Darren & Juliet's Land in Carmarthenshire

09/05/2024

We sorted out water for our crops and planted a few carrots and cabbages .
We do plan on putting a drip system in, to water the vegetables.
We check on our chickens and ducks, and do a few jobs that needed doing 🤠
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02/05/2024

We put some w**d membrane down on our growing area, we were going to grow in runs but later decided to lay the w**d membrane flat, as all the area had been fertilized by the chickens, it would give us more of a growing area.
We also made some earth grounding poles , to see how effective they are !!
We saw lots of people online try it out, so thought why not try ourselves.
The poles are made of wood, copper is wrapped around the wood poles and the poles go directly into the ground.
We added some white quartz to the antenna, hopefully we will see some results of this natural energy.
We tested the earth grounding poles with a volt meter, we had readings of 569 so something is definitely happening !!
We also checked on our ducks and our ponds .
We planted about 100 potatoes on our land , so we will give updates on how they do with the earth grounding 🌱⚡🪫
**dmembrane

We put some w**d membrane down on our growing area, we were going to grow in runs but later decided to lay the w**d membrane flat, as all the area had been f...

18/04/2024

We started Rotavating our grow beds on our land.🧄🥦🥕🫛🫐🫑🍆🌽🥔
We finally had a dry spells to carry out some work on our grow beds.
The chickens have done a brilliant job strip grazing the ground as well as fertilizing the beds.
Hopefully we will have good results.
We turned the ground over and we will give it another go over in a few days, once it's had time to dry off.
We are very impressed with the old rotavator and its attachments.
Can't wait to open more ground for growing 🌱

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13/04/2024

We continue with our bird shelter, and we check on our pond.
Due to weather conditions we are still behind on the shelter but we are making progress.
Our pond flowers are also starting to show in our ponds .

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21/03/2024

We make a shelter for the birds 🪚
Juliet and I did some work with pallets.
We boxed in the lower part of the shelter with pallets, and we used wire mesh above.
The shelter is still needing some work before completing.
We need to sort out the entrance and put a doorway in, the roof may be completely meshed, or partly covered with tin sheets for a bit of shelter, but this will depend on what materials we can get hold of.
We will continue it shortly 🤠
Until the next time!

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12/03/2024

We fenced our pond from predators, so hopefully our fish and ducks are a little safer 🐟🦆
We used some deer fencing around the pond , so it's about 5 and half feet tall.
We used rebar as posts, as the ground was very rocky.
We drilled holes approximately 14 inches deep so the rebar had a good hold in the solid ground.
It was a lot easier than using the wooden posts we had.
The fencing was secured with cable ties, and logs were placed at the bottom of the netting to prevent predators going underneath the fencing.
Some spikes were driven into the ground to hold the netting down.
We also put an electric fence around the perimeter of the pond fencing.
We plan on putting guide ropes on the rebar to tighten the fencing mesh, but we haven't done that just yet.
We are very happy with the outcome but I'm sure we will keep on adapting things around the pond/ ponds.
We also added another two white Call Ducks to our middle pond.
We also picked up a male Rabbit we are thinking of calling Buck 🐇
We are going to get him a companion soon 🥕
It was a productive time spent on the land 🤠

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04/03/2024

We do some work in our orchard 🍏
Me and Juliet covered the bases of the fruit trees with cardboard and compost, a measure to prevent grass growing and taking nutrients from the trees.
We also had a pair of Welsh Harlequin ducks 🦆
We also picked up another female call duck to make up our two pairs.
We also had three silkie chickens, one cockerel and two cute hens.
We also fitted some new lights in the cabin 💡

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01/03/2024

We get a little snow on the land ❄️
Our newly planted Christmas trees had a bit of snow 🎄
We check on the ponds, and also the chickens and ducks.🐔🦆🐟
It was a cold one today 🥶

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27/02/2024

We planted around 30 Christmas trees up by our top pond, for a bit of cover .
We also had a look at our top pond with our dogs.
No doubt we will be planting more trees once the top pond is completed.

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20/02/2024

We collect some chicken eggs and we take a walk in our woodland with the dogs.
We harvest some willow and some straight lengths of hazel , for our beans to grow on.
We used the rotavator for the first time and ploughed areas the chickens have previously grassed.
Once the ground is a bit dryer we will use the rotavator, to mix in the chicken poo, we are expecting to have a good crop this year, but we are still not 100% what crops are going where, so we are sorting the ground out first.
I was very impressed with the rotavator and what it can do.
We also checked on our ponds and our lovely call ducks.
We also fed our fish.
Juliet planted more seeds off in the greenhouse so hopefully I can get the outdoor growing areas ready, while the seeds grow.

