Yet another 100,000 calorie challenge

Following en suite.

This is my attempt to complete the grow 100,000 calories BB

My persimmons, chestnuts, chayote, mulberries, kumquats, citrus, and grapes were already established when I moved in here, so I am assuming that fits the "already there" requirement for perennials.

Unfortunately my blueberries, blackberries, apples, apricots, and mikans were bought from a nursery more than 500 yards away and not "from seed", so I can't apply them to this BB - Until I save seed from them and establish my own far down the road anyway... Maybe for the million calorie challenge.

I have a small garden. This is going to take multiple seasons to yield 2000 calories worth for several of the crops. I'm not sure how I'm going to fill in all 12 crops, but I think I can get 9-10 in a few years and the others as my newer perennials grow a bit more mature.

I took a few pictures last year, but not many. Hopefully I have the wherewithal to document what I yield (meager as it is).

My primary calorie crops are:
1. kabocha (91 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 2198 grams for 2000 cal
2. sweet potatoes (132 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of  1515 grams for 2000 cal
3. potatoes (104 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 1923 grams for 2000 cal
4. mulberries (43 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 4651 grams for 2000 cal
5. persimmons (70 cal / 100 grams)  - Need minimum of 2857 grams for 2000 cal
6. bushukan (citrus) (29 cal / 100 grams)  - Need minimum of 6897 grams for 2000 cal
7. konatsu (citrus) (29 cal / 100 grams)  - Need minimum of 6897 grams for 2000 cal
8. kumquats, (71 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 2817 grams for 2000 cal
9. chestnuts (154 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 1299 grams for 2000 cal
10. grean peas (81 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 2469 grams for 2000 cal
11. chayote (17 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 11765 grams for 2000 cal
12. grapes (69 cal / 100 grams) - Need minimum of 2899 grams for 2000 cal

Hopefully I can also successfully grow and document some
beans
blackberries
blueberries
strawberries

Catching up from last year with the few pictures I have


may 21 2021 peas 188 grams = 152 calories


may 22 2021 mulberries 225 grams = 96 calories


Sep 20 2021 chestnuts 662.5 grams = 1020 calories


Sep 20 2021 chestnuts 548 grams = 843 calories


Sep 20 2021 bushukan 379 grams = 109 calories


Sep 13 2022 bushukan 633.5 grams = 183 calories


Oct 5 2021 chayote 331 grams = 56 cal


Oct 5 2021 chayote 205 grams = 34 cal

Cumulative Total to date = 2493 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 1863 cal
Bushukan 292 cal
Chayote 90 cal

Great to have some company on this journey!

I'm particularly jealous of your chestnuts, they look huge. I have a single sweet chestnut sapling that I am going to plant this winter. I know they need pollination partners so I'm not expecting nuts any time soon but it's a start.

Well done L! I’ll be joining you and Luke sometime next year on my multi year project. Due to my small plot, I’m focusing on nutrition and value rather than calories.  But there will be some calories in there.

I too, look on with envy at those chestnuts. They look fantastic.

Quite a lot of chestnuts came down in the big typhoon. The citrus are starting to ripen. They're still pretty good ripe.

Cumulative Total to date = 4089 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 697 cal
Chayote 90 cal

I really like the calorie accounting!  

Pawpaws fell off the tree today. I think I'm going to substitute them in for bananas in a quick bread and see how it goes.

Cumulative Total to date = 4089 + 386 = 4475 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 697 cal
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 273+113 = 386 cal

Sep 28 2022 Pawpaws - 341.5 grams is 273 cal

Sep 28 2022 Pawpaws - 141.5 grams is 113 cal

Luke Mitchell wrote:I know they need pollination partners so I'm not expecting nuts any time soon but it's a start.

Funny I only have one tree. The nearest that I'm aware of is in a neighbor's plot about 100 yards away and blocked by three to four large buildings. I'm always amazed at how effective natural pollinators are.

My chestnut thread is going to get some more attention soon.

