Ep71: Best peat free compost? Onion seed trial & chilli pot on

Gardening with my miniature schnauzer in the home kitchen garden and our UK allotment plot.

Well, I'm all over this place this week!! In fact, this week's video is just Sunday afternoon - and apologies for the abrupt end, I was thinking I'd film more in the week but I've got a super busy week ahead and thought it best to just release what I had - and actually it's quite a bit:

- We check in on the Sylvagrow versus Plantgrow peat free compost trial with the onion and scallion (spring onion) seedlings
- Plus we check in on the rocket and lettuce and broadbeans
- It rains, so we come inside and - randomly - brew some kombucha (recipe below)
- The rain stops, so I repot my five blueberry plants into fresh ericaceous soil (blueberries like acidic soil) as well as some of my homemade compost
- I just sit down to pot on the chillis, and my nephew calls to say PLOT, NOW. So off to the allotment we go where I finally harvest that romanesco cauliflower!
- Then back to pot on the chillis - and sow even more!! Nooooo ???? I blame Maiju. I didn't do the tea soak this time so it will be interesting to compare the germination time with the last lot.
- I also planned to sow the loofah/luffa and melon seeds, but as the loofah needs a 24 hr soak, we'll have to start those later this week...

For the original chilli pepper sowing video see ep68: https://youtu.be/58EblzR28Rg

Mentions:
@spudsandroses
@isotopechillies - https://www.isotopechillies.co.uk/ (not sponsored)
@plantgrow6966
@sylvagrow8675


My Basic Kombucha Method:

Ingredients:

1 litre jug of boiling water
5 teabags or 2tbsps of loose tea (black, green or white - or a mix - but not flavoured)
100g white or golden granulated sugar
1.5 litres of cold water
1 cup of starter liquid (from the kombucha your SCOBY arrived in or your last batch)
1 SCOBY (if you have one - if not, you can just use just starter liquid and one *should* grow - but best to have a SCOBY if you can get one)

Method:

Start by adding your tea and sugar to the litre jug of boiling water. Allow to brew for at least 15 minutes. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved.

Add the 1.5 litres of cold water to your vessel (a 3.5 litre jar with a wide mouth is ideal).

Remove teabags from the sweet tea.

Pour the sweet tea into the vessel, on top of the cold.

Next pour in the cup of starter liquid.

Place the SCOBY carefully on top of the liquid - it may or may not float. It does what it does.

Place in a spot with a warmish, constant temperature (i.e. on top of a fridge - not on a radiator) in an airy space but out of direct sun. I keep mine on top of the freezer in the pantry. Secure a thin cloth over the mouth of the jar. You can wrap the sides of the jar in a tea towel or jumper if it is cold in your house and to keep it out of the sun. Now you wait.

Depending on the temperature it may take two weeks... maybe a bit longer... it does what it does. At the two week mark start testing. You want to find the ideal sweet/sour balance for your palate. There will be bubbles around the SCOBY (which will have a formed a new upper layer) and the liquid should look transparent.


It's ready! Now the fun bit....

Boil the kettle for your next batch and reserve a cup of the now ready kombucha as your starter liquid. (Continue as above for your new batch.)

Give the rest of the liquid a good stir with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the yummy yeast that will have fallen to the bottom.

Decant into glass bottles (with airtight stoppers for max. fizz). Leave some room at the top to accommodate the gas that will accumulate during the second fermentation period.

Now add whatever takes your fancy. Ginger is good. Berries. Chopped up bits of other fruits. Juice. Hibiscus. Mix and match your flavours - go wild! Or leave plain - if you've used a nice tea like Darjeeling then you might just want to showcase that flavour.

Pop on the lids and leave for a couple of days or up to a week to gain a bit more fizz and develop the flavour. If you haven't drank it all within the week then pop it in the fridge to retard the fermentation.

And that's it! As with all things ferment-y, you'll start to get a feel for your new pet and how to best take care of it. Eventually your SCOBY will get thick enough to require careful division and you can start a SCOBY hotel and eventually offload them onto others.

Happy brewing!

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