Progress Update 31 December 2023 - Food, Pump House, Freeze-dryer, finding my limit

 

Xmas has dominated the period, including the traditional race to consume the maximum calories possible before the New Years diet begins. I've done more than I realised and also found my limits and am doing enough for now.

Goals I set myself before Xmas were: 

1. A general tidy-up to pare back the spring chaos (weeding, bolted crops etc). Relocate the lettuce (and probably the baby spinach) to a shaded spot. 

2. Continue the cauliflower & coleslaw experiment.

3. Progress tomatoes and capsicums. 

4. Harvest current lot of potatoes, plant next lot. (No action)

5. Revisit more of my natural disaster prep. (No action)

Plus my freeze-drier finally arrived! I'm still getting the hang of it, so not much to say at the moment.

1. General Tidy-up

Overall, proceeding. I'm most pleased with creating a 'house' for the water pump and filters.

So this eye-sore...                                       has become this...

Something like this will protect the equipment from the elements as well as tidying up the grounds. The current setup is a working prototype, teaching me what I really need/want. 

2. Cauliflower 

Had a continual supply all through the period, and have started stockpiling the excess for the rest of the year. Planted 'lot 3' of a different side-sprouting variety.

Fun Fact!: Purple blotches on cauliflower may be a sign of heat-stress/sun-burn. For a while I was concerned, but then I saw the same on sale in a supermarket.

2. Coleslaw Ingredients (Celery, Cabbage, Spring Onion, Carrots)

 Overall, trucking on except...

• Cabbage is not producing well. The plants are healthy but slow to develop. I suspect they aren't getting enough sunlight due to being underneath the mature cauliflower. I'm going to trim out the leaves and see if that recovers the crop. 

• Celery needs a lot of water. I've been using it on a cut-and-come basis, and accepting slow regrowth. There were torrential rains around Xmas day, and the celery virtually doubled in size - lesson learnt. Wish I had known this before I planted another six to keep things going, but such is life! 

3. Tomatoes

This year I'm focusing on smaller varieties, as I've found that larger varieties tend to unreliable results (split skins, rot etc). My chosen varieties are the Sweet 1000 as a proven provider, and a low-acid gold for some variety on the plate.    

I forgot at my last progress review that I had started a Sweet 1000 plant, so both growth and fruit are well-advanced. In fact I picked the first two yesterday - tasty!

I'm also trialing growing plants from the 'cuttings'. It's working, however the window for this closes shortly if adequate season finishes in April. 

3. Capsicums

I've planted six 'reds', because that would be 48 - 60 fruits but I'm thinking to add more.

Wrapping Up

I'm surprised at how I've addressed in a couple of weeks. At the same time, I also find myself feeling that this is a lot to deal with. Maintaining and finishing these projects/crops in progress is enough for now.