Cumulative Total to date = 4475 cal + 220+278+797 = 5770 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 697+220 = 917 cal
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons +278 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  + 797 cal

Oct 1 2022 bushukan 759g is 220 calories

Oct 1 2022 Persimmons - 398.5 g is 278 calories

Oct 2 2022 Persimmons - 876 g is 797 calories

Cumulative Total to date = 5770 cal + 3772 = 9542 calories
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 917 cal
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 278 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  797 cal + 675 + 645 + 821 +721 + 910 = 4569 (3772 new)

I tried the first kabocha I harvested right after harvest, it wasn't super yummy. Then I looked into and found out that apparently they sweeten as they cure like sweet potatoes. So I'll be leaving this harvest in the kitchen for a month or so unless they start to go bad. Hopefully they cure up much sweeter.

Also posting pictures of actual harvest place for evidence later.

Oct 3 2022, 742 g is 675 cal

Oct 3 2022, 709 g is 645 cal

Oct 3 2022, 903 g is 821 cal

Oct 3 2022, 793 g is 721 cal

My kitchen scale stops at 1kg. My bathroom scale isn't so precise. I'll take 1kg as an underestimate.

Oct 3 2022, 1000 g is 910 cal

I’ve never seen kabocha like that and initially thought they look more like courgettes. Then I see you have listed them as Moschata variant. Kabocha is my favourite squash, I love the earthiness and dense flesh. It’s so versatile. I’ve cooked it in everything from curries to tacos. They’re high on my list of plants to grow next year. Does your climate allow you to grow all year round?

Edward Norton wrote:I’ve never seen kabocha like that and initially thought they look more like courgettes. Then I see you have listed them as Moschata variant. Kabocha is my favourite squash, I love the earthiness and dense flesh. It’s so versatile. I’ve cooked it in everything from curries to tacos. They’re high on my list of plants to grow next year. Does your climate allow you to grow all year round?

Frustratingly all winter squash are called kabocha in Japanese. These are some sort of hybrid. I saved seeds from a half dozen or more varieties and planted everything, seems like this is the only one that likes my plot. I second you on the versatility, it's a wonderful crop vegetable.

I can grow something all year round, but we have four distinct seasons, with frosts and the occasional light dusting of snow. Hopefully I'll have some lettuce, broccoli and peas growing through the winter.

Coming soon to this thread are sweet potatoes and hordes of persimmons.

Cumulative Total to date = 9542 calories + 305 + 218 = 10,065 calories - yay I broke the 5 digit mark.
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 917 cal + 102 + 203 = 1222 (305 new)
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 278 cal + 70 + 148 = 496 (218 new)
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal

Harvesting persimmons this year is a little tricky, the Asian mountain hornets are enjoying the ones that ripened early. I was picking these two sweet persimmons when I noticed a big old orange and black face on a nearby fruit. He wasn't happy I was shaking the branch, so after I got my fruit I hightailed it. Hopefully I'll have good timing to pick the astringent ones for making hoshigaki... otherwise I'll have to harvest at night (hornets are diurnal right?)

Cumulative Total to date = 10,065 calories + 299 = 10364 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 1222 + 262 + 37 = 1521 cal  (299 new)
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 496
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal

I've been enjoying lots of citrus and club soda. It's my go-to mid-day drink during this season. I could enjoy them just mixed with water and salt and get rid of the soda input entirely, but I love the sparklies. Add luxury to your life.

10-12-2022 Bushukan 904 grams is 262 calories

10-12-2022 Bushukan 130-5 grams is 37 calories

Cumulative Total to date = 10364 cal + 250 +105 = 10719 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 1521 cal + 250 cal = 1771 cal
Chayote 90 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 496 + 105 = 601 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal

I'm mostly harvesting fallen persimmons right now, when it cools down a little more we will be doing successive rounds of hoshigaki. This will be the first year I have a go at it, up until now it's been other family members in charge. I'm excited to learn some traditional Japanese food preservation.

Persimmon Oct 18 2022 151g is 105 cal

The bushukan has been great. My daily dose of vitamin C. Almost done with the bushukan, and will be moving to konatsu next. They ripen a bit later which is perfect for a home garden. The konatsu make a nice marmalade, and they juice well enough too.

bushukan Oct 18 2022 862g is 250 cal

Edward Norton wrote:I’ve never seen kabocha like that and initially thought they look more like courgettes. Then I see you have listed them as Moschata variant.

