Hi there! I am Joseph.
I have been an expat living in central Portugal along with my beautiful girlfriend Mariana for six years now.
Together Mariana, my father Clinton, my mother Julie and myself, would like to show you a bit of the daily goings on around our Portuguese farm / homestead / smallholding and all of the work we are doing whilst renovating, starting building projects, working with our livestock, DIY and trying to grow our little families own food!
In this episode we welcome you to join us in late Winter time as we film a day on the farm. Tending to the livestock and walking around our farm.
We begin by opening up the chicken coop in the morning and talking a little about why we raise our birds, the purposes behind keeping them and the end goal with keeping such a large flock on a small homestead.
After talking about the different breeds and varieties we keep on the farm, egg laying breeds, meat breeds and dual purpose breeds, I head over the the vegetable patch which we did a rough plough on last week. The soil is excellent quality and really is high in nutrients due to all of the manure and compost that we gather from our livestock here on the farm. You can really see the darkness of the soil and how fertile it is. I am very excited to get our potatoes in the ground this year.
After speaking about potatoes and livestock I make my way up to the cherry orchards, where we discuss pruning and that the blossom is just about to open up. The whole mountainside of the Gardunha will be covered in a blanket of white that looks like snowfall very shortly, as Fundao, where we live is famous for its cherry production and the whole mountain is covered in cherry orchards.
The much needed rain starts falling as I make my way up to the sheep barn, so I abandon my walk up there with the cameras and make my way back to the farmhouse instead, where we make a beautiful crispy beef stir fry as this week I bought a new wok. It was very nice indeed, if I say so myself.
After the rain stopped for a little while I went on a short walk from my farm, to my favourite trout fishing spot, it is also a very good spot for eels. The trout make their way up through the pools in the winter when the water level has risen and then they become stuck in the pools when the water level drops again. This makes for about two weeks of the year where trout fishing can be had here.
I show you all how the drought has affected the water level compared to last year, where we actually caught a trout in this stream. The water is probably about a foot lower than usual, which is a lot for a small stream!
Thank you so much for watching, have a marvellous week everyone!
See our journey to self sufficiency / permaculture / organic farming living in Portugal, trying to produce as much of our own food planting vegetables, growing fruit trees as well as looking after all our animals, such as our chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, quail, rabbits and sheep – Shortly pigs too!
– Growing vegetables, raising meat and foraging on our cherry farm in Portugal’s Beira baixa.
Follow us on Instagram @farmerforfun
IF YOU ARE PORTUGUESE OR TRYING TO LEARN PORTUGUESE PERHAPS CONSIDER TURNING ON SUBTITLES FOR THIS VIDEO, MARIANA & I HAVE CREATED SUBTITLES IN PORTUGUESE, MAYBE THEY MIGHT COME IN HANDY WITH LEARNING A WORD OR TWO! CLICK THE ‘CLOSED CAPTIONS’ BUTTON ON THE VIDEO AND THE SUBTITLE OPTIONS WILL APPEAR.
PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE CREATING THIS CONTENT BY CONTRIBUTING TO US ON PATREON
Beautiful farm view. The weather seems great. Learning many things from you and hopefully very soon, I will become your official student ☺️. Hope to see you soon.
Perhaps you might like to try a No Dig vege garden. Much better for the soil. Check out Charles Dowding's YT channel. Very informative.
Lovely 🥰 thank you for sharing I love the sound of running water if I could have a piece of land with running water like that I’d sit there all day long . love from U.K.
Cut the broccoli stenm in to slivers & use in the stir fry. They taste as good if not better than the florets.
Thank you for the video! It was funny seeing the chickens in your stream (which I love that stream), my chickens never go in the water. Have a wonderful week!
That stir fry looks delicious 🤤
Lucky Mariana😊
Loved the river visit. Wonder why the tree was cut down? It was so pretty when you & your dad were there last fishing.
E UM VERDADEIRO PARAIZO, OS ALIMENTOS SEM QUIMICOS, SAO MELHORES. EU TENHO 1 TECNICA PARA A FRUTA SO COMPRO A MAIS FEIA E PICADA PELOS PASSAROS!
Hi Joseph and family love to watch your videos I never miss them as they very interesting to watch and like your farm.liked the food you cooked with noodles again made my mouth water have to get my wife to cook it she will cook it better than me as she is Chinese.
Love watching you cook! You have a beautiful fishing spot. I always enjoy your videos.
Hi Joseph,
What's the height of the fence of your chicken run? And do you clip their wings so they don't fly over or into your veg patch and the rest of the garden.
Very instructive. Thanks.
Great video. Wishing you gentle ground soaking rain but blossom preserving🤞 . I’m looking forward Easter time🐣 with the lambs 🐑 playing under the spring blossom 🍒🌸 & hope to catch up with you all
Boa tarde. Sou de Lisboa.
E gostaria de poder visitar a vossa Quinta quando for de visita a região da Serra da Estrela. Também gostaria de poder comprar alguns dos vossos ovos e talvez também alguns frangos..
