Perfectly nice looking bitter gourd...
Coz we dont use pesticides, you really have to inspect closely. The yellow bits are holes where some creature has laid its eggs and larvae will be soon hatching and devouring the insides.
When cutting up the gourd, I just compost all the yellow bits.
I used to curse them, until I learnt that they are an essential part of the vinegar making process. How I just let them do their thing, especially when I am handling juices that I plan on fermenting. Here is one that landed on the cloth I was using to strain some apple pulp...
Fruit flies are definitely one of those insects that I have changed their label from pest to helper.
You can read a little bit about them here.
The past 2 days been going thru the compost bins, separating the usable gold from the matter that hasnt broken down yet. Because these are diy bins, it's quite time consuming and hard work for a little compost. I havent figured out a system yet to reduce the time spent on harvesting the compost. Anyways here are the 5 bins I have after going through it all. The compost has been distributed throughout the garden...
Just what I learnt thru trial and error...
- wide mouth containers are the easiest to use when placing or removing stuff inside, and when cleaning. These are four Horlicks bottles in front are ones that I use most often. The one on the right is clear like the rest. It just looks black coz there is a dark purple floral vinegar fermenting inside. The left one is the only one I can fit my hand into...
- for containers my preference is glass. Only if I dont have glass I use plastic. I dont use metal containers. The main reason I prefer glass is coz I can bake it as an extra step after cleaning with soap and water. Also I am more confident whatever is sitting in the container, no matter how hot, or how low the pH, or how salty, is going to react with glass less than plastic or metal.
- Plastic and melamine is easier when it comes to handling bigger volumes, and safer if you drop it!!
- for covers I prefer plastic over metal. Plastic doesnt react to salt. I learnt this from putting cooking salt in a plastic container with a metal cover. The inside of the cover was coated with plastic. But over time, due to handling or salt abrasion, the inner lining was breached and the exposed metal began to rust. Plus it rusted faster due to salt (ask any car owner who lives or works by the beach). In the earlier picture, the 2 on the left have fully metal covers. They are also old and rusted. So they are of no use if I want to seal it for storage, or for shaking up the contents.
- For utensils, my preference is wood. Only if I dont have wooden utensils, I use plastic. The problem with wood is that it does leach something into hot liquids. All the ones I own I have placed in boiling water and soaked them till the water has cooled. All have coloured the water. Could be tannins, or whatever curry we used it to cook with. The pores do hold some residue. But plastic is worse coz whatever that leaches is invisible.
- clear glass is better than translucent coz I like to see whats happening inside. This is an example where I cannot see clearly the movement of the fermenting ginger beer due to using a translucent vodka bottle...
Have a look at this compressed coco coir block that was sitting in water for some time...
The seeds have germinated!!
When making ginger beer, I gather from reading the forums that you actually dont want oxygen to get in. I think it makes the process faster of yeast eating up the sugar and turning it to alcohol.
So far I have been doing it wrong by putting a breathable cover (cloth) on the top. It will still work but putting a one way valve would be better. The CO2 can escape without letting the O2 in.
This is my el-cheapo solution....
Bought this for 8.99 from Lulu. Under rm1 per medium apple is a bargain for apples not from China.
Plus it was a mix of sweet red and sour green apples, exactly what this recipe called for...
I have space for one more row. It will make some veggies less accessible but we will try and see.
This is the plan. I moved the bricks out about 2 feet to the right...
You can see how little good soil there is before it hits clay...
Dug up a little. Not enough bricks.
The 2 pin plug the pump came with is not made for this country's power points. I can fit but not well.
I got an old 3pin plug and cord, cut from a spoilt appliance.
There is an abundance of kale now so I want to try pickling it.
It survived! That's all that matters. It looked red enough to pluck even though it didn't look fully formed. You can see the sick plant/leaves near it.
This area often has python sightings. I was walking my dog and she pulled towards that. Only then did I take notice of it. Looked like a snake or monitor lizard sticking it's head out. It didnt move from there at all, so it could just be a piece of shit!
This was a juvenile that came into my garden, some 100-200m from the above drain.
I dont know how many more days it can survive. The leaves near it are about toto die out due to whatever is attacking the plant. It looks red enough to eat though. Funny shape.
