HOMESTEADING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES ROUND 2!!

Hey everyone, based on the 'success' of my last homesteading post I plan to do this regularly. Given recent World developments I feel one of the ways we will survive and thrive is in a homesteading, growing your own supply of organic, healthy vegetables at home and I have been gratefully doing so for over a year now.

Do check out my first 'Homesteading through tough times' here: https://hive.blog/homesteading/@craigcryptoking/homesteading-through-tough-times

Corn or as we know them in South Africa 'Mielies' one of the most diverse 'survival foods' around. I did an experiment this year and planted as late as Mid to end of January, going into Winter I did not hold much hope, but alas, I just harvested and ate a few nice cobs two days back, delicious!

Here we have my amazing Tahitian Butternut. I pick these Green and cook straight away. They are tasty, tender and I eat the whole fruit skin and seeds at all. Check out living seeds where I purchased these incredible fruit here: https://livingseeds.co.za/tahitian-butternut

Carrots are great/versatile vegetables to grow, one of the nice things about Carrots, they thrive all year round. I plant them regularly and harvest regularly too, high in vitamin C and more, great for a healthy balanced diet as well as been a very versatile vegetable too!

I did a little research on the internet for more info on these amazing rainbow carrots and found this nice site www.snaplant.com We’re all used to see and eat an ordinary orange carrot, but did you know that there is an entire rainbow of carrot colors, and the orange root we all know and love is the new carrot color? Before then, carrots were purple, red, white, yellow, or black.

Root pigmentation depends on the relative proportion of different carotenoids for the white, yellow, orange and red types but only internally for the purple and black ones.

The orange carrot, now so familiar, was once a novelty. In fact, this young upstart was first cultivated a little more than four hundred years ago. Until then, the purple variety was supreme. Although we consider the carrot immutable, it has been continually reinvented though the ages.

The cultivated carrot is one of the most important root vegetables grown in temperate regions of the world. Historical data indicate that root colour has been differentially selected over time and according to geographical areas, but the time frame and geographic region(s) of the first cultivation of carrots are unclear.

The research team traced carrot evolution as far back as the dinosaurs. Sometime between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods – roughly around the time dinosaurs went extinct – carrots, along with other plants of the era, picked up genetic advantages that allowed them to thrive in differing environmental conditions.

The earliest vegetable definitely known to be a carrot dates from the 10th century in Persia and Asia Minor and would have been quite unlike the orange rooted carrot of today. It is considered that сarrots were originally purple or white with a thin root, then a mutant occurred which removed the purple pigmentation resulting in a new race of yellow carrots, from which orange carrots were subsequently developed.

Almost five thousand years ago, carrots were firstly cultivated in the Iranian Plateau and then in Persian Empire. Western and Arabic literatures along with the studies by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveal that carrots were originated in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. The purple carrot existed in Central Asia for several centuries before it was brought west by the Arabs in about the 10th century. It spread slowly to the area of the Mediterranean and was probably white, yellow or purple.

However, it is not known whether or not the Egyptians or Greeks cultivated a very edible plant or if they only grew wild carrots for their seeds. Mostly they were used medicinally. Nowadays you can find and buy Natural Carrot Seed Oil, which is full of naturally-occurring beta carotene, provitamin A, vitamin E, carotenoids, tocopheryl & more. Natural Carrot Seed Oil is ideal for mature or dry skin types, as well as damaged and brittle hair. Ideal as a natural anti-aging beauty serum.

Carrots likewise found a place as a medicinal plant in the gardens of ancient Rome, where it was used as an aphrodisiac and in some cases as part of a concoction to prevent poisoning.

Red and yellow carrots started to appear in Europe in the 13th century and it is now known, from modern genetic research, that orange carrots were developed from those yellow varieties.

It was probably the Dutch who developed the orange carrot in the 16th century. Holland was the leading nation when it came to agricultural science at this time. But there is no documentary evidence that the Dutch “invented” orange carrots to honour their Royal Family, the House of orange. There is a tale, that the orange carrot was bred in the Netherlands in the 16th century to honour William of Orange. Though the development and stabilisation of the orange carrot root does appear to date from around that period in the Netherlands, it is unlikely that honouring William of Orange had anything to do with it. So, it is true that the Dutch developed and stabilised the orange carrot, but more likely subsequently the Dutch people adopted the colour orange and orange carrots as their national vegetable. Check out more here: https://snaplant.com/vegetables/a-rainbow-of-carrot-colors/

Heirloom, and natural just how nature intended, interesting right?

Chilli Pepper's, most of you that follow me know how much I love these and feature them often, these are not super hots, a nice jalapeno, mild chilli we have here!

Today I started getting my Winter plant ready and did two rows. I planted some more Carrot's and then did two rows of Brown Onions. Onions are really nice to grow and need monthly planting too.. The general rule of Onions plant Autumn and Harvest Summer (December In South Africa)

Here we have my colourful daily harvest. Today some nice Persimmons, Tahitian Butternut, Yellow Aubergines (Brinjals) Coloured Carrot's and Mielies!

Of course I have some really nice cannabis plants growing, I plan to harvest these weekly, dry out and then make some amazing CBD/THC oil/medicine.

So, what do I plan to do with all these amazing vegetables???

Chuck em on the BBQ (Braai) of course with some chicken and a beer, YUM. BUT CRAIG, you are 'Braaing' Vegetables? Oh yes folks you have not lived until you have tried this :)

Love and Light, Be blessed and have an incredible Tuesday.
Cheer$;)