Above: In front of our grape trellis we have planted the colorful and fragrant 4 o'clocks, reputed to repel (if not kill) Japanese beetles, which can damage grape leaves. At ripening, we surround the trellis with plastic deer fencing to keep off deer, skunk and racoons. who love the sweet fruit.
2014 Garden Report
We have prepared an pictorial overview of our 2014 Garden Report. We keep extensive data on crop yields using log sheets; insect, disease and animal pressure; and weather and other environmental conditions that could affect yields. We convert the voluminous crop yield data to a crop yield chart, and this, in turn we use to calculate the caloric and protein content of the food we grow using an Excel spreadsheet. You should be able to use these files directly. If not, as with any of our data charts or tables, we can send you the original files for you to use or adapt for your own use. Feel free to ask us any questions you have about these.
On a limited space we produce 11% of our yearly caloric requirements for two, and surprisingly 22% of our protein! Admittedly, this is vegetable protein, and while incomplete, is easily complemented by the rest of our vegetarian diet. The caloric and protein analysis also includes a key parameter of performance: calories per square foot. Thus, we can identify those crops which produce the most calories per unit area. Study of these results has allowed us to fine tune our crop plantings and pointed the way to increasing the overall caloric contribution of our food growing. Of course, we are also interested in plant variety, so grow a large number of crops.
On a limited space we produce 11% of our yearly caloric requirements for two, and surprisingly 22% of our protein! Admittedly, this is vegetable protein, and while incomplete, is easily complemented by the rest of our vegetarian diet. The caloric and protein analysis also includes a key parameter of performance: calories per square foot. Thus, we can identify those crops which produce the most calories per unit area. Study of these results has allowed us to fine tune our crop plantings and pointed the way to increasing the overall caloric contribution of our food growing. Of course, we are also interested in plant variety, so grow a large number of crops.