Assim se for possível dar o vosso contacto e a localização da vossa Quinta.
Desde já obrigado
This way you will learn us something, thank you for sharing the useful and especially fun information about fruit cultivation and the differences between the why and what for. Would love to learn a lot more.
You also tell interesting things about your farm animals, so that little bit of knowledge of yours is starting to become a pretty big heap.
My sincere thanks for that.
You can only bake in butter lard olive oil or coconut oil, the rest is unhealthy for you. Butter rules.🥳
Good morning! What a beautiful place you and your family have created. Do you butcher any chickens? And your garden soil is wonderful. Do you or other farms grow garlic? Sure hope it pours rain for 3 days straight and before the cherry blossoms open! Yet another wonder full meal you have prepared for all of us! Thank you for all the time you put into sharing your lives with us!
Hi love your program u have a great farm and keep it good admire the challenge u have taken on with your family u have a lovely daughter but can u u tell us if u was a chef back home as u cook some good meals also have never been to Portugal but if we ever get the chance to come over there we would luv to meet up with u and your wife to buy u a meal all the best and take care from Graham & Diana Norfolk England
Lovely video Joseph really appreciate all the information, tips and tricks you give out, you are truly generous. I would love to buy some land in Fundao that is for sale and have a chicken farm, perhaps one day soon ! Regards to your Dad, Mariana, Chloe and yourself. 👍🏽😎
Thank you for being so transparent about costs and possible profit from your farming endeavour, it’s so helpful for us that are considering farming. I do have a question, how does it work when dispatching live stock, is it like England, where your live stock have to be taken to an abattoir, or can this be done on the premises? I assume that if your selling that product it would be highly regulated ?
always nice to see your video,s !
another great video, that dish looked so great. how blessed you are with that farm, can't wait to see the cherry blossom. Think i could sit for hours at that waterfall . greetings from Holland
Wow Joseph another wonderful Video full of beauty of your gorgeous Farm 🚜 and animals 😍 ❤ thanks for sharing.
❤🤩❤
Loved the video 👍💯 thanks 🤗
Good morning, Farmer Joseph and family. I just finished sending the wife to work for the mouse here in Orlando. I normally cook the breakfast while she is primping for work. 😁 After that, I begin my Saturday watching your video. Suas galinhas me trás memórias dos meus pais e galinhas. Nós tínhamos um pouco de galinhas vermelhas e dois galos. Um deles sempre me atacava quando eu entrava no galinheiro. Eu não via a hora de por ele dentro de uma panela. 😱 Great looking meal… You will be getting good down pours… Have a great weekend and a lovely week. Abço. Cheers 🥂
Realy nice video again Joseph!
Your farm looks so beautifull.
Great to be self sufficient and to grow everything without pesticides.
Pure nature! We dream to have such a farm in the future. We are going to visit some properties very soon, I hope we will find a nice place there too. Many greetings from Thomas and Karla
Hi Joseph !!! 😃
You sure have a “Happy Farm”… all the animals enjoying themselves. 👍 This is the first time I saw different colored chicken eggs.
It sure is a. fantastic plan to be self sufficient with your food requirements. You get safe and healthy quality of food items. 👍 👍
The plum trees really look lovely with its blossoms. Looking forward to see all your cherry trees, all abloom!!! 👌
WOW!!! Another mouthwatering dish. The way you do it seems so easy … 😊
Another wonderful video!!! 👍 I really enjoyed watching it !! 😃
Thanks again Joseph !!! Warm regards to Mariana and the rest of your lovely family !!! 😃
Thanks for sharing your life in Portugal again. So beautiful. Good luck for more rain to come!
Beautiful farm and great video!
It took an English man living in Portugal to teach me about running a farm. Here I am in agricultural Norfolk & hasn't a clue until I watched your videos. Thanks Joseph, love the show as usual 😀 👍
Joseph sometimes it is important to do little in life. Loved your walk to the river, still looks so lush and beautiful there despite the draught. With all that pretty Mimosa in bloom! Just as I remember from my childhood, on my grandparent's estate. Some lovely memories. Thank you, love to the girls, Vyvien X:)
Awesome Joseph you and Clint have been so busy and what a pruning job you have done! Can't wait to go fishing with you again soon, sorry to have missed you the other day, give me a shout when you get a rod out!
Wonderful family, I am glad you found your lady. I know that majic. 30 years and still majic. You will have the same. A wonderful wife and daughter. God blessed you👍
WOW! The river is the same one from your film last year? I am shocked to see just how low the river is. Great tips and info on chickens and farm animals Joeseph. I wish you and Mariana and Chloe a fantastic week buddy
Good morning Joesph and Mariana. How are you? Today is a perfect day to smile. Such a wonderful video as always!!! and such a brilliant or good family in the world. Fundao is most beautiful place of Portugal or world or Europe. You are Good Talented and Kindful father or husband and Great Farmer in the world. A great show . Mariana is looking radiant hope everything is great with both of you. Best wishes always for your future of good life. Thank you God Bless You. Congratulations
Good morning. We were hoping to fly out today to see some property but we have got covid!