Summer Update 2016 /17
Welcome to yet another belated update from Three Dams.
After a pretty mild lead up to Summer with a Spring that really didn’t happen, we now find ourselves in late December enduring torrential rain and high humidity! Finally weather warm enough to use the pool though! As usual, there has been plenty of action here with lots going on in the garden and around the house. The BIG news this year is that we now now have a fence fully enclosing the vineyard! After last years near total destruction of the newly planted Tempranillo vines by kangaroos, wallabies and various other native wildlife, the vineyard is now protected and as I write, all the vines are doing really well and most are now well and truly up and secured on the cordon wire. Things are looking good for a small quantity of wine in 2018.
JAN UPDATE: Shoot thinning completed and 60% vine gro guards removed this week.
JAN UPDATE: Shoot thinning completed and 60% vine gro guards removed this week.
In other encouraging news from the Off Grid set-up, the new 880Ah battery bank that was installed in Feb this year proved reliable right through the dark winter months with no power outages or generator use required. In September, I relocated a 295 watt solar panel I had installed on the Melbourne house up to the property which increased the solar array to just over 1Kw (1075 watts). This has given us a huge boost in charging capacity and has allowed the battery bank to recharge much faster during times of intermittent sun periods, common throughout Winter. The enlarged array can also now power our recently installed, super efficient split system AC. A comfortable 25 degrees inside is possible using only 450 watts of power!
In the garden, things have been stepped up too. Cherry and orange trees were added to the orchard along with a climbing blackberry. Wends has planted an abundance of various vegetables including eggplant, corn, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes and is very excited about the amount of apples this year and the very first passionfruits after about 5 years! Apart from all that, there’s still a lot of time spent in the kitchen keeping us and the visitors sustained, along with plenty of local Heathcote wine to keep everyone hydrated!
Time out at the Heathcote Wine Hub.
