Spinifex garden pictorial - regular updates

Update on the 2018 planter box.

I've harvested some coriander roots for swedish curries, lost count of how many bunches of leaf of both parsley and coriander I've picked.  
The voluneer tomato I let grow has its first fruit and plenty of flowers setting.  I give the flowers a good tap every morning on the way out to help them pollinate.
I've let the coriander go to seed and will collect that for both cooking and growing next years crop.
The black pot is a kaffir lime that is now in full spring growth flush.  It's about 3 years old and has few adult leaves left on it at present because I cooked many of them since its last growth flush back in late summer.  It also gets hit by citrus leaf miner and I pluck off affected leaves to prevent it carrying over thru winter to the new seasons growth.  This planter gets about 5 litres of water per day now and almost none of it comes out the drain holes.  The plants are thirsty.

I suspect I am pedantic.

Sun drying tomatoes.

1. Step 1 - Notice you have an excess of tomatoes in your neglected greenhouse.  Any fruit with clean splits are put to one side for drying. Hand pick pesky caterpillars while harvesting fruit.  
2. Plastic storage tub lid lined with baking paper.  I cut fruit across the circumference (ie not from 'top' to 'bottom' as they dry better that way.  I also place them onto the tray in diagonal lines as its the ergonomically quickest way to pack them in tight.  Ergonomics and speed matter when you have to do thousands of these.
3. I also dry uneaten fruit from last weeks pick.  I discard any fruit that show defects of flesh breaking down below the surface.  Anything a bit blotchy, with dark marks below the surface (Click to enlarge and see the arrow).  If I accidentally slice a decomposing fruit I ditch it, clean the knife and the chopping board before continuing to avoid spreading spoilage microbes.
4. I sprinkle all the cut surfaces with salt using a methodical pattern to avoid missing any or over-salting some.  I had spare space on this tray so I filled it with a bullhorn capsicum -  also from greenhouse.  The tray goes into the car which I park out in the sun.  (I recommend only using cars at least several years old as new ones have too much plastic vapour from the new plastics sublimating on everything inside.)  I crack a window on each side of the car about 2cm to let some ventilation thru to carry away moisture.  Otherwise the inside of the car gets humid.  Worth noting that drying them too quick can create problems where the cut surface 'skins over' and slows down the escape of moisture from deeper inside the fruit.

It's 30+degree sunny weather for a few days here so they should be done within a few days. 
The result after 2 days in the car.

My much anticipated, bountiful plum crop didn't come through.

2 weeks before harvest, half a day of 48 degree wind, blowing 50-60km per hour cooked the fruit on the tree.  I had pumped on extra irrigation water two evenings in a row leading up to the bad weather in the hope of limiting the losses.  The fruit did stay on the tree and looked okay the evening of the hot wind.  By the evening 48 hours later the skins of all the fruit were blistered and brown.  Even the ones in the middle of the canopy. The next day they were all on the ground.  Nectarine crop went the same way.

This shows how, in a survival situation, just a half a day of extreme weather could be the thing that undoes a whole year of careful work and leave a family short on food.  
Back in my central desert living years I once saw a 15 minute hailstorm, in the middle of summer, shred a crop of melons like a slasher had driven through the crop.  

Nature can be punishing!

That's a most valuable point to make. Thanks.

Redundancy planning is crucial.

1. Needed to get some good protection up against sparrows and starlings.  When the country is as dry as it is here now the pest birds will hammer the hell out of seedling vegetables as soon as they show a speck of green above ground.  I roll the bottoms of the net around star pickets to wight them down and stop them blowing about and damaging seedlings.  
2.  Planter box full of daikon seedlings.  The seed was a year past its 'expiry' date yet every seed seems to have come up.  These were planted 4 days ago.  Also prodected against birds and cats.
3.  Inside the greenhouse.  This is a mash-up of watermelon, snake beans, basil, an amaranth (the big leafed thing) and right in the top left corner is parsley.  The string trellis is for the beans to sprawl over but often the watermelon climbs it too.
4. The plant in the foreground is Madagascar spinach.  First time I've grown it.  It has an unusual mouth feel - kind of like Okra - but tastes good.  I like it raw ... it's too slimy when cooked. Theres a green bullhorn pepper next to it, a red chilli in the background and a huge lemongrass tussock behind that.  Not shown in these pics is that my cyclinder trellis that was full of cherry tomatoes is now being taken over by a lebanese cucumber.
5. One of my two types of thai eggplant.  I will leave all the eggplant over the winter as they seem to do quite well that way.  It means picking the first fruit in late october rather than having to wait until February if growing it from seedlings each year.  The down side to that is spider mite populations can go sky high and create problems.  

May I suggest something?

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1913655/coq-au-vin

Damn that looks tasty. Feel free to share the recipe...

This is the original receipe. Dial back the garlic powder by 3/4! The temps are in F. I used fresh fig with added dark brown sugar in place of preserved
Also, that's no my photo by the way. Mine didn't look quite that awesome.

Dry Rubbed Chicken Legs:

5 chicken legs, skin left on
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
Fig Whiskey Glaze:

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons fig preserves
3 tablespoons rye whiskey
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 drops liquid smoke
Steps:

Heat the oven to 425 and prepare a large roasting pan (or a sheet pat with cooling rack in my case).
For the Dry Rubbed Chicken Legs: In a small bowl, mix together the dry rub ingredients (salt, garlic, paprika, onion, black pepper, ancho, cumin, and turmeric).
Generously sprinkle the dry rub over each chicken leg, rubbing it into the meat for even coverage.
Spread the seasoned chicken legs onto the roasting pan, skin side up, and slide the pan into the oven. Set your timer for 1 hour (total). You will be glazing twice during roasting, once at 30 minutes in, and once at 45 minutes.
For the Fig Whiskey Glaze: While the chicken starts to roast, prepare the glaze. In a small pot over medium heat, warm the Worcestershire, fig preserves, whiskey, balsamic vinegar, and liquid smoke. Whisk to combine. Once smooth, remove from heat.
After the chicken has cooked 30 minutes, remove the sheet pan carefully from the oven, set on top of the stove, and generously brush the glaze over each chicken leg. Return to the oven and allow to cook for an additional 15 minutes. Repeat the glazing process, using the remainder of your glaze. At 1 hour total cook time, the chicken should be done: moist and juicy on the inside with a crispy deep mahogany skin. Rest 5 minutes and serve hot.