How to… try out smallholding

If you've been inspired by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and wish to try your hand at smallholding, our guide is the perfect place to start

 
Smallholding can mean anything from having some raised beds and keeping a few hens to going the whole hog and taking on livestock, planting crops and even brewing beer. But for most of us it involves moving home: to get more land, access to useful outbuildings or to a location that is more affordable. This is a big and expensive decision, so it makes sense to explore the reality first.

 

Practice makes perfect

If you regularly trawl the ‘smallholdings for sale' sites on the internet, hold your horses. Go and run someone else's for a week or at least a weekend. Ease yourself in gently with a holiday on a farm or smallholding - Farm Stay UK (www.farmstayuk.co.uk) has a good selection. Alternatively, house and animal sitters are often welcomed with open arms by smallholders longing for a break. House-sitting organisations such as Animal Aunts (01730 821529; www.animalaunts.co.uk) will want some experience so it is best to start off with a friend-of-a-friend arrangement.

 

And if you really want to muck in, you could try wwoofing! World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (www.wwoof.org.uk) puts volunteers in touch with organic farms. In exchange for your hard graft, you receive meals, accommodation and the chance to learn from the pros.

 

Head for the shows

The agricultural shows that take place at village, county and regional level (see www.asao.co.uk for details) are goldmines of information for beginners. At the larger shows you will find breed societies, which will give you frank and personal advice. The smaller shows often have stands manned by smallholding societies. Membership is usually inexpensive and the local knowledge and expertise is invaluable. If you have any problems later, it is much better to have bought your hens from someone in your group than an uninterested commercial breeder at the other end of the country.

 

Network like crazy

The plethora of online chatrooms and networking sites means that it's quite simple to find people with common interests. To get a picture of what it's really like to be a smallholder, try our Farming & Smallholding forum, or the ones at www. rivercottage.net and www.accidentalsmallholder.net. 

 

Go on a course

Holme Lacy Campus of Herefordshire College of Technology runs a range of part-time courses for smallholders. You can also do introductory courses with Farms Direct (www.farmsdirect.co.uk), the Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org/master classes) or River Cottage (www.rivercottage.net).

 

Build a library

Planning the dream is half the fun. Every smallholder worth their salt has read John Seymour's The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency (£20, Dorling Kindersley). Home Farm: a practical guide to the good life by Paul Heiney is great on use of space, while 21st Century Smallholder by Paul Waddington (£7.99, Eden Project Books) is a good starting point.