This first mini-season was always designated for learning as much as we could while we set things up for the next, real, season. In theory we should intervene less the first time around to see what happens and learn what we actually need to do, rather than replicating what what people in other places and conditions need to do. We know it will ultimately be more efficient but it also means accepting slower or smaller plants and sharing some with bugs. But sometimes the problem, let alone the solution, is not clear. For example, why are two carrots that we harvested this week from the same bed such different colours? Why are the latest broccoli heads smaller than those a month ago, just two beds across? And why are the broccoli plants in one bed completely different sizes from each other? We think soil is part of the story. The carrots were planted into a mix of compost and loam that may not have been mixed well. Maybe we should have fed the broccoli with the small (but tasty) heads. But why were the first broccoli bigger? Maybe the seedlings were not as healthy or maybe it’s the uneven compost mix?

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One of our experiments is especially confusing. Our compost supplier talked us out of using 100% compost so many beds are a mix of loam and compost. But we weren’t entirely convinced so we planted one bed of lettuce seedlings into the mix and another into 100% compost. For weeks neither grew much, which was equally disappointing! Then in the past two weeks a patch of the mixed bed took off. But why? If anything, we expected the reverse over time! If the lettuce didn’t like the compost, why didn’t patches of the (badly) mixed bed grow straight away? If the compost was too strong initially, then why isn’t the 100% bed outperforming now? Our hypotheses clearly need some rethinking!

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Some conclusions easier to draw. This week we had some small visitors that ate newly sprouted seeds in the tunnel. (The shelves Alex built were full so we put some trays on the ground.) It seems there is a hierarchy: radicchio sprouts (or their seeds) over beetroot but beetroot over cress. Lesson learned! Radicchio and beetroot will be kept on shelves in future, along with radish and beans, which are also popular. And our tomato experiment has also been useful. A few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what to do about the green tomatoes outside the tunnel. So we put some green tomatoes in a paper bag with apples (which emit a lot of ethylene, like bananas), hung some plants upside down in the shed and left some plants in the ground. The bag method wins by miles (after the tunnel).

Through the week we also secured some more cardboard which we stretched to make two beds for brussels sprouts and cauliflower seedlings. We planted more garlic, which we hope will give us a buffer to supplement our offering if we have crop failures next season. To try to slow the wind and provide some protection we planted broad beans around most of the fence line. And we flipped another bed, from a mix of pumpkin, lettuce and corn (which we gave up on), to silverbeet and chard. This time it took Alex 61 minutes including watering, compared to 83 minutes for two of us last time (although that including netting the bed, which probably took 15 minutes). How did we get so much faster? We certainly learned what tools we needed, which saves time, but I wonder if a key takeaway is that Alex should do this job.

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