I just saw this thread and that squash looks just the kind we grow here (plus a hybrid of somethin-somethin making the ends more pointy than round). They definitely benefit from as many months as you can let them sit to age: cooked now, they'll be bland and perhaps stringy. I pulled some in fall (April) and we have just started eating them now in October and they're seriously tasty. Kabocha is often more intense and stringless, but these guys with time are pretty good.

Enjoy your persimmon drying-- I'd love to know how you do it there, since your temperatures seem similar to mine. When we did it in Fukushima, the cold and winter sun worked to dry almost everything pretty easily. Now I live in a place where the cold isn't cold enough and generally that time of year rains every day, so I don't even try to dry persimmons anymore because they just turn to slime mold.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Edward Norton wrote:I’ve never seen kabocha like that and initially thought they look more like courgettes. Then I see you have listed them as Moschata variant.

I just saw this thread and that squash looks just the kind we grow here (plus a hybrid of somethin-somethin making the ends more pointy than round). They definitely benefit from as many months as you can let them sit to age: cooked now, they'll be bland and perhaps stringy. I pulled some in fall (April) and we have just started eating them now in October and they're seriously tasty. Kabocha is often more intense and stringless, but these guys with time are pretty good.

Enjoy your persimmon drying-- I'd love to know how you do it there, since your temperatures seem similar to mine. When we did it in Fukushima, the cold and winter sun worked to dry almost everything pretty easily. Now I live in a place where the cold isn't cold enough and generally that time of year rains every day, so I don't even try to dry persimmons anymore because they just turn to slime mold.

Thanks for the tips on the squash. This year is experimentation year! I'll taste one every month or so, it should give a decent basis for comparison.

About persimmons yes. We had temperatures around 30 C up until the day before yesterday or so. My wife's aunt, who has had the most success with hoshigaki said it was still too hot. I've seen about three batches of them mold while drying. I think temperature is one factor, but also drying location. She had the most success drying them on the railing of her back stairway (north facing). They molded quickly under our carport and patio roof, both of which are surrounded by a lot of greenery. One year they started to mold, we noticed early, she brought them in, cleaned them off and reboiled them once. Those actually turned out alright, much to my surprise.

One of the problems is a lot of them are already going soft on the tree now... so we're going to miss a lot for hoshigaki. The hornets are having a feast every time one softens up.

Process wise I'm sure we do the fairly standard Japanese method of cutting with a T shape of stem left on, peeling, boiling in water, hanging from the stem.

The details I still have to learn.

Cumulative Total to date = 10719 cal + 362 +76 = 11157 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 1771 cal + 270 + 92 = 2133 (362 new)
Chayote 90 cal + 76 cal = 166 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 601 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal

More bushukans and pictures of where I'm harvesting them in case I don't have those pics.

10-23-2022 Bushukan 931-5 grams is 270 cal

10-23-2022 Bushukan 319 grams is 92 cal

First chayote harvest of this year. I realized the hornets seem to be pollinating them. That was a surprise, and now I need to be extra careful while harvesting while they're still flowering.

10-23-2022 chayote 449-5 grams is 76 cal

Cumulative Total to date = 11157 + 320 + 190 + 384 = 12051 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2133 cal + 96 + 224 = 2453 (320 new)
Chayote 166 cal + 125 + 65 = 356 (190 new)
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 601 cal + 384 = 985 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal


Oct 28 2022 Chayote 739 grams is 125 cal


Oct 28 2022 Chayote 386.5 grams is 65 cal


Oct 28 2022 Persimmons 549.5 grams is 384 cal


Oct 28 2022 bushukan 773 grams is 224 cal


Oct 28 2022 bushukan 331.5 grams is 96 cal

Also took pictures of chayote and persimmon growing areas





The chayote hordes have begun to assemble. They're almost a competitor to zucchini in how prolific they are, plus they're perennial, they store better once mature, and they are more versatile in my opinion.

edit: grammar

Cumulative Total to date = 12051 + 419 + 268 + 1288 + 37 = 14063 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2453 + 273 + 146 = 2872 (419 new)
Chayote 356 + 122 + 98 + 48 = 624 (268 new)
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 985 cal + 612 + 676 = 2273 (1288 new)
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal
Peppers 18 + 19 = 37

Need more species... peppers and eggplant might do it over enough seasons.

