co.uk means those smallholding owners or owners of  property with land can contact you directly, giving you an even greater chance of securing the smallholding of your dreams and the fact that you have placed a ‘Wanted’ ad shows you are actively looking and are less likely to be a timewaster or ‘daytripper’.

Give yourself the best possible chance of finding your dream smallholding property by placing a ‘Wanted’ ad on Greenshifters.co.uk and/or signing up for regular updates on newly listed properties. 

Please click here to visit the site.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Opportunity to purchase a substantial and beautiful 4 double bedroomed family home situated on the outskirts of the village of Marshland St James.

Alder Lodge offers spacious accomodation set in 32 acres of grounds comprising approx 1 acre formal grounds and gardens and a further 31 acres of pasture, apple and plum orchards with wildlife walks and private riding. The numerous trees and orchards surrounding and within the land offer a lifetimes supply of free logs. Perfect for self sufficiency.

This is a registered small holding in receipt of the single payment and is suitable for a wide variety of uses.

Alder Lodge is a fine country residence in good order set in its own 32 acre estate with easy access by road to the A47. 8 Miles from Wisbech, 8 miles from Downham Market ( Direct train to Kings Cross London ). 12 miles from Kings Lynn also with trains direct to Kings Cross London. Short drive to Sandringham estate and the coast.

The village of Marshland St James is 1 mile from Alder Lodge and has a delightful primary school with a school bus to the high school. A Post Office, Public House, farm shop (selling locally grown produce), hardware store, van hire, village hall, Methodist Church, fishing lake, riding school and a number of small cottage industries.

The spacious accommodation includes front hall, kitchen, lounge, drawing room, dining room, rear hall, downstairs cloakroom, pantry/utility room, morning room, downstairs office, utility room, 4 double bedrooms, wc and seperate bathroom.

The property boasts many period and character features including open fires, an inglenook style brick built fire place with heavy bessemer beam over, stable doors to front and rear garden, brick arches and views of open countryside.

From inside the property a lobby with 3 doors leads to the downstairs office, utility room and the garage with loft hatch to 2nd loft area ideal for conversion to seperate living accommodation.  Next door to the garage and attached to the building there is also a boiler house which houses the oil fired central heating boiler.

There are two main gated entrances both with white five bar gates. The first as you turn into Rands Drove leads up a long gravelled carriage drive to the front of the property. There is ample parking along the drive for numerous vehicles. This first drive is through the front formal gardens laid to lawn with shrubs and mature trees and features several pieces of antique farm equipment as ornamentation set in gravel beds.

The second main entrance is further along Rands Drove and is also through a five bar gate to the rear aspect of the property opening into a very large gravelled parking area with room for a large number of vehicles with ample turning space.

Off this drive is an attractive penned area bordered with hedging that houses a large dog kennel providing sleeping area for a good number of dogs with the advantage of a big grassed exercise space all of which is fully secured with gates front and rear.

At the end of the gravel parking area a gate leads to another gravel area currently used for sitting in summer months with views across the adjacent field and surrounding land belonging to the property.

Next to the dog enclosure at the far end there is a wood shed with metal roof used to house a tractor and is joined by a small wood barn used for straw storage.

Next to this is a triple stable and tack room. Newly constructed by National Stables comprising three loose boxes and a tack room.

Adjacent is an old portacabin used for storage.

In the middle of the land accessed by a separate gated drive off of School Road are the middle buildings. These comprise of a large concrete outbuilding with metal roof and barn doors. A portacabin toilet block (plumbed in ), a small wash room and two other storage blocks made of concrete. There is also a lorry box container also used as storage.

These buildings are accessed as stated from School Road over a small private bridge and along approx 100 metres of gravel track. This double gated entrance also provides main road access to the two fields and orchards. The first field and part of the orchards also benefit from a licence from the Camping & Caravanning Club and is a certificated site for overnight camping if needed.

