The rural block

[DavidG]

A section for all the issues and pleasures of having a rural block (lifestyle block)

[HappyHammer]

What would be the min / max sqm or acreage requirements?:q

HH.

[MurrayD99]

What would be the min / max sqm or acreage requirements?:q

HH.


sqm = sq miles? We don't have a huge block by OZ standards. Might feel like a poor relation:C :C :C 13 acres and 5,000 gum trees....

[echnidna]

If''n yer live right out in the sticks size shouldn't matter

[HappyHammer]

sqm = sq miles?

No square metres...is that a veggie patch? :2tsup:

HH.

[Rossluck]

sqm = sq miles? We don't have a huge block by OZ standards. Might feel like a poor relation:C :C :C 13 acres and 5,000 gum trees....


So you own New Zealand? :D :D :D

[MurrayD99]

No square metres...is that a veggie patch? :2tsup:

HH.

It's a few lavenders - sort of test patch. Made the classic mistake of fencing in about half an acre of the paddock beside the house. Now we got a big garden. Roundup is a wonderful thing. Here are some more pics.

[MurrayD99]

So you own New Zealand? :D :D :D


Only the South Island:2tsup:

[DavidG]

I have 40 acres of granite rock with grass and trees between. :roll:

400 meters frontage to the Murrumbidgee with swimming holes deeper than me.

A set of rapids to lay back in.

Up the top of the block is a flattish area with wall to wall views.

Snow in winter.

Planning to build. (almost to submission to council).

[ernknot]

What the Hell, I live in Tasmania, what more is there?

[Cliff Rogers]

10 Acres in the mountains in Far North Queensland. :D

The moon & stars came out tonight.... first time in ages.... 14° outside.

[Barry_White]

5 Acres on the New England Tablelands.

Like Cliff the moon and stars come out here also pretty often. 2° outside.

[Burnsy]

1/2 acre with a creek running through it in the Perth hills and all our mates from the flatlands think it is huge, I want the vacant block next door as well but don't have a spare $400k

[Grunt]

11 acres in nestled in the base of the Cobaw Ranges, great northerly aspect. The ranges are to the east and north. Views to Mt. Macedon.

Damned cold too. Well for Australia. We get frosts down to -5 on occasions. Doesn't quite snow.

[swiftden]

only 1.3 acres in Murray bridge South Australia. But every man has to have him self a tractor no matter how big the block lol picture of my toy. My wife thinks its a laugh. I have the rotary hoe pictured, a 4 ft slasher, post hole digger, 9 tine plough and i have my eye on a 10 disc disc seeder to cut in half for seeding the paddocks so to speak :P

[Honorary Bloke]

Only a bit over half an acre in the Southern USA, idyllic by today's block size standards but hardly rural.

Still, I have a lawn tractor (SWMBO loves to drive the tractor! No lawn mowing for me. :2tsup: Worth every penny), as well as a small wood chipper and a roto-tiller for digging the veggie garden. We'll probably buy a larger piece of land (10-15 acres) in a few years as we wind down our careers.

[Doughboy]

My place is just under a half acre, but for suburbia it is fine. My folks have semi retired to 300 acres but they used to have a property out near Hillston (central west NSW) that had a house paddock with a fence line so long it would take more than one tank of fuel in the motorbike to check.

But out there the only thing i can remember is that they had around 150000 acres. Not the biggest by far but not exactly a hobby farm either.

[silentC]

2.5 acre high set bush block with 180 degree views to the south west over agricultural land and river flats. Walking distance to school, shops, pub. 5 minutes to the beach.

What is this, a real estate ad? No, I don't want to sell!!

:p

[MurrayD99]

Only a bit over half an acre in the Southern USA, idyllic by today's block size standards but hardly rural.

Still, I have a lawn tractor (SWMBO loves to drive the tractor! No lawn mowing for me. :2tsup: Worth every penny), as well as a small wood chipper and a roto-tiller for digging the veggie garden. We'll probably buy a larger piece of land (10-15 acres) in a few years as we wind down our careers.

Roto-tiller: Like this one maybe? Landmaster Kestrel 1956. My folks bought one new and I always wished it was still around... then one day, it's mate was parked on the side of the road for sale. $350. Wahoo. Still had paint on the tines. Great runner.

