We got maybe 1/2gal of peanuts in shell when we pulled the plants out of the shed today, after drying for a month or two. We skipped some nuts that looked moldy or bad, since I've read that peanuts can attract a certain mold that is carcinogenic if eaten O.o
I started shelling them, but it's taking a while...
The pan is 1 night of pecan harvesting (~20min) by 2 people. It seems we only harvest at night because that's when we have time to wander around in the yard - outside looking at the ground with flashlights. :P
The bags are from previous nights this year.
We bought a nice LED grow light (Phlizon 'Newest 600W', though only uses ~110W) to supplement our cacao trees. It's really bright and I'm optimistic that it will help our plants grow well even with shorter winter days.
One problem, though, is that the pink glow is quite visible, even from the street. I have preemptively told the police department to call me if they have questions, as grow lights like this are not usually used for cacao plants.
On another note, it seems our heating system is keeping up in the inner greenhouse area, which is good! This is our first winter with a greenhouse, so there's been a lot of work/anxiety on my part trying to get it ready and tuned properly. I understand now why people use kits and predesigned greenhouse systems.
We carefully added a small space heater on a dedicated 12 gauge extension cord (and 2 smoke detectors), plastic shower curtains, an interior roof, the grow light we've been using inside, and other things to keep the cacao plants happy. For a little while, we had mold in this area, so we added an above table fan to keep air moving well. The fan under the table blows air over several very large bags of water, which we hope are working as a thermal mass to keep temperatures more stable.
We also moved a bunch of plants (banana, dragonfruit, strawberry, pineapple) into the outer area or the greenhouse to help protect them from upcoming frost this winter. It seems like we're getting closer to keeping things alive this winter; wish us luck!
