Fiona Martin

Great video, thanks for posting. Found many things which were applicable to the tiny urban garden, so will be putting them into practice this year.

Nettle pakoras - not so much a recipe but a rough guideline!

Take a bunch of nettle leaves, wash and chop (a food processor is handy for this).
Add chopped garlic, chillies, pinch of salt, coriander and cumin seeds, ground turmeric.
Add spoonfuls of gram flour, and water as needed to make a paste.
You're aiming for a thick batter, which looks about a 50/50 mix of batter/nettle.

Deep fry spoonfuls of the mix - you can always make one batch and then adjust the seasoning to taste.

Apologies for the terrible instructions, I tend to make it up as I go along, I'm sure if you found a recipe for spinach pakoras and just substituted nettle for the spinach it would work well!

Edited to add: you also need a pinch of baking soda!

Thanks Aljaz, the video was great, will definetly be checking out his website!

Roy Hinkley wrote:You see the same message over and over, the darn things are so expensive.
It doesn't have to be pottery, as a matter of fact I think glass is a better product for this application. For the last couple of years I've been using a glass cylinder about 4" by 16" and it's been fantastic.
The crock itself isn't really the hard part, it's getting a good weight to hold things down whether you have a little or a lot in your container. Most crocks are tapered and something that fits well at the bottom is a sloppy fit near the top.
Tall and skinny makes for a consistent amount of liquid above the food for a perfect ferment every time. Clear means you can see whats going on at all times in the fermenter.
This particular one is a glass vase but I'm looking for a supplier of something a bit thicker and stronger. I used a disk cut from a plastic cutting board and a jar of water for weight.
A plastic 2l ice cream tub does a fine job of an airlock - I haven't needed to skim anything off the surface since I started using this system.
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/Indyyeti/GEDC1418_zpse2222c96.jpg
I'll let you guys in on a little secret - a much refined product will be for sale "soon" at a very reasonable price.

Watch for the Zeli Veda fermenter. You saw it here first!!

I like how you can order a framed print of the photo!!!

Seriously, some good improv, I've used a glass paperweight in the past and I'm trialling an old coffee jar - it's not air tight because I took the cardboard bit out of the lid so still lets gases out when it's closed.

Love it! Gonna have to give that a go, especially since my 4yr old had hysterics when we were reading how slugs like sweet peas, and he's just sown some sweet peas. He only calmed down when we said we'd feed any slugs to the chickens.

My list would have to include rhubarb, currants, herbs - especially oregano. And definetly nettles. My favourite way to eat nettles is nettle pakoras -awesome!

Great timing, was about to post and ask for remedies for colds and sore throats. Currently laid up with a nasty dose of cold, so will go and try as many of these as I have ingredients for! Just remembered my normal trick for sore throats - gargle with warm water and vinegar, always helps, kicking myself for not doing it sooner. A saltwater gargle also helps.

Black mulberry? I always thought they took years and years before they fruit, not sure if I'm confusing them with something else or if it's when they're grown from seed. Is the fruit tasty, or is it just for chickens?

I've just ordered some sorrel seeds, I used to have a clump at my last house, was very tasty!

Hmm yes, that would probably help!

Hi Nigel,

I'm not a seasoned permaculturist but thought I'd say hi, I'm also based in the UK, but further North - Newcastle Upon Tyne. It sounds like you're are making a good start with your trees and currants. It's difficult to know where to start, my approach on my allotment has been to start with my soil - it's in an appalling state, so I'm trying to add more organic matter. Since you're doing a course in May I would maybe hold off doing anything too big until you've done that, there's no harm in covering the grass that you want to eliminate, that will give you a head start what ever you decide to do long term.

Cheers,

Fiona