Hi all, first post ever here so bear with me as I may not be in the right place.

 I am 26 years old and I am currently looking for 1.5 to 2 acres of land or thereabouts on which to start a small market garden. I did already find a piece of land but the farmer was almost impossible to communicate with so I have had to give up on him and start looking again.

I am based in Sussex, near brighton, and would need the land to be within a 25 mile or so distance. The only things I would need help with would be putting up suitable fencing, and help finding a quantity of compost, manure, and straw. Apart from that I would just like to be left to it.

 Can any of you kind gentlemen please contact me if you have, or know of, anything at all which may be suitable for my needs.

 

Kind regards, David.

market gardener:

I did already find a piece of land but the farmer was almost impossible to communicate with

 

Probably German (the farmer)

Probably best to advertise in the local papers, you may well be lucky.

Do you want to buy or rent? You will be extremely lucky indeed to find suitable land to rent anywhere in the world, especially the UK, but as Mursal says, try advertising.

dont rent. you must buy.

glasshouse:

dont rent. you must buy.

Good advice Glasshouse. Didn't I say the same to you ?

easier said than done wnw! i have tried.

runner up 4 times! land now is just bonkers . totally out of reach now that the banks are wanting 50% down.

Glasshouse, please don't think I'm trying to humiliate you, but perhaps you're aiming too high. Many friends of mine have started from scratch i.e. working full time, buying a few acres and over time building up, either through selling their few acres and buying something a bit bigger or just adding bits on here and there.

If you consider your present farm as your 'job' then buying a few acres on the side is your first step on the land ownership ladder. Those few acres will be yours. I know that you are clever enough to know that these 'few acres' will never pay for themselves, but they should be considered as savings to put towards your main objective which I would suggest would be owning your own farm. You may never personally finish paying for that farm, that may fall on your children's shoulders.

I recently bought more land so that my boys would have a place each. Unless I live to be very old, I don't think I'll ever finish paying for it, but I hope that in 20 yrs time I'll be glad I did it. ( If I don't go bust before then ! ) All I'm trying to do is give my sons as good a start as my father has given me.

I hope this doesn't come across as being condescending, I'm merely trying to give you some friendly encouragement.

Good luck and Happy New Year !

glasshouse (and Market Gardener), For what it is worth I did exactly what w'n'w is saying. It is the only way to get in - short of a big lottery win.

you are preaching to the converted.

the last piece i bid on was 100 acres, which went for £8,000/acre 3 yrs ago. my bid was £5,500.

i am surrounded by old money, and have resigned myslf to being a tenant , unless the landlord decides to sell.

 

I no a lad not so old as you that done the same thing he rented a bit of land to market garden on and had a few run down lotments to. we sold him a few old cultivators rollers etc. I never spoke to him for a few years but he rang up tuther day and he has bought his own land has got a few animals and was on about puting up a shed.so it can be done

alotments may not be a bad way to start the ones round here are not used I dont no if its the same up your way

I shouldnt think you would have to much trouble finding a bit of land make sure you get the paper work right though

 

Glasshouse you have to keep waveing your hand about then it will be yours

100 acres is a fare old wedge of land to buy in one go I only have six and was glad to get that

You are right it is better to buy land I would buy some more if it came up in the right place and i could pay for it

 

its rather different up here in scotland. with feudalism still alive and well, very little land ever comes to the market, and very rarely in small pieces.

i read with envy the farmes guardian, with loads of 20, 30, 50 acre lots for sale all the time.

you can walk all the way from edinburgh to the solway firth (100 miles)and only walk on the land of 3 lairds.

glasshouse you seem to be keen on new zealand, do you never think of going there? or canada? im fed up waiting for dad to retire so i can have a chance, i should have stayed in nz when i was there 10 years ago

multipower, if you are about 30 now, get on your bike to nz, its not too late.

when you are 40 plus like me its too late.

glasshouse, i will be 35 this year but my other half, she would never go, no chance plus dad would sell the farm n leave me with nothing, but then again he could do that any way, i realy should have stayed there when i was young free n single

multi power, sometimes you have to ask the question, you might get a surprise.a bit like asking a girl out.

it is a big problem, with the older generation living longer, it can be a long hang on .

try and get a rented place under your own steam as i did, you get a lot more respect that way, from all concerned.