Bunny shows how she has arranged her animals around her garden so they contribute to the ambience, and embellish the views while at the same time help maintain the meadow, and woodland.

Chickens, sheep (Soay), Cattle (Dexter), Pigs (Gloucester Old Spot but the breed varies each year), and bees are all selected for being hardy and easy to care for.

The Soay are self shedding (ie no shearing needed), never get foot rot, stuck on their backs or caught in brambles as modern breeds tend to do and are idiosyncratic to look at – many confuse them with deer or goats!

The Dexter cattle are extremely hardy and capable of thriving on poor grassland so need little extra feed in winter. As they are a small breed they make the meadow look bigger. Their beef is second to none.

The pigs have big personalities and are happy just foraging for food from the earth but are given meagre extra rations to keep them really easy to handle. This more natural diet and slower growth improves their flavour immensely. They are finished on apple, quince and pear windfalls plus together with the other livestock have surplus fruit and veg from the garden.

The veg garden is done in easy to manage, raised beds and the brassicas are all grown under netting in a cage.

#growyourown #home


Please note this is the last video that we took before we sorted the sound

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