The two fields of good flat pasture land total about ten acres in all approx and the rest of the land comprises of walks and rides through the private orchards of apples and plumbs. There are some formal orchard areas of dessert fruits which could be used for commercial growing and also about 1 acre of Victoria Plums which are of commercial advantage.

What was formally Bramley apple orchards of about 15 acres approx has been transformed into wide pathways of country walks ideal for rambling or riding. Perfect for cross country riding and wildlife watching and country pursuits. The whole area is totally private and you are very much within your own world here.

The property easily lends itself to a variety of uses and functions and would ideally suit equestrian or smallholders or commercial. Numerous possibilities. There is a Victoria Plum orchard containing about 1 acre of mature trees producing between 3 and 5 tons per year plus apple orchards of Bramley, Jonagold, Russet, Gala, and Saturn plus a number of other types. It benefits from being licenced by the Caravan & Camping Club for touring caravans and tents. Although this has not been capitalised on by the current owners it could easily be expanded upon as could the equestrian side of things. Numerous possibilities and endless potential. Easy enough to manage and big enough to live within your own world.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine

An opportunity to live the good life is waiting for. A traditional 3 bedroomed 1930′s house, retaining much charm and character is for sale in the lovely rural village of Beachampton. Surrounded by fields, this house, and the village itself is located in a prime area of Buckinghamshire, just being a few miles from the historical town of Stony Stratford and within easy commuting distance of Milton Keynes and beyond.

If a smallholding is too big of an undertaking for you, then this property will help you reach your goal of a certain amount of self-sufficiency. Until recently the current owners had fully utilised the long garden. They maintained a large vegetable patch growing a variety of vegetables, including onions, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, etc. This piece of land has now been grassed over, but with a little digging, literally, you will unearth the fertile soil once more.

The large patio area is also suitable for container growing.

If you want to try your hand at making jams and homemade fruit pies, you won’t have to go far for your main ingredients. In the garden you will find an apple, plum and pear tree. There are also gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes and rhubarb that crops each year.

For many years the owners kept 8 chickens, giving them a regular supply of eggs throughout the year.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine
]]> http://www.rural-smallholdings.co.uk/smallholding-properties/smallholding-property/good-life-beachampton/feed/ 0 http://www.rural-smallholdings.co.uk/smallholding-properties/smallholdings-sale/smallholding-swap-shop/ http://www.rural-smallholdings.co.uk/smallholding-properties/smallholdings-sale/smallholding-swap-shop/#comments Sat, 23 May 2009 18:55:14 +0000 Rural Smallholdings http://www.rural-smallholdings.co.uk/?p=679

Give the recession a run for its money by swapping smallholdings.

Today, Greenshifters.co.uk, the smallholding property portal, has introduced a new category to their website – smallholdings ‘for Swap’.

The people from Greenshifters tell us

“I’m really pleased to announce the launch today of a new  property category at Greenshifters.co.uk – ‘for Swap’.

With the declining property market, we have noticed a growing trend at Greenshifters.co.uk. Many enquiries that we receive through the www.Greenshifters.co.uk website are from people offering ‘swaps’ for their smallholdings and other rural properties.

People are really struggling to sell their properties and people are looking for alternative ways to make their respective moves possible. We believe that we can help meet this demand – a kind of Smallholding Swap Shop, if you like.”

It’s completely free to advertise property swaps at Greenshifters.co.uk.

Greenshifters.co.uk specialises in smallholdings for sale, smallholdings for rent, smallholdings wanted, and now, innovatively, for swap! You can subscribe to specific categories to be updated as and when new advertisements are added.

Greenshifters.co.uk is a highly targeted smallholding property portal and receives large volumes of traffic as a result.

We asked Greenshifters what advice they would give to smallholders advertising on their website.

“The best advice we can offer to those with smallholding properties  for sale, to rent, or for swap, is to make their advertisements on the website as comprehensive as possible. Potential buyers and renters want to be given loads of information, not forgetting local amenities. Photographs are very important too – they help to complete the smallholding picture!”

Pop over to Greenshifters.co.uk for a sneaky peeky.

Article written by Rural Smallholdings Magazine
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