From Growing to Harvesting and Preserving

 

Things are going well. Recently the focus has been on producing food and reducing the effort needed to grow well at scale. In both cases, immediate benefits are starting to flow and that I am building up to growing a full years supply.  The dry weather is forecast to continue for a couple more weeks at least, so let's see how long we can keep summer crops going.

Regarding the food, everything is hitting their stride and attention is turning to harvesting and preserving. The main challenge I'm experiencing is balancing my time. The 'product' comes through in variable amounts, and my goal is to use or preserve it 
- While still fresh i.e. as soon as possible
- In time-efficient batches i.e. when there is enough product to justify the effort of each batch
- In a way that fits in with the rest of my routine to keep good habits going.
        
Mind you, it's a good problem to have. 

The seasonals are coming through in strength. 
Cherry Toms and Teardrops ready for storage
Previously, just enough cherry tomatoes and teardrops were drip-feeding through to sustain meals, but a small surplus has built up enough to start freeze-drying them: 


Notes for next year: Quadruple the vines. Keep the cherry's and teardrops. Plant as soon as viable.







Moneymaker plants
The Moneymakers are finally ripening, These have been a problem child, taking much longer to ripen than expected, plus some end-blossom rot. I applied home-made liquid calcium, and there’s has been a noticeable improvement in both plant growth and fruit quality. 


As always, there was that special thrill of picking the first of the season – it never gets old!

Notes for next year: Plant as soon as viable. Apply liquid calcium weekly from early on. Quadruple the plants.   







While much of my attention has gone to the seasonals and problem children, others have been solid quiet performers (e.g. kale, silver beet) which are also need harvesting/preserving to prevent waste.

Regarding improvements: I’ve simplified refilling the liquid feed tank for the southern garden, making it significantly more straightforward and much less laborious. And on the Saturday afternoon, I put some irrigation in for all of the planters currently being used – this will be first used in Wednesdays’ watering. 

So onwards and upwards!


Location: Waitemata Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand

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