Dave...eventually, for veggies we will have concrete raised beds in a 1,500 square meter area where each raised bed will be enclosed with a roof and screened sides. For the self pollinating plants the screen doors won't need to be opened except for harvest and maintenance. The other plants that need pollinators will have the doors open during the day and closed in the evenings. This also gives me a bit of control on how much water each raised bed gets, especially during rainy season. I plan to go with some pretty extensive aquaponic set-ups for the brassicas, lettuce and maybe even strawberries. The fish will be in in-ground tanks that are covered with a roof and shade cloth and an area where the plants are growing will also be enclosed and have a misting system (water able to be recovered) to also keep temps down. All automated from a solar/wind system with batteries; all 12VDC pumps and aerators. The area that we are currently growing stuff is around 4000 square meters; eventually this area will be a few guest houses, large shed for storage and fruit trees. I just need to build all the infrastructure for the main farm area which is about 1 hectare, split into 6 areas for the different things I plan to do. What the wife has growing currently ends up with what she needs and she gives the rest to friends and the workers. Eventually she plans to have a little store somewhere to sell veggies, fruit, meat and eggs that we produce. The only thing we will grow directly in the ground will be fruit trees, banana, dragon fruit and I'll set aside about 300 square meters for corn and beans; probably 150 square meters for each and just rotate back and forth. I really like sweet corn and black eye peas. I have a 5000 square meter pond dug, that once sealed and filled, I will raise tilapia in cages until I have my aquaponics systems built. Looking to stock the pond with snakehead, catfish and tilapia for fishing and source of water for the farm, plants and animals. This is a 3 year plan so will take time, there is a lot of infrastructure that is needed as well as every structure that has a roof will be set-up for rain water collection so drainage systems need to be done correctly. Unfortunately, things slow down a bit when I'm not home. Shawn
Keep working on spreading rice hulls and mudpress. Pretty tough right now with the lack of rain, but things are growing OK. I didn't get too many pics of the peppers that are doing pretty well; but the Ghostly Jalapenos, Italian Devils and the Shishito are doing better than the Poblano's and some of the others. The sweet corn did not have the best germination; but really cool that we are not seeing any bugs...nice looking stubby corn. Shawn
Got the wife to take some pics of some of the different peppers...after she picked all the ripe peppers, so all on the plants are green. Shawn
Hi Shawn, I must say I am extremely surprised to see no leaf damage to any of the plants they all look as clean as a whistle. How did you manage that? Dave
Dave...I wish I had an answer, our goal on the farm is to grow naturally, which means no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. My family will be eating what we raise, so what we put into the plants and animals is what we are putting into our bodies. We have told the caretaker to check the plants daily and pick off any pests that are visible...so maybe that has played a factor. Pests normally attack weakened plants and so far we have been fortunate that things are growing well. We did dig a hole and put in vermicompost when we planted the seeds. We will continue to dose with vermicompost as it becomes available. I also think the poor germination on the corn is due to the fact that the plant spacing was too far apart. I've let the wife know to plant 8" or 20cm apart on the next batch. Shawn