[Honorary Bloke]

Roto-tiller: Like this one maybe? Landmaster Kestrel 1956. My folks bought one new and I always wished it was still around... then one day, it's mate was parked on the side of the road for sale. $350. Wahoo. Still had paint on the tines. Great runner.

Yes, much like that one, with the tines in the rear. Most today have the tines in front which is cheaper but not as easy to manage.:)

[HappyHammer]

I only have 600sqm house block but my IL's have 160 acres where we go and play on the quads, Ag Bike, Tractor etc.... My favourite thing to do is get the tractor out and slash the grass for half a day, very relaxing.

HH.

[echnidna]

146 acres of Messmate bush.
(The scouts own it - I just live there)

[DJ’s Timber]

I am on a 3/4 acre block here where I live and work with just under 2000 acres at Moorngag which is about halfway between Benalla and Mansfield which belongs to my Uncle, but treat it as my own place since I got the place up and running for him and built just about every shed there.

Not talking about the tin cans that most of us have. The last one I did for him is 48mt long x 18mt wide x 7mt high.

[keith53]

We're on 1.5 acres in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Nice and quiet, tank and bore water & plenty of birds (the feathered kind).

My yard toy's a Greenfield with a Kwaka twin. :D

[Andy Mac]

We've got 3 1/2 acres, lightly timbered with 1/3 or so cleared, and the slope facing north. Harsh country though, with ironstone less than a metre below the surface, so the trees are a bit scrawny. Between that handicap and the water situation, none of my plantings have come to anything in 3yrs. We almost gave up and moved back into town, but the thought of having neighbours that close put me off. My recent trip back to the family farm (19,000acres) made me realise how much I like being out in the open with no-one around!!

Cheers,

[MurrayD99]

We've got 3 1/2 acres, lightly timbered with 1/3 or so cleared, and the slope facing north. Harsh country though, with ironstone less than a metre below the surface, so the trees are a bit scrawny. Between that handicap and the water situation, none of my plantings have come to anything in 3yrs. We almost gave up and moved back into town, but the thought of having neighbours that close put me off. My recent trip back to the family farm (19,000acres) made me realise how much I like being out in the open with no-one around!!

Cheers,

Snakes.... I bet you got snakes... Urrgghhhh!:o

[keith53]

[quote=Andy We almost gave up and moved back into town, but the thought of having neighbours that close put me off. [/quote]

Amen to that!

[Rossluck]

We live on 1 hectare or 2.5 acres. But we're in the process of trying to buy 5 acres.

I have the same toy as Swiftden, a Kubota b6000 with an underbelly mower, and a COX ride-on for SWMBO (that I mainly use)

[DavidG]

Oooo! We got our own paddock to play in.
Thanks ubeaut . :2tsup:

[Cliff Rogers]

This is our tractor/mower loaded with Larry offcuts.
We also have a 4' slasher & a blade that goes on the back.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=21003&d=1143115586

[Iain]

5 acres divided into 5 paddocks about 2km out of town, close enough for what we want in town, far enough out so the hoons don't come out, oppostie side of town to the pub, no neighbours, creek backage (well, it's at the back not the front), house huge hay shed 40x20, 6x12 playroom for me and 8 berth stables (no ensuite) for the mules. Views of the ranges and a freezing westerly straight off Westernport Bay.

[Rocker]

0.8 ha in Sunshine Coast hinterland. About 80 palms, 20 fruit trees, and one eucalypt - we don't want too many leaves to blow into the pool. 108 sqm of shed:D

Rocker

[munruben]

1 acre semi rural I suppose you would call it in south east queensland. quite close to Brisbbane The block was heavily wooded when we came here nearly 5 years ago. Had over 20 trees removed so now you can see the house from the road.
Picture shows the view looking out from the front steps of the house.

[DavidG]

The apprectice checking out the Tonka toy.

[HappyHammer]

Hey DavidG, your lawns buggered mate.:U

HH.

[DavidG]

Hey DavidG, your lawns buggered mate.:U

HH.
Yeh. Its time I got the slasher out.
'tis getting a bit long. :doh:

[Cliff Rogers]

David, that Tonka is very similar to our but we don't have a bucket or a spade, ours is more suited to getting rid of grass & fallen branches than messing around with bare dirt. :D

[DavidG]

Cliff
The bucket and spade come off and she is a little tpl cat one machine.
I have a 4' slasher for trimming the lawn and a 4' box blade for road surfacing and maintenance.

