Tereza Okava

Judith Browning wrote:
I've been skimming off a thin white layer from the top every few days...like when I make some fermented vegetables.   Should that be happening?

I would imagine that's kahm yeast.
The Oracle (bot) says:
Kahm yeast is a harmless, thin, white or creamy film that forms on the surface of fermented foods and beverages like sauerkraut, pickles, or kombucha, typically due to the presence of oxygen and warmer temperatures. While not harmful to consume, it can affect the flavor and texture of the ferment, so it's often skimmed off the top. To prevent kahm yeast, maintain a consistent, cooler temperature, ensure the food remains submerged, and use clean equipment to create a less hospitable environment for its growth.
What is Kahm Yeast?
A harmless surface film:
Kahm yeast is a type of wild yeast that appears as a thin, often powdery or crinkled, white or cream-colored layer on the surface of ferments.
A natural occurrence:
It is a natural phenomenon that occurs when wild yeast, present in the air and on fresh ingredients, grows on the surface of a ferment where there is contact with oxygen.
Conditions for growth:
It thrives in warmer temperatures (above 70°F/21°C) and prefers an oxygen-rich environment, which is why it forms on the surface, unlike molds or beneficial bacteria that may be submerged.
Why it forms
Oxygen exposure:
The presence of oxygen is key for kahm yeast to develop and