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17/02/2024

We check on our chickens and ducks 🐔🦆
The chickens had their first eggs, we found one on the floor, and then found other eggs in the nesting boxes.
We also put some new bedding down for the chickens.
We had 10 eggs in total and they tasted great
We then visited the ducks and put some bedding in their floating home on the water.
Another kayak outing 🛶
The birds seem to be happy and there's been some breeding activity.
We also filmed an owl calling outside our cabin, but this was just the audio 🦉
We did a number of other jobs whilst staying on the land, but it was impossible to film everything.
Juliet did some indoor planting and we also sorted out our wood pile and had a general tidy up .

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14/02/2024

Our ducks are enjoying the pond 🦆
hopefully we will get chick's this year 🐤

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05/02/2024

We were back on the land checking out our ponds, we spotted some frog spawn in both ponds 🐸
Our ducks are also doing well, we are after another female call duck 🦆
We also put up an old kennel and run that we are thinking of putting geese in 🪿🪿
It's in need of a fresh lick of paint 🖌️
I think Juliet will be doing that👩‍🎨
We also had a walk in our woodland and checked on our small /
It's a very small stretch of water that is the start of a well known river in Carmarthen.
On our walk we had a look at some of the willow we will be harvesting for some natural fencing.

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01/02/2024

Our ponds, from our cabin roof 👀
I was on the roof doing some work and it's a brilliant vantage point to see the ponds .
The ducks are also settling in too 🦆
We also do some outdoor cooking, when we stayed on the land 🤠

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23/01/2024

We move our chickens and cockerels into safety, after storm damage to their animal run.
The animal run had a bit of a bashing in the strong winds, but all the birds were secure.
The birds are out of the wind and fertilizing our indoor growing area .
We will hopefully fix the outdoor run as soon as the strong winds subside .
For now our grow beds are having some free compo 🐔
Our crops should do well 🌱

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22/01/2024

You can never have too many shelves 🪴

19/01/2024

Or he's still learning 🐓

19/01/2024

We get a little snow ❄️

15/01/2024

We had a Buzzard trapped in our Electric Fence ⚡🦅
We were back on the land last night, we were alarmed by one of our dogs, barking at bottom pond!🐶
We found a Buzzard, a bird of prey.
It was tangled in its talons on the electric fence.
The electric fence is there, for the protection of my fish and birds.
It's not intended to catch birds or animals.
But to put them off visiting.

When we found the bird it was getting dark, and we were losing the light.
We had to use torches, it was really a struggle to untangle the net, so we ended up cutting the net.
The bird was very calm and from what I could see, it looked in good health, no wing problems, legs working.
The Buzzard was cut free from the net, and it was handled with care.
I decided to put the bird on a branch rather than keep it, till the morning.
It ended up flying to another tree, as it was near dark.
Hope it's doing okay.
Lovely birds.
It's not been there 24 hours as I was there yesterday, probably the following morning.

On the footage we do show other things from our and / and our three new .
The ducks are enjoying their new home on the water 🦆

I point out where we been strip grazing with the chickens.
Our crop will do well there ,with the old naturals!
Got some to do and some , Juliet wants to lots of different things.
We rotavated a gully, to help with the water that we get on the land , this will be getting directed towards our crops🌱

13/01/2024

We get some ducks for our pond 🦆
Today we had a few call ducks for our pond.
We made a floating duck house, the raft was made with some kingspan insulation and covered with timber, we also used a small dog kennel that we picked up for free , we will also be making further nesting boxes around the ponds.
The ponds are completely surrounded with electric fencing so hopefully the ducks will be safe from predators.
The three call ducks seem to enjoy their new pond and surroundings.
We will also be looking for another female / drake as we have two males and one female.

16/12/2023

We finished our cabin on our land 🪚
It's taken us some time to do, but we are really happy with it.🚪
Still a few jobs to do but the majority is completed.
I would have posted sooner but I was without my normal phone as it got broken.
The cabin gets boxed in with pallet wood and insulation gets put in by me and Juliet.
We painted the inside white for better lighting.
The floor has also been done .
We made a suspended floor on top of a plywood floor, and used kingspan insulation before laying the floorboards.
We also made a bench bed out of the left over materials.

Most of the materials used on the cabin have been recycled materials.
I DO LOVE LOOKING IN SKIPS

(We installed a pot belly stove and we also fitted shelving
We did not film this part)

But you can see it fitted 🔥

We will be adding to this structure in the next project

Hope you enjoy👀
Made with Film Maker

15/12/2023

Our chickens love a good run 🐔😂

02/09/2023

Made another shelter for our outdoor kitchen 🪚
More to do tomorrow 🍴😋