Patience Saves Time

Attended the workshop this morning to inspect the incubator's progress in its 24 hour test. An amazing sight - all 6 thermometers read the same temperature! What is going on? The rewards of patience at work. Had I left the thing alone yesterday instead of fiddling around for 6 hours it would have achieved the same result. The entire interior lining of the well insulated box would have eventually warmed and achieved a constant temperature. All my fiddling had prevented the box from reaching equilibrium. There was no need to relocate the fan at all. Another lesson to note in the database resting on my shoulders.

The new egg incubator has been relocated to the house and after bringing up to temperature 6 eggs were selected for a trial run.

Incubation underway. Note the thermometer probe. An extra temporary addition just until we get this trial to a successful completion.

With some doubt on the accuracy of the humidity measurement a test has been instituted separately with two spare Hygrometers to see if they need calibration. It involves using a salt slurry in a plastic bag. Apparently this after 12-24 hours should show a reading of 75%. We shall see.

Apart from the usual Monday morning of checking expectant mothers of which there were none, putting out silage and feeding another green strip it was a quiet day. The very unpleasant westerly winds kept us indoors to a large extent.

One indoor activity was to take samples of the 6 red wines quietly resting in glass demijohns. Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Chambourcin, Tempranillo and Petit Verdot. The Petit Verdot was a little acidic but as it is traditionally used to blend with other reds it will either be used in this way or go through a cold stabilisation process to drop out some of the acid. The Chambourcin was the pick of the bunch. The fruit was picked at 23.5 Brix our best result for these grapes. They are heavy croppers and hard to get to ripen in our rocky outcrop. This year the bunches were heavily pruned after flowering to reduce the crop to half of the normal level with a good increase in sugar. This year we also extended the time on skins to ensure the maximum colour extraction. The Pinot Noir in particular was on skins for 28 days and really shows the benefit with good colour and sugars fully fermented out.

The last event of the day was to open the Provolone trial cheese. This was the second attempt to replicate Provolone. Well it was very tasty but not exactly like the shop bought sample. Still experimentally a good start.

Testing The Egg Incubator, Mandarin Wine

Popped down to the workshop at 8 am to set up the 24 hour test on the incubator and ended up there for 6 hours. The problem was the temperature. The wireless temperature and humidity transmitter didn't have a min/max function which is essential for a full 24 hour test. The solution was simply to insert a probe from one of the many digital thermometers that are stored in the winery (La Cave).

The test rig

There result was a discrepancy between the two thermometers. There was also a big discrepancy between in humidity level in the transmitter and an old hygrometer sitting in the water tray. Attacking the temperature problem first 5 separate probes were inserted into different parts of the incubator. This resulted in 6 different temperatures, some differing by 2 degrees C.

After installing a second fan and moving both fans to different positions and testing the results a final configuration was established that kept the temperature variation to just below one degree. A insulated baffle between the heat source and the egg storage section prevented radiant heat distorting the readings and both fans were mounted in front of and just above the heat source pulling warm air and pumping it across the eggs.  Each test meant dismantling the setup, relocating the fans, reinstalling all the probes and recording temperature variances. What a pain!

There also needed to be confirmation that the temperature was in fact the temperature so the thermostat could be calibrated. With 12 thermometers inside the incubator and some with probes sitting side by side it was established that a bulb thermometer was broken, one transmitter was not transmitting and one digital thermometer was out by one degree. Finally the thermostat was calibrated.

The humidity issue was also resolved when by comparing the results of 3 transmitters and the hygrometer. One transmitter had both the temperature and humidity measurements that worked.

The whole setup was left running after all the min/max settings were reset.

And then some work got done i.e. putting out silage and hay for next doors cows. While I was fiddling with the incubator Jean got some real work done around the garden.

The Mandarin wine had a Brix reading of 17 which was borderline. Yesterday another small batch of Mandarins was juiced with a kitchen juicer and the batch frozen. This morning before embarking on the marathon temperature testing it was taken out of the freezer to defrost. When the defrosted juice reached 21 Brix it was added to the main batch raising the combined batches to 18.4 which is a potential alcohol a little above 10. Well above the minimum 9 recommended for stability. Some NWS Chardonnay yeast was added and an airlock fitted. Lets see what happens.

