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Home Beekeeping
Find out more about keeping bees in your garden for honey
grow your own
15:40, 4th Jan 2012
Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
fruits
12:23, 28th Jul 2011
Pear and Lemon Jam
Instructions for making pear and lemon jam
preserving
14:59, 27th Jul 2011
Making Apricot Jam
Instructions for making your own apricot jam
preserving
15:44, 26th Jul 2011
Grow and Make Harissa Paste
A recipe for harissa paste with ingredients you can grow yourself
grow your own
11:57, 30th Jun 2011
Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
Find out how to grow your own chilli peppers
grow your own
16:06, 17th Jun 2011
Dry Chilli Peppers
Find out how to dry fresh chilli peppers
preserving
16:05, 17th Jun 2011
Make Lavender Biscuits
Find out how to make delicious fragrant lavender biscuits
foraging
12:22, 16th Jun 2011
Small Holding For Sale in Slovenia
Buy a small holding in Slovenia and read the story of its current owner
Small Holding For Sale In Slovenia
smallholding | general | buildingLife on a Slovenian Smallholding
by Diana Evans
Every Slovene I meet asks me why I moved to Slovenia, and believe me to be totally mad. I came for the space, the hills, the fresh air, the lack of pollution and litter, to a small country where everyone knows each other, where the trains run on time and are cheap and the traffic flows freely. But mostly because I wanted to have a piece of land to grow things on and keep animals.
In Britain it was almost impossible to find something affordable. I looked at several countries in Europe and with a budget of 100,000 euros, I was prepared to do up a property. Slovenia is beautiful and some areas are still cheap to buy and eventually I found the right place, 2 houses, one fit to live in, the other needing renovation and 1.5 hectares of land, made up of a small garden, an orchard and a wood.
I had taken the TEFL course and was prepared to teach English. I had previously owned livestock when I had a croft on the Isle of Skye but the small house I then had near York with its few ducks and chickens was not enough for me. At the age of 50, my kids grown up, I decided to move while I still could to take up the challenge of living abroad and providing for myself. I lived in one house and renovated the other. I taught some English. Then I moved into the smaller house and rented out the larger, either short term tenancies or holiday lets.
I got some goats, geese, ducks and hens. I dug the vegetable plot, a friend trimmed the fruit trees. I cut the grass with a scythe to make hay for the goats. I learnt how to use a chain saw so the wood could be used in the wood burning stove that heats the house and the water. I have large cellars where I can store the fruit.
I freeze as much as I can. There are old vinegar barrels in the cellar, so i tried to make apple vinegar. I made juice and bottled it. With the goats milk I made cheese. I dried wild flowers for tea. I grew potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, etc. and soft fruits too. There are around 50 fruit trees, apple, plum, cherry, pear, peach, walnut and hazel nut and many grape vines. I have my own well for water.
Now I have decided to leave. 5 years is enough. My back hurts constantly. I am on my own and now 55, I had seriously underestimated the physical work. Shortly after arriving I fell off my new moped and my knee needed an operation. It and most of the rest of me hurts. I still cut wood most days and today I collected apples and walnuts. I only have a dog and 2 cats now. Why? Because I loved my goats and my birds and could not face killing them or having the unwanted offspring killed, so they went to a good home.
What will I miss? The space, the land, the trees, knowing that everything around me belongs to me. Watching it change, working with the seasons. Slovenia is lovely with proper summers and winters. It is still viable to run a small farm here and the paperwork is near to non-existent. Many older people still live off their land but young people are not interested so rural property is cheaper. For that reason I am selling the property, 2 houses and 15,000 sq. m. for only 160,000 euros. Please email me for more info dobrenje@yahoo.co.uk or skype dianayork.
Article Published: 13:24, 29th Oct 2008
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