Oct 17, 2012: For the burgeoning thrifty smallholder a whole world of fun and money-saving projects await. In our Christmas issue, Kim Stoddart will share some of her ideas for Christmas and the New Year ahead.
One tip is to get your animals helping you! Whether it’s using Christmas turkeys to gobble and clear back stinging nettles (which they love to eat), or using geese, chickens and ducks as portable lawnmowers, fertilisers and pesky bug-eaters extraordinaire, if done in a controlled way, your animals and you can benefit from their freer range munching. “It’s not just the obvious contenders either; we use pigs to root and plough areas of land which makes way for crop planting afterwards,” says Kim. “It’s natural for these creatures to be searching out their own food so they enjoy it and in the case of poultry it can save a lot of money on bought-in feed.”See Kim’s feature to read about this and her other ideas: Make your own pet food;Make your own Christmas decorations;Tap into some traditional wisdom;Make your own Christmas cards;Bake your own;Waste not want not;A bottle or two …The Christmas give-awayAnd finally … have a ‘berry’ merry Christmas!Our Christmas issue is on sale on November 23.
