Ancestors

Written by Pollinators on 2024-11-07 at 23:19

November 7, 2024 PM. Garlic planting about half done. Soil temperature is 60 F, 15 C. Soil moisture is passable. Using a bulb planting tool to make the individual holes. Placing each clove with love. Happy to see the many earthworms. Happy to have leaf mulch. #nodig, #gardening, #garlic, #minnesota, #pollinators, #growyourown, #compost, #kimchi.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pollinators@epicure.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-07 at 23:31

@Pollinators

mmm garlic.

I somehow totally ruined a big batch of fermenting cabbage this week.... for the first time ever.

So annoying. So sad.

I wanted some saurkraut and some kimchi.

Still have a few cabbages left, so start again tomorrow....

but being a little OCD about it because I have NO IDEA why the batch spoiled in just three days... I don't know what I did wrong.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Pollinators on 2024-11-07 at 23:38

@Rural_Canadian. How do you keep the ferment from the air? How did bad bacteria sneak in to your fermentation?

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pollinators@epicure.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-07 at 23:40

@Pollinators

I truly have no idea... very frustrating.

I've never had a bad batch and done this hundreds of times.

...so I'm thinking something from the field... maybe I didn't rinse the cabbage properly.

The crock and equipment was sterilized as usual.

It's still a mystery.... lol, an annoying mystery.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-07 at 23:44

@Pollinators

lol, sorry... I didn't really answer your question there: I used a big crock and stone method. No fancy bubbler or anything. I've never needed one.

The batch was totaly submerged and weighted, so there should not have been any exposure causing bacteria.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Pollinators on 2024-11-08 at 00:03

@Rural_Canadian. The bad bacteria is often present in the beginning. Usually the brine environment gives the advantage to the good bacteria. Was the location hotter than usual?

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pollinators@epicure.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-08 at 00:05

@Pollinators

Yes. It was a little warmer.

...and these cabbages were not my own, and it looks like they might not have been stored in a cool place for the days before I used them.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Pollinators on 2024-11-08 at 00:07

@Rural_Canadian. Global warming takes another victim.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pollinators@epicure.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-08 at 00:10

@Pollinators

For real.

This whole autumn is still incredibly warm. We've barely had frost yet... just a few days last week. ...and maybe starting tomorrow morning getting down below -3 Celcius in the early morn.

I worked in a T-shirt outside all day today.... Other years we've had a foot of snow already.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Pollinators on 2024-11-08 at 00:22

@Rural_Canadian. It’s the hottest year of all time, until next year. Frost season is changing by weeks.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pollinators@epicure.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-08 at 01:01

@Pollinators

I work on an edible biodiverse conservation area and experimental agricultural farm and food forest(s).

We have kiwi plants growing even in this zone.

The season here is not long enough to get them to actually go to fruit and produce something ripe... but each year it gets a little closer to being able to thrive here.

..A place with at least 5 months of winter, -40 celcius temps at times, and often lots of snow (except last year which had very very little)

It's wild.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social

Written by Be_Outside on 2024-11-08 at 01:06

@Pollinators

Our underground storage area was TOO HOT a month ago to store apples. The underground, below the permafrost, should-be-cool-all-of-the-time storage area was NOT.

I found that distrubing, too.

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rural_Canadian@photog.social