[Cliff Rogers]

We have the blade, a slasher & a deckmower to go under it.
The blade is a bit hopeless on hills. :rolleyes:

[fxst]

25 acres semi arid bush 8 kms from town so its peace and quiet when we are out there. House is about to hit the market and then bliss.
only waiting for wireless internet service (Not Tel$tra) and all is good
nearest neighbours houses are 3/4 km away so handy but a hassle free distance away.
Pete

[rhancock]

Aww... In my mind I live on a number of acres on the side of a hill somewhere.... Unfortunately SWMBO won't live anywhere you can't see the Story Bridge in central Brisbane... So we have the smallest rural block in inner Brisbane... But only in my head. :(

[reeves]

we have been here for 7 /1/2 years, great spot.

http://www.johnreeves.com.au/house/

Selling up soon and moving to Tassie.
Its been areally good peaceful place to live and I have learnt heaps about wood (and bandicoots) living in rainforest timber area.

cheeeeeers
john

[HappyHammer]

Sounds like you're sad to go...what type of snake is that?

HH.

[Brown Dog]

love the wild life pics Reeves:2tsup: .

This is our humble rural block...5 acres...lived in this area my entire life, except for short stay in Perth.

47687

Although this area is unforntunately loosing its rural appeal :( ....when McDonalds arrives and joints like this get built just up the road :o
47688


One day...hopefully in the not to distant future the plan is to sell up and move to Victoria...as SWMBO is a Mexican and misses her family. This is where I would love to move too. :U
47689


Cheers
BD:2tsup:

P.S. I now have a scorching case of Tractor envy...thanks guys:U

[MurrayD99]

Just got this off the satellite... The trees are the military reserve of fuel. Photo was taken in high Summer.

[reeves]

Sounds like you're sad to go...what type of snake is that?

HH.

na not really, been in Qld along time, so time to move on, besides heavily impreganted SWMBO wants to move and its foolhardy to argue with a pregnant woman ;-)

Snake is generic carpet python, theres several in and around our gully but the largest is affectionatley know as 'speedbump', over 10 ft, heres some more snake pics including some of when speedbump kindly offered to act as a gaurdsnake for my workshop..

[Tonyz]

hey MurrayD99 been too long since around those parts, tell me, your up the main north road from CHCH going towards kaipoi and Rangioura that right, good beach too. Tony
take the man out of the country but never the country outa da man, hell you should see me when rugby union esp All Blacks v Wallabies wahoo roll on world cup

ahem I do appologise for this brief highjack of a interesting thread

[Wild Dingo]

2.5acres semi rural right on the edge of town... 5 mins to the pub 5 mins to the shops 5 mins to the railway station... 20 mins to nearest large town 2 towns within 15 mins... nearest neighbors house to the left but hes single and very quiet fella

Hills to the east with grazing cattle, creek passing through bottom of the block with a pond near the house... masses of room for further shed development and replacement house which will allow for mucho grass stuff... so will have need for one of them ride on mowers/backhoes/frontend loader/scarifyer/whatever else can be attached machines shortly

Was going to sell up and move but her highness had a major mood shift and so were staying put and building a new ubeaut house on this one ripping this old place down and rebuilding it as an extention to the existing shed... hopefully all within the next 12 months :2tsup:

[MurrayD99]

hey MurrayD99 been too long since around those parts, tell me, your up the main north road from CHCH going towards kaipoi and Rangioura that right, good beach too. Tony
take the man out of the country but never the country outa da man, hell you should see me when rugby union esp All Blacks v Wallabies wahoo roll on world cup

ahem I do appologise for this brief highjack of a interesting thread


Shhhhh! :wink: Nobody knows about that beach..... Quite right though.

[HappyHammer]

Snake is generic carpet python, theres several in and around our gully but the largest is affectionatley know as 'speedbump', over 10 ft, heres some more snake pics including some of when speedbump kindly offered to act as a gaurdsnake for my workshop..
Cool, looks like it just ate the cat.

HH.

[reeves]

Cool, looks like it just ate the cat.