Nov 2 2022 chayote 720-5 g is 122 cal

Nov 2 2022 chayote 582 g is 98 cal

Nov 2 2022 chayote 284-5 g is 48 cal

Nov 2 2022 persimmons 875 g is 612 cal

Nov 2 2022 persimmons 966 g is 676 cal

Nov 2 2022 bushukan 941-5 g is 273 cal

Nov 2 2022 bushukan 504-5 g is 146 cal

Nov 2 2022 peppers 74-5 g is 19 cal

Nov 2 2022 peppers 73 g is 18 cal

This sort of challenge must be a lot easier for people who grow a lot of storage vegetables... harvesting en masse and then putting them up. Many fewer pictures necessary (if more work for the food). 9a-b is more or less year-round fresh eating, so canning isn't even a thing here. Pickles and drying are on the to-do list though.

Cumulative Total to date = 14063 + 96 + 364 = 14523 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2872
Chayote 624 + 97 + 116 + 151 = 988 (364 new)
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 2273 + 96 = 2369
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal
Peppers 37

Nov 5 2022 persimmon 138g is 96 cal

Nov 5 2022 chayote 573g is 97 cal

Nov 5 2022 chayote 687g is 116 cal

Nov 5 2022 chayote 891-5g is 151 cal

Cumulative Total to date = 14523 + 108 + 206 = 14,837 cal
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2872 + 108 = 2980 cal
Chayote 988 + 104 + 102 = 1194 cal (206 new)
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 2369 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 cal
Peppers 37 cal

Nov 9th Chayote 613 g is 104 cal

Nov 9th Chayote 605-5 g is 102 cal

Nov 9th bushukan 375 g is 108 cal

The much talked about drink of choice: bushukan soda

one bushukan cut in half with seeds removed

squeezed

with bubbly!

Cumulative Total to date = 14,837 + 820+ 1944 + 662 = 18263 cal - November 13 2022
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2980 cal
Chayote 1194 cal + 112 + 283 + 217 + 208 = 2014 cal (820 new)
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 2369 cal
Persimmons (for hoshigaki) 604+224+511+605 = 1944 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant)  4569 + 662 = 5231 cal
Peppers 37 cal

I'm separating persimmons for hoshigaki in this log in case I need to go back and record based on dry weight or something like that, since we aren't eating them fresh like basically everything else.

chayote 720-5 grams is 208 cal

chayote 749-5g is 217 cal

chayote 976-5 g is 283 cal

chayote 389-5 g is 112 cal

kabocha 727-5 g is 662 cal

persimmons for hoshigaki 865-5 g is 605 cal

persimmons for hoshigaki 730-5 g is 511cal

persimmons for hoshigaki 320 g is 224 cal

persimmons for hoshigaki 864 g is 604 cal

Cumulative Total to date = 18263 + 385 + 4200 + 29120 = 51968 cal - November 16 2022
Peas 152 cal
Mulberries 96 cal
Chestnuts 3054 cal
Bushukan 2980 cal
Chayote 2014 cal
Pawpaws 386 cal
Persimmons 2369 cal + 385 cal = 2754 cal
Persimmons (for hoshigaki) 1944 + 4200 cal = 6144 cal
Kabocha (Moschata variant) 5231 + 6370 + 9100 + 12285 + 1365 cal = 34351 (29120 new)
Peppers 37 cal

Praise the bathroom scale for making this log easier, if slightly less accurate (against my favor).

I rounded up or down, whichever would make my calorie count go down for all measurements since the indicator is only to the nearest 1kg on my scale. The pictures might be a little too fuzzy to read out clearly, if that's the case I will later upload the original uncompressed photos.

Because this post includes my big kabocha harvest and a decent sized persimmon harvest I finally bumped over 50k, but... the species count is nowhere near 12 with 2000 calories each. I put some more peas into the ground today, so hopefully I'll be getting a decent pea harvest come January or February.

rounded down to 1500 grams of kabocha is 1365 calories


550 grams of persimmons is 385 calories


me with empty basket is 83.5kg


me with basket full of persimmons is 89.5kg so 6000 grams of persimmons and 4200 calories


me with empty container 85kg


me with kabocha container 2 is 95 kg so 10000 grams of kabocha and 9100 calories


me with kabocha container 1 is 92 kg so 7000 grams of kabocha and 6370 calories


me with kabocha container 3 is 98.5 kg so 13500 grams of kabocha and 12285 calories