Thoughts on the statement 'a good covering of weeds is as good as a crop of green manure'?

I am not intending to rewild. That is what it was left to do before I acquired the land as it was left to go wild for more than a decade without the owner doing anything with it.

I plan on some woodland on the poorest parts which have mainly rushes or more shaded by large oaks and some growing food on low-impact, permaculturey type of practices.

 

I'm wondering if you've completed or considered some training in permaculture? I'm thinking that the discipline of a permaculture design approach may be really helpful for this project...

 

Not formal training no but when I volunteered I worked there for around 2 years and they made a point of teaching us the processes, which they said were largely permaculture in nature.

I think the word is kind of a loose bunching of ideas? I still don't really know what it means other than generally eco friendly. It seems to be a trendy word that has an elastic meaning.

 

My brother “borrowed” some pigs to clear the ground in his last property. They did an excellent job clearing decades of neglect, brambles, saplings the lot. If I remember rightly they were weaners, the owner got extra ground to keep more pigs and my brother got the garden cleared and some delicious joints and bacon afterwards

 

Permaculture is a very specific and structured process of land use design, initially created by Bill Mollison in Australia, and now taught round the world, adapted to different climates and conditions.

You can find out more here:
https://www.permaculture.org.uk/

 

Immediate problems of a bureaucratic nature viz land use/holding registration/movement restrictions and ability to move away /back for same reasons unless OP is to eat them as part of self sufficiency; then another raft of regulation regarding slaughter/disposal of offal and waste etc.