Mandarin Wine warming above the fireplace

Tannat Wine, Cleaning Wine Bottles, The Project is finished

We opened two bottles of wine yesterday. Both were the 2012 Tannat  (red) which had extended fermentation. T1 had been fermented on skins for 15 days and French Oak Medium toasted chips were added after the main fermentation was complete. It is beautiful. Very drinkable with a dark almost black colour and good fruit nose and palate. T2 had not only been fermented for 21 days but had the pressed skins from T1 added to it at day 15. Same oak addition. The whole idea was to extract as much of the goodness out of the skins as possible. T2 was harsher more tannic but will soften in time.

The conundrum is that T2 is at its peak in goodness and should really be the one to drink now. Our compromise was to mix the two 50/50.

Can't wait to try some of the 2013 reds as they were fermented on skins for an additional week to really push the boundaries of extraction.

One of the podcasts recently listed to was from Cellar Dwellers in the USA. Very entertaining coverage of wine making with the motto "the more you drink the better we sound". Some wrong information occasionally but always some new concepts and ideas to try. What was highlighted in one podcast was the problem a lot of people have with cleaning bottles. Getting the label off seems to be one area they struggle with. Some labels come of easily as the glue is water soluble. Others can be taken off if the bottle is filled with hot water and then soaked in hot water.

What a waste of effort. A sharp kitchen knife (not longer used in the kitchen) will scrape off the labels and the residue scrubbed off with coarse steel wool. This steel wool is kept aside just for this job as it becomes clogged with paper fragments. A few types of labels have a glue which needs to be rubbed off with paint thinners but this type is a reasonably  small percentage.

The final step is putting them through the dishwasher. They come out squeaky clean and sterile ready for wine bottling. The podcast was saying it takes about an hour to do 12-15 bottles and so they were moving away from recycling to purchasing new bottles. What a waste. The method outlined above takes no more than 10-15 minutes for 12-15 bottles.

The Project aka Egg Incubator aka Chickabator is finished. Today the bottom mesh was installed and while a full scale temperature and humidity test was underway a sliding frame was assembled to hold the eggs and allow them to be rolled easily without removing the lid.

Temperature and humidity test underway

Also tested was whether air was circulating. A small tray with smoking sawdust placed inside demonstrated that air was indeed leaving the box.

Humidity device, The cloths stop the slopping when the bator is moved. More trays = more humidity. Notice the protruding handle used to roll the eggs.

The last test will be a 24 hour min max temperature test.

The primitive egg roller installed and the wireless temperature and humidity transmitter secured to the wall.

Catching Up

A productive day catching up with the backlog of work. Another baby over the river  (15/25) and finished irrigating the freshly harrowed paddocks as well as the latest bit of fencing ready for the weaners to hit the thigh high Oats.

The asparagus bed received its final weeding and an application of fresh compost watered in with Seasol.

A perfectly clean Asparagus bed

Started melting the frozen Mandarin juice working on the theory that the sugars will melt first providing an opportunity to set the Brix level at the ideal number. We shall see.

One of the blocks of Mandarin ice melting

Picked up a recipe to make a mock Tabasco sauce. Seems very simple. Puree red hot chilli's, add a teaspoon of salt per cup of puree (30:1). Leave for one month to ferment. Drain liquid from pulp or leave some or all the pulp depending on your preference. Add vinegar to taste and allow a little time for the vinegar to integrate and you are done. The food processor had trouble pureeing the chilli's so half a dozen tablespoons of yoghurt whey was added (not in the recipe). Will see how this progresses.

Hot Chilli puree on its way to hot sauce

The Tomato seedlings are progressing well and are well on their way to planting out in the first week of September. 

Do we have enough Tomato Seedlings?

Last job of the day was a small chocolate bar using Coconut Oil, Dextrose. organic Cocoa Powder, lightly roasted peanuts and shredded coconut.

A perfect addition to the evenings Dandelion coffee

A recent change to evening meal format has been having a small plate of vegetables as an entrée. Last night it was Brussels Sprouts, Snow peas and Roasted Sweet Potato with Rosemary all topped with a sauce. The sauce (courtesy of Yottam Ottolenghi's Plenty)  is Dijon Mustard, Olive Oil, Chopped Capers and Garlic. Just a way to get a  good mix of vegetables into the system.

