Re: Garden Geeks thread
That really sucks. I definitely plan on expanding my garden, and, based on your chronicling of your adventures with Cheever, the expansion will definitely include fortification. I'm wondering if growing hot peppers helped keep the varmints away. I also have an unintendedly "sacrificial" pumpkin plant that's closer to where the groundhog lives; the pumpkin bravely grows new leaves and blossoms, and they're promptly eaten. Possibly that keeps the groundhog sated enough that he doesn't bother the real garden, which is farther away.
Yep, just salt water. In fact for some vegetables you don't even need to add water. When I make kim chi (main ingredients bok choy and napa) I just cut them up and add the salt. The salt extracts enough water from the bok choy and napa.
The key to avoiding mold is to keep the vegetables submerged. You can do that by weighting the vegetables down with, for example, a ceramic dish or a plastic bag or milk jug filled with water. Just don't use anything metal. You may get some mold on the surface, but you can just scoop it off.
My go-to book for fermentation is The Art of Fermentation by Katz. Also, there's a lot of information available on line. BTW, cucumbers are hard to pickle without their getting mushy. You need to add a source of tannins like grape leaves (always wondered what their function was). I haven't found a good source of grape leaves and I haven't tried any of the other suggestions, like oak leaves. Fermented some salsa this year using tomatoes from a roadside stand, and was very happy with the result. Made it tangy without my having to add any vinegar. Also fermenting the tomatillos I harvested after I made my big batch of salsa verde.
Originally posted by leswp1
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Originally posted by walrus
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The key to avoiding mold is to keep the vegetables submerged. You can do that by weighting the vegetables down with, for example, a ceramic dish or a plastic bag or milk jug filled with water. Just don't use anything metal. You may get some mold on the surface, but you can just scoop it off.
My go-to book for fermentation is The Art of Fermentation by Katz. Also, there's a lot of information available on line. BTW, cucumbers are hard to pickle without their getting mushy. You need to add a source of tannins like grape leaves (always wondered what their function was). I haven't found a good source of grape leaves and I haven't tried any of the other suggestions, like oak leaves. Fermented some salsa this year using tomatoes from a roadside stand, and was very happy with the result. Made it tangy without my having to add any vinegar. Also fermenting the tomatillos I harvested after I made my big batch of salsa verde.
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