Hi,

Not sure if this is the correct area to post (I'm sure a moderator will move if it's not)

Been a lurker on the forums for many years now, but have got to the tough stages of planning the farm and thought I would say hi.

It seems like the last 4 weeks have been a bit of a nightmare seeing as I speak only a little Thai and the missus isn't too forthcoming with translating what I've been trying to get across to the workers. Hopefully there is a compromise that seems to be working (so glad I lived in a temple for 6 years otherwise I'm not sure how far my patience would have lasted otherwise)

We have 8 rai of which at present about 4 have been earmarked for rice crops (maybe something else in the off season, not quite sure yet how it works with crop rotation here, all I know is that it's been rice only fields for many years) we only have 3 trees left on the property, as the previous owners came and chopped down most of the other ones that were here just before they vacated their land. So we plan on growing loads more for shade and fruit etc.,

We have an area of about 0.5 rai for a fish pond. Another 0.5 for chickens/ducks and another livestock, maybe cows or goats.

The farm is meant to keep us in food not really as a commercial project, I want to try to be as natural as possible with farming methods and try to get other plants and vegetables traditional to Isaan area and Thai medicine.

As well as a farm, I want to run a retreat centre for very small groups to do general exercise / meditation / light farm working / homestay.

I think as introduction that might be enough, so I hope I can ask you seasoned farmers some questions if I need to.

Best,

Seb

Hi the Seb ... welcome to the Farming Forum. I hope you get answers to your questions here.

I must admit that an early part of your post where you said ...

It seems like the last 4 weeks have been a bit of a nightmare seeing as I speak only a little Thai and the missus isn't too forthcoming with translating what I've been trying to get across to the workers.

... worries me a little.

Good Luck with your adventures.

Plan your cash flow wisely as dry up as quickly as rainfall in the desert ...

.

Sure any questions you have will be answered in a civil manner, we farmers are friendly folks.

Where are you setting up, there will be neighbors who can give advice,

Best of luck and enjoy. Jim

If you are in the process of laying out your farm for rice, fruit trees, fish pond, ducks/chicken, and also cattle/goats, you will be hard pressed for room on 8 rai. Goats eat trees, cows knock them down, rubbing, ducks like water/rice chickens only drink water. Just some quick observations.

First look at the land slope, soil type and try to put the fish pond on worst soil. Use this dirt to build up the area to keep fruit trees out of water from rice field.

Lay every thing out on paper, walk you wife over land so she can look at paper and mark off designated areas for each "want to have" Do not depend on helpers listening to wife, you need to be there showing them what to do and wife translates for you and you both stay and make sure they do what you want.Since you spent 6 years in temple. go back to that hir style, your less apt to be able to pull your hair out when things go squirrley. Good luck and keep us updated to progress or lack thereof.

Hi, welcome to the forum! Around here the rice land is rice land because you can't cultivate anything else on it. It floods in the rainy season and is very poor. Maybe you should go softly softly at first ask yourself why the other farmers don't do like you want to do and see what happens over the course of a year.. It's not necessarily conservatism or laziness that holds them back. My BIL has tried tobacco, melons, shrimps, all sorts, and is now back to rice like everyone else, plus a big market garden after the rice is finished and that takes a lot of work and cow manure.

Hi I won't be of much help as I am in Europe sorry. But you will find you will be to the challenge just patience and lots of it and also remember the Thais more than likely know what they are doing even when you don't understand them. The other thing you will tell them to do one thing but they probably do it their way anyway so go with the flow.

The language thing my wife tells me she won't teach me Thai as than she won't to able to talk about me because I will know whats she's saying about me lol. Good luck with your new venture .

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice so early on.

The chickens/duck thing shouldn't be too bad as the missus has done this before with about 6 - 8 of each and reckons they actually enjoy living together so shouldn't be too difficult. The larger livestock would be limited to only 2 of whatever we decide on, although we may skip this option unless we can find a way to give them freedom without 'walkies' a few times per day.

I am quickly learning the balance between letting them do it their way and the way I would like it. I do realise they know the land much better than me and so I tend to ask for their ideas first and see if we can improve on it with what little I think I know. The walking around the land idea with them has happened a lot. The digger guys were actually really skillfull at getting me to move the pond to a better place. Asking the wife which way the sun moved when original plans were drawn up made the pond in direct sunlight for the hottest part of the day which I think the digger guys realised and went through an elaborate phase of not understanding what I was talking about until they managed to steer me to the much better option of placing it somewhere I can place (fruit?)trees to shade it.

I have felt like pulling my hair out on occasions already, but luckily managed to calm myself and see things from a more relaxed point of view. This has helped because as I have stayed calm it has given the workers time to see things a little more the way I envision them.

As far as the design thing goes, we are about 75% there, we just need to get the foundations for the buildings.

My grandparents were farmers in Italy and so I can understand some basic farming concepts, just need to see how its done here first before I start trying to change things (which I would prefer not to do). My wife's family were farmers when she was younger and they seem happy to help out. I have helped to build 2 temples, one from scratch and one we shelled an old library and redesigned on the inside (luckily the temple way was also just 'build it and see if it works' or one guy who had the plans in his head and we just did the work, so I have some experience working under these conditions).

Just as an example, I measured eveything out precisely, wrote in thai what was what, on graphed paper and the guys looked at me like I was showing them a nuclear biophysics paper, then the FIL comes along with a completely unscaled pencil sketch on the back of an envelope and they managed to dig it all perfectly.

Anyway, I will try to keep all questions to seperate threads but wanted to thank you all for such a hearty welcome

Just as an example, I measured eveything out precisely, wrote in thai what was what, on graphed paper and the guys looked at me like I was showing them a nuclear biophysics paper, then the FIL comes along with a completely unscaled pencil sketch on the back of an envelope and they managed to dig it all perfectly.

Thats what I mean they generally know what to do. I put in a irrigation system into our Durian farm last March which I studied up on the net. But when it came to physically putting the system in place the guy changed the whole system buying a old 3.2 Nissan engine to drive the pump and put in his system which ended to be cheaper and works 100% for us and continues to do so. He had put this system in a few places and this is what he understands so ask him to do some some thing different and he is lost so use the the local knowledge .

Know how you felt blowin. I put a system in for a fruit orchard, everyone working good, following the plans, until it came time to put in the 6 in stubs with sprinkle heads. I noticed a discussion between the fellow cutting the stubs and 2 others, they were telling him to cut the stubs 4 foot in length so the water would cover more surface. I explained that the heads would cover each tree as well as overlap a little and increased height would not change that.

To make a long discussion short I had them put what was specified on a row of 30 trees (no glue) closed valves to other lines fired up the system, let them see it worked as planned, then had them take several 4 foot pieces replace stubs and went thru the demo again. They never admitted they were wrong, but the 4 footers were cut to 6 inch and everyone went back to work. I have been amazed over the years at the number of wanna be bosses/experts that pop up after a half day of hard work. I was always surprised that when we hired women folk to do the work, the jobs was normally done quicker as well as the way they had been told to do it. Added to the fact, they were much easier to look at even under the layers, so they did not get black color.