HH.

haha yes , i think was probably a possum or wallaby, we used to have ducks for a while but they didnt last too long ;-)

[MurrayD99]

haha yes , i think was probably a possum or wallaby, we used to have ducks for a while but they didnt last too long ;-)


HH, there is no way I could co-exist with your mate speedbump. How can you sleep at night knowing he is wandering around? Jeez!

[reeves]

HH, there is no way I could co-exist with your mate speedbump. How can you sleep at night knowing he is wandering around? Jeez!

ahha Murray, do I detect a little of the classic kiwi snakephobia?

The pythons have always been very polite and i have never seen one get aggressive, even when you pick up them and pet them a little. In fact they are quite cuddly in a reptilian way. They are good to have around as they keep any rodents in a state of consistent paranoia (snake shows up, mice and rats are long gone) and are generally very lazy, just hang around on the verandah doing their thing. I have gone out to the lathe a few times and found one draped across it, " mm contemplating a bit of woodturning hey speedbump" no response so with best Steve Irwin impression grab snake and hurl over overboard for a while, crikey!

They are also large enough to keep any more poisonous snakes away, in a " i am bigger than you are " kinda thing, all in all good animal to have around the place. And if I am out I am dead sure no ones gonna sneak in and try to steal my gear or wood supply. with old speedbump keeing an eye on it ;-)

[MurrayD99]

ahha Murray, do I detect a little of the classic kiwi snakephobia?

......And if I am out I am dead sure no ones gonna sneak in and try to steal my gear or wood supply. with old speedbump keeing an eye on it ;-)

Well, an introduction would be nice... ."Hi Speedbump, nice to meet you & I just have to go now. Do you got Skype?" Excusez-moi, no, no, no, I can't deal with it. Naoowwww! Runs over the ridge screaming....

[Tonyz]

Shoot man Murry Ive been over here 30 years and still say the only good snake is a dead one.:p

real fun when hitting a big 6' brown with the front wheels and it dont come out the back end :oo:

Tony

[DavidG]

real fun when hitting a big 6' brown ....

when you are on the motor bike..........
Talk about legs up................:o

[Terry B]

50ha of stringybark forrest and pasture 10km out of town. I am now the proud owner of a Fergie 35 that is about the same age as me but goes really well. It is fun slashing paddocks.:U

[weisyboy]

48 acres of heavily timbered relatively steep land 15 mins west of the Brisbane CBD (2hours in the traffic) my piece of paradise with views to Morton island.

[Terry B]

48 acres of heavily timbered relatively steep land 15 mins west of the Brisbane CBD (2hours in the traffic) my piece of paradise with views to Morton island.
Don't you just love traffic.:C

[derekh]

300 acres (120ha) White Cypress (Callitris glaucophylla), Bull Oak (Allocasuarina lehmanii) and numerous other species 60km from Roma, QLD. Hard country but it has it's own beauty. Hopefully soon to have a strawbale house with hand hewn timbers. Maybe I'm being too ambitious at the moment.

[Iain]

Hopefully soon to have a strawbale house.

Beware of flat faced dogs that haunt these types of homes:wink: :rolleyes: :D

[Ozartisan]

Only 5 acres in god's country - the beautiful Manning Valley - NSW Mid North Coast. :U
Setting it up so you fella's have somewhere to stop off while gallivanting around this great land & play woodies to your hearts content! :q
You can even play with melting bits of glass & stuff - never know what wierd ideas you will come up with!
Plenty of the sponsors good stuff to make sure the pieces you make have a great finish (thanks UBeaut!)
Couple of satellite / Aerials showing where we are - Misty view a few weeks back, stage 1 buildings - Workshop & 2 bedroom villa for mum. (about to build our house, the accommodation wing, gallery etc) and unloading my toy Fiat 450 - complete with forklift!
Add the 5' slasher & lots of playtime to be had. :2tsup:
Should be ready for you lot to visit around Chrissy this year (mother nature willing!)

[squashedfrog1]

100 acres in Yarck. Just finished building a little cottage as Her doesnt like sleeping in a tent anymore. She says 4 winters "outside" was enough.
Got a 80hp 4wd Deutz tractor. (as someone said when we bought it, "what the hell are you going to do with 80 hp?" and we said, "anything we damn well want!)
20metre shed purchased by Her for my birthday (I'm a lucky boy) is still a frame. HEY DJ, seeing as you regularly must go past on your way to Unc's place, and you've fessed up to being a shed builder.....what would you charge to clad the bugger?