Oh and almost forgot. Ate one of the recently made mock Roquefort minis. Tasted terrific even if it does need another week or two to finish ripening. Goes well with sparkling Chardonnay.

Mounting Work Load

One new calf over the river today. So that's 7 out of 7 on the river, 13/16 on the hill and 14/25 over the river. Still a ways to go. The ground is already responding to the irrigation and the sunshine.

The work load is mounting as more time has gone into The Project and precious hours frittered away earning an income. Making a trip into Newcastle didn't help the time management. But there were some books to collect from Cardiff library and the fuel supply was low which corresponded to a 40 cent per litre fuel discount docket. The discount came to $60. We won't be needing any fuel for a couple months at least.

The Project has had a fine mesh barrier added to the rear to isolate the electrics as well as some insulation of exposed 240 volt terminals. A few cosmetic features as sealing joints in the tray and a nice knob for the thermostat which needed some modification to fit neatly. Getting awfully close to testing phase.

Things yet to get done are:

One last weed of the Asparagus bed and add some compost
Make some chocolate bars with nuts and coconut shreds
Finish the floor tray on The Project
Collect more milk tonight
Mulch the Onions (after running some Lucerne through the mulcher)
Finish a small piece of fencing over the river and set up the Oats paddock for the weaners.
And half a dozen other things along the way.

Last nights dinner was pretty nice. A few slices of Havarti on Daikon Radish and then pieces of smoked Salmon served with our double cream cheese (tasting particularly good), Horseradish and a Caper berry washed down with our own sparkling Chardonnay. The main course was spicy Sweet Potato soup with Coriander and coconut milk. And then some yogurt and fruit. The rewards of hard work and a full larder.

Watering the Vegetables

Most of the day was spent on other peoples farms checking and moving cattle, harrowing, moving irrigators and fencing.

The westerly winds this week have dried out lots of beds and pots and another pump up from the dam was needed. Started both pumps to ensure the holding tank at the house was filled and then gave all the beds a good soaking and most of the pots were hand watered a job to be finished in the morning.

When the watering system was first installed the pipe was put in about 400 mm above the soil to reduce overspray. This was fine except when the crop was taller than the height of the pipe. At that point the spray couldn't reach all parts of the bed and dry pockets would appear. Eventually the inertia to fix the problem was overcome and the pipe raised to above the protective netting. A job which turned out to be surprisingly easy and quick. Isn't that always the way. The end result is a much more thorough watering system and the overspray doesn't seem to have any additional negative affect.

Overhead spray system

Sometimes it makes you wonder why we put up with the poorer solution for so long.

The other change that was made at the time was to hard wire all the beds to their own tap at a central point rather than drag and couple a hose each time watering was needed. Again a relatively simple job which made watering significantly easier.

A tap for each bed

Using the same riser to store the hose as well

Progress on The Project

Woke up at 2.30 am and decided to get up now and do a few chores before heading out to pick up Jean at 5 am. The bus was on time. Jean was happy to be home and I was happy she was home. Home Hill Farm never seems complete when she is away.

After breakfast Jean went to bed for a nap after the 9 hour almost sleepless bus trip and I took the opportunity to head over the river and move the irrigator to its next run and put more silage out.

The bulk of the day was spent in the workshop on The Project which is progressing well while Jean checked on the springers next door and pottered around the house getting pots and beds watered.

The electrics fitted and tested, needs a little more protection around some of the exposed wires

Getting to the endgame with The Project. All the electrics are complete, the lining finished and the pull out draw which will hold the evaporation water done. The last few tasks are the mesh platform to support the eggs, the mesh barrier around the electrics, two ventilation holes (one for fresh air in and one for stale air out and last of all will be a mechanism to allow for rolling the eggs without opening the box. Once the mesh is complete the unit can go into test mode to calibrate the thermostat and humidifier.

The humidifier draw. Allows for up to three trays of water to be used. The trays are recycled trays from farmed Salmon fillets.

It is hard to hold back and not rush to the finish. So far the routine has been finish a stage and then think about the next stage for a day or two before returning. This has so far worked well in getting to this stage without any major problems. Is this design and build on the run?