Recycling and saving money on the Smallholding

I do not think it is purely my Yorkshire upbringing that brings a glint to my eye and a smile to my lips when l manage to save a penny or two or successfully use a home-made devise that would have cost money to buy. There is, l think, something in the nature of all smallholders that inclines us all towards recycling where we can and, if we save money into the bargain, so much the better.

The Compost Heap There are many ways of cutting costs without cutting corners and the most obvious and beneficial form of recycling around the smallholding has to be in the cultivation of a compost heap. So many people think that a rotting pile of vegetable matter left to its own devices in the corner will, in a few weeks time, magically transform itself into a prime-potting medium. Unfortunately, that is very rarely the case and the very minimum required is a three-sided structure complete with a moisture-retaining base. The dimensions should not be too large as the whole point is to build up to a reasonable height (perhaps around a metre or so) so that the various bacteria and enzymes can get to work in the warmth and moisture thus created. Mixed with bedding from the livestock and regularly turned so that the bottom layer becomes the top, you should be able to see some positive results in about six months. Covering the top of the heap with an old carpet or thick wad of straw will also help in accelerating the process and plants grown in the resultant mixture will taste all the better for having been cultivated in 'free' compost!

Newspaper rots down well in the heap provided that it is shredded and not left in huge soggy wedges. Before it finds its way into the pile however, the smallholder can do worse than collecting newspapers from friends and family and using them as a bed for all types of animals. Of course it is possible to buy bales of recycled and shredded paper from your local agricultural supplier but the whole point is to recycle and save money. In my game keeping days, l used to rear pheasant chicks on paper shavings and, as it was my employer's money l was spending, l didn't mind buying factory-supplied bales. Some found their way into the stable of my hunter who occasionally turned out flea-bitten grey as the newsprint discoloured his coat!

Chicken Litter!

Now responsible for my own bills, newspapers are laboriously torn and stored as litter for the chickens and bedding for the dogs. In my opinion, newspaper is wonderful for dogs, as it is totally absorbent, extremely warm and most importantly, very unlikely to be infested with lice and fleas. Incidentally, my horse was in good company - the horses of the world famous Cadre Noir stabled at Saumur some twenty kilometres from where l write, are bedded down on paper. Not only that, but the paper is imported from the UK as apparently, British newspaper makes better bedding than any of the French journals! Once it has been used as bedding, small quantities can be periodically added to the compost heap.

I have also been known to roll up strips of newspapers into toilet roll sized tubes and stapling them to form planting pots for vegetables. Filled with soil (free from the heap, of course!) bean seeds and the like can be individually planted and once large enough, planted out, paper and all. Provided that the amount of paper used to make the 'pot' is not too great, the roots of the plant will force their way through whilst the tube should stay firm enough not to disintegrate until planted in the vegetable patch. A neighbour here in France lines the bottom of his runner bean trench with newspapers before topping up with farmyard compost. The two combined certainly seem to help retain moisture around the plant roots when all about is wilting and in need of nightly watering from the well.

Save your sacks Save and store all the paper sacks which contains feed for your chickens and livestock, yes, l know they make a good base for a bonfire but more usefully, they provide ideal storage for potatoes and similar crops. Recycle nets that previously contained horse carrots in the same way and, if you find a source of hessian sacks, guard them with your life, they are so useful and rare to come by these days.

Smallholders sometimes use leaves and bracken as animal bedding in areas where they are plentiful and they fulfil the ideals in being both recycled and money saving. Their only slight disadvantage is in the fact that they are bulky to store until required but once again, provide a perfect addition to the compost heap - in that way, they could be said to be 'multi-cycled': firstly from the tree, then as bedding before composting and lastly, as a growing medium. A system that should appeal to all smallholders in general and to me and other Yorkshiremen in particular!

Peat should not be used, even in areas where it appears to be plentiful, as its removal is harmful to the environment and topographical structure plus, the dust created when used as litter for livestock could quite easily cause respiratory problems. I do remember bantam fanciers of my youth using peat but even then, they were aware of its dangers to their birds and periodically slaked down the litter with watering cans.

Vegetable Waste Tasty vegetable waste and household scraps will obviously be offered to livestock as a welcome addition to their costly balancer diet. Do not feed meat products or meat. Tempting though it is to sling vegetables that have gone to seed or are otherwise unfit for the kitchen, over the fence of the nearest poultry run or livestock paddock, it is far better to construct a rack to prevent wastage. My own chickens are offered their daily dose of greens from a discarded garden hanging basket, (found in the shed) which is perfect as, hung at the right height it offers exercise and interest to the birds as well as keeping everything out of the dirt. I move it around the run periodically so that no one particular place becomes over used.

It is always best to check that whatever you are thinking of 'recycling' is compatible to the diet of a particular bird or animal. Grass clippings, for instance, could give a horse colic and l once killed a pen of my son's Black Wyandotte bantams by feeding them stale fruitcake, which then fermented in their crops.

Other recycling forms might not be so obvious. This year, l had a modicum of success by cutting out the bottoms of a load of un-used plant pots, (again found in the shed) and placing them as collars around young cabbage plants. They kept the spring winds off, funnelled water directly to the roots and seemed useful in preventing attacks by insects which would normally gain access to the plant via the ground.

Fencing stakes that have rotted at the bottom and need replacing, could be sawn up for winter fuel but equally, the top two-thirds could be saved and used again as corner struts in a new fence. Chestnut fencing is especially good for this, as, although the points may have rotted, the main shank remains sound for many years.

Hosepipe, through which straining wire has been threaded, makes for good tree ties and prevents the bark of young trees from becoming chafed in the breeze.

The smell of human hair is supposed to keep foxes away from the poultry runs if tied around the perimeter in the toes of old tights - I personally would not place much faith in this one and think it may be carrying recycling just that stage too far!

Beware of becoming too eccentric in your quest - carpets, old freezers and tyres might have their place on the smallholding as mulching mats, feed bins and potato towers but the look of them is not likely to endear you to either the neighbours or the local authorities.