I did want to see the graph rising all the way into the summer peak, but alas we are down 3% from last month. Not that I am really disappointed, 37% vegetable self sufficiency still feels petty good. And with three beds now fully planted out I am feeling very excited about the coming months.
Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %
Avocado 1200 0%
Beans 980 1,905 34%
Beetroot 450 1,315 25%
Broccoli 730 100%
Basil 80 0%
Capsicum 800 0%
Carrot 1,640 0%
Celery 80 100%
Cabbage 1,425 100%
Cucumber 1,725 0%
Coriander 90 100%
Corn 310 0%
Cauliflower 1,085 100%
Eggplant 235 0%
Garlic 200 0%
Ginger 85 0%
Kale 20 0%
Lettuce 45 80 36%
Lentil 800 0%
Onion 330 495 40%
Parsley 535 100%
Pea 680 0%
Potato 715 1,480 33%
Pumpkin 1,800 0%
Rocket 20 100%
Spring Onion 120 100%
Sweet Potato 1,965 0%
Spinach 195 30 87%
Silver Beet 100 100%
Tomato 1,850 0%
Zucchini 660 0%
Total 6,900 19,355 26%
Average 37%
Time 17.25 person hours
Allot of effort this month was put into infrastructure, that if done right in the first place, could have been avoided now. Taking the cheep option I choose to use thin wooden posts when I erected the fence. I had already replaced a few of the posts when they were snapped by climbing beans, but this time the fox had really made a mess of it. Lucky I hadn't yet planted out any seedlings. This time I replaced the posts with ones double the thickness. This month also was the start of laying drip irrigation, again something I wish I had done in the beginning.
Jason, look at all your gorgeous produce! You've done much better with cauli and beans than we did. We did have a great haul on potatoes though - nearly 8kg! We're about to hit a gap though - we still haven't quite figured out this sequential planting bit, and all the beds look like they're about to run out at the same time!
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes I am very pleased with the cauli, and I still got more coming. 8kg of potato that's impressive. We would have had more if I had paid more attention to covering them. Over half were green. I haven't quite got the sequential bit down pat either. I think one trick is to be starting new seedlings every time the chooks move. Using the same seedling set for multiple beds doesn't seem to stagger them.
DeleteNew, as in different seedlings? I think that's right, Jason. All our leafy greens that we planted later just ran to seed once the weather warmed up. I've just asked Linda to write a bit on it to teach us! :)
DeleteWith the spuds, we dig a big trench and hill all the soil up on either side of it. Then when they grow, we just push the soil back over them. We try to plant them quite deeply too, which seems to make a difference.
Wonderful! It all looks very tasty. I'm sure you will love the drip irrigaion, I have some around my berries and fruit trees and it is a life-saver (or at least lots-of-time-saver)
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy watering by hand. I love the sound of the water and the cool mist that blows back at ya. But in the morning while the drip irrigation is running I am now able to be busy doing other things in the garden, and every aspect of gardening has its pleasures.
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