Add a couple hundred goats, assorted horses, cows and sheep, a mad kelpie, there's a lifetime work ahead of us but we love it.

Oh and the Yarck pub is a WINNER!


SF

[DJ’s Timber]

Drove past there only just yesterday.

Where abouts are you, mate of mine got 20 acres just off Middle Creek Rd.

If you think the pubs a winner, you must love the slogan on their stubby holders :U

[Iain]

Mr Frog, is it possible I know you, Ringwood Pony Club?
All sounds very familiar:)
SWMBO is now looking at 92 acres about 1km up the road so we can have more horses:-
Would like to convert the dairy farm into an equestrian centre with full racehorse spelling facilities, then I could give up work:2tsup:

[echnidna]

How do yer milk horses Iain?

[Iain]

How do yer milk horses Iain?

Where do you reckon condensed milk comes from:rolleyes:

[squashedfrog1]

dj,

Ya gotta be jokin!!!

I'm on middle creek road!


That mate of yours doesnt have the 20 acres about 4 kms down on the right hand side? Long skinny block? Between the Simcock's sheep and the Bowe's horses?

Ever had a meal at the Yarck? Her wat is boss has been cooking there for the last however long. She finished up only last Sat night!

Iain, nope no pony club for me. Good lord no! Closest I ever got to Pony Club was when I was 10 and I was dragged along to my sister's club The Chestnut Inn!!! Who named that?




sf

[DJ’s Timber]

Not familar with any of the names as I don't know anyone in that area, but that's about the right area and I think the horse place is next to him, he is on the right and is right on the first bend of that dogleg bit. His name is David.

Has your Swmbo got long black hair and you are up the road a bit further on the left

[squashedfrog1]

Yup,

SWMBO's met David. He loaded a tractor using our ramp a long while back. The long black hair? That is soooo her.

How small is this world?


SF

[DJ’s Timber]

That tractor came from my Unc's and that was me that loaded it and drove the truck :o, small world hey.

Soon as you said goats and worked at the pub I just knew it

[squashedfrog1]

Sooooo,


Fancy doing another shed? Her wot cooks would put on a ripper feed.


lol


SF

[Nutta]

2 acres on the Gold Coast and its the best move I ever made.
15 x 9 shed, chooks, veggie gardens, birdlife, hares, wallabies and peace n bloody quiet, luv it!
(and 2 shipping containers, real handy)

[flightyswine]

21 acres in Harrow, Vic. (West Wimmera) Population is about 100 I think. Nice little village pretty well half way between Adelaide and Melbourne. Pretty slow and quiet here. Sometimes too much so.

[doublejay]

40+ acres near Peel in Central West of NSW. We made the tree change from Sydney and we are loving it. We've got a creek frontage plus a bore. Huge shed (no power to the shed - yet). No stock at the moment, apart from 5 goats and 5 chooks we inherited, but we have 8 heifers due to be delivered in the next few weeks.

[mickwroth07]

92 acres, 35 kms south of chinchilla (qld)..
Absolutely desolate landscape.. worthless really! but its a great hobby property to escape the hussle and bussle of city living..
trying out a few small crops.. doing a bit of clearing.. building a couple of shelters.. finding that life without power and running water really isnt as stressful as people may think :)

[Cliff Rogers]

Your own bush camp ground. :2tsup:

Has it got any water on it?

[mickwroth07]

Sure does.. A nice big dam!

[derekh]

Hi Mick

You must be close to Kyogle and the new power station. My rural escape is about 150km further west than you, Yuleba. My place is covered with cypress and a small dam. Not everyone appreciates the country out there but it does have it's own appeal. And besides, green grass and rain are so overrated :) I would love to make the move out there permanently and experience life without power and running water, I'm so over IT. Please show us some photos.

cheers
Derek

[Cliff Rogers]

Sure does.. A nice big dam!
Big enough to have fish?

[terry arnold]

4 acres just out off Geeveston Tasmania.
Never living in a city again.


Cheers Terry

[Duchess]

6.2 acres within the confines of a small NW NSW country town. Protected from floods by a levy bank, the property is only a 15 minute walk from the main street of town (where I work). We came here originally from Sydney...haven't missed the place yet...:rolleyes: As I have horses, so we ended up with the acerage and I don't know many other places where you could live like this!

