Captains Log 02 March 2025

This week is more of a general reflection- while there's always something to work on, I didn't have any specific development goals. Saying that, there are some good lessons and opportunity around the irrigation work. 

This week has been about

  • The impact of easy irrigation
  • Expanding the blue barrel irrigation to supply an adjacent vegepod, and
  • Painting necessary part of the house to weatherproof for winter.

 The Impact of Easy Irrigation

Below are the ‘before’ and ‘after’ for the peanut experiment. I’ve tried to equalise the scale so size can be accurately compared.

A)                                                              Plants Before                                                 Plants After

   

Broadly speaking, the peanut bushes are noticeably larger and greener, apart from the ‘runt’ in the bottom right. I put this down to more regular watering/feeding over the last week, as I fell into the habit of watering them daily because it was so easy and quick. Admittedly, we still have to see how the peanuts themselves are doing.

Expanding the Supply To A Vegepod

One unexpected benefit this week has been the motivation to make the rest of the gardens watering equally easy. Without realising it, I set myself to do a side-by-side comparison between watering/feeding the old way versus the new way, which exposed the laboriousness of the old way.

Another benefit of the new way is its expandability. As an impromptu move, I expanded the new store to supply an adjacent Vegepod  (rockmelon and lettuce). It was a simple job with immediate benefits. The only ‘complexity’ was deciding to install a separate tap and line so I could choose about which crop I watered and for how long.

Weatherproofing the House

Also known as painting the worst bits so these are protected from the winter rains. I typically have to paint something every year, however this year there are multiple areas needing attention. It is an essential skill for the average homeowner, but I think of it more as 'character development' than 'maintenance'.

So that’s things for this week. Autumn has technically started, so I’ll need to start thinking about what I’m going to do for that😊

Location: XPFW+W4 Auckland, New Zealand

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