Hello from Orkney

[Clarebelle]

Hello everyone,

I have been lurking for a little while but tend to be more of a reader than a poster so haven't gotten round to an intro yet!

I live with my OH and three kids on one of the northern Orkney islands, we have been here for 4 years. My husband and I are both ex-RAF armourers. We moved here to give our kids, what we feel, is the best upbringing we could. Island life can be tough but is totally worth it. We were into prepping a bit before we moved here but it was hard when your living in married quarters and moving round every few years etc. so we didn't really start until we came to Orkney. Even now, finances mean that I'm unable to achieve nearly as much as I'd like to. The good thing is that being on a small island forces you to do a certain amount of prepping anyway. Cancelled ferry's, power cuts etc. are all pretty common, especially in winter, usually due to high winds.

We have a 2 acre smallholding here where I keep a few sheep, chickens and ducks and we also fatten a couple of weaners a year. We home kill and butcher as we only raise meat for ourselves. We used to raise meat rabbits and quail but gave that up a couple of years ago. I also have a veg patch which is taking a while to become really productive, our ground is pretty much just sand and there are decades worth of docks to contend with.

We do store a decent amount of supplies as we only go to mainland every 6 months or so to go to the supermarket but my long term plan is to actually pare down the way we live so that I can produce what we need right here. For example, ive planted up soapwort and use this in the washing machine during summer. I make my own silage for my sheep. We have a few guns and can hunt game such as rabbits and geese. I'm also trying to plant up willow on my property to, one day, supplement the wood I have to get in for the wood burner.

I'm looking forward to learning from the forum.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Welcome to the forum

[Britcit]

Hello and welcome from another island dweller.

[Deeps]

Welcome to the forum, great introduction. It looks like you know what works for you, I'm 'well jel' of your couple of acres, I've definitely got prepper envy. I hope you find the forum useful, have you looked at the preserving threads ?

[jansman]

Welcome.I like the idea of coppicing willow.That is a great idea.

[diamond lil]

Hi, your setup there sounds perfect!

[Clarebelle]

Thanks everyone, Orkney has some unique challenges but I love my little piece of it and hope to make it perfect one day! Nice to see another islander on here

[Britcit]

Your set up does sound nice. Hard work I'm sure, but nice .

I have only visited Orkney once for a long weekend. It is a beautiful place, reminded me of rural East Anglia in places.
I only visit the mainland approx once a year as taking my van on Northlink is just way to expensive. When I do go south I just love to shop.

I look forward to hearing more about your take on island life, and the challenges is sets.
For example, what types of veg do you successfully grow outdoors there? Other than the dock that is

[Clarebelle]

Don't get me started on ferry prices

On my island neeps, carrots and tatties are grown commercially. I have grown a lot of veg successfully outdoors, my veg garden is walled by a stone dyke which does give it some protection but its still pretty exposed. I've managed to grow all the root veg, kale, sprouts, celery, cabbage, broad beans, peas, lettuce and alliums. I imagine you are the same as us in that the winter temperatures don't get really low like they do down south so root veg and other stuff like kale can just be kept in the ground through winter. They lose their foliage to the wind but the roots are perfect and kale is indestructible! The old 'neep store' was converted to a little greenhouse by putting a polycarbonate roof on so it gives me a bit of indoor space too for stuff like herbs and squash, tomatoes etc.

[junmist]

Welcome will enjoy the updates