Land cost us 50 grand to purchase and we moved an old school house onto the property about 10 years ago and we've been renovating it ever since.

Seeing as you guys have been bragging about your toys...I have an Iseki 50hp tractor and an Iseki ride on lawn mower (which I've actually raced if you can believe it. Being a diesel it can out tow just about any other ride on that goes up against it! :U) Of late however, due to this on going drought, I've not had any need to use the ride on or the tractor for slashing sadly...

[Old farmer]

Well done, Duchess, hope you all continue to enjoy the life.

[texx]

90 acres just 10 or so k's out of texas on the stanthorpe side .
tried a few things just about to give boer goats a try .

[Old farmer]

Do you have good fences, mate, and a Maremma? Best of luck.

[texx]

the fences i have to do first and the dog wont be needed with any luck ( retired pro fox shooter :2tsup: plus a few tricks i wont discuss on here )
the fences are my only hold up at the moment still getting the materials together 8/90/30 aint cheap.
just got rid of the last of my pigs yesterday i am over pigs now i rekon but they were a fun learning curve ,
but i want some thing that i dont have to feed twice a day every day .
then again maybe some time down the track i will breed a few more hogs how could you not love a face like this and or these little tackers , whoops how did that happen one wrong pic inside tractor cab at work .

[texx]

try again a face like this

[Old farmer]

texx, I don;t want to come across to you as an interfering know-all but I am surprised the manufacturer's recommendation is for a 90cm height for goats.

We have not had goats for twenty years but, then, we found it reassuring to have a 5ft height, more to keep the male bush goats out!

You are 10 kms from town, I think you have told us. Would a pack of town dogs be a threat?

[texx]

town dogs are not a problem ,
on the fencing thing they ( the goat experts ) tell me that 8/90/30 and 2 barbs above is all thats needed for domesticated goats . ferals on the other hand are a different thing alltogether . i will be running one hot wire around the inside mainly to stop the goats from rubbing on the fence and stretching it , also teaches them a little respect for the wire .
no doubt there will be the odd rouge .
i am told to use the 30 wide spacing rather than the 15 so they dont get their heads stuck , the little ones will be able to get out but they come back to mum anyway fingers crossed.
i have been told to build a jump up on the outside of the fence and the ferals will come in and then have trouble getting out and they can be harvested , we'll see what happens there.
the guy i work for farms deer as a side line and we have 8 foot deer wire around all the paddocks they are in and we still get the odd escapee .
time will tell its all fun and learning .
and thanks for your concern all ideas are taken onboard.
on the dog thing all around me are sheep and cattle an unruly dog has a very short life span in my area.yes i could get hit by a dog one night i suppose but a small chance only .
they rekon a lone donkey in with the stock is a good watch dog too

[HUON]

Got donkeys and maremmas. Heard it said that donkeys get a little off or confused at birthing time and as a result can sometimes kill the kids or lambs. Also heard from other breeders/owners of maremmas that, at birthing time, in the case of twins the maremma will sometimes clean the first twin while the mother gives birth to the second twin. Only second hand knowledge as our maremmas guard our chooks and anything else that belongs on the property (probably includes the ride on mower).

[texx]

if i did'nt already have 2 dogs i would get a marremma , but i have a cattle dog cross about 9 year old and a bull arab about 6 year old they are both dogs and do not get on together have to keep them apart, i think at the moment to bring another dog into the equation could be mistake

[mudjeep]

We have 100 acres at Tarago, 40km south of Goulburn and 80km from Canberra where we both work. We have the beginnings of a Highland Pony stud (first foal born on Melbourne Cup day) and we'll also run some cattle; probably Lowlines and Highlands. Also planning to grow truffles. It's undulating pasture with some steep gullys down the back. Would be no more than 5 acres of forest. Just enough room for a 400m airstrip :plane: with a slight slope. Currently in the process of building the house after three winters in the shed/hangar. My toy :D is a 28hp diesel 4wd kubota inclusive of 4-in-1 FEL and a backhoe, plus the usual array of implements such as slasher, disc plough, box scraper etc.

[HUON]

Hey mudsheep, or whatever,what are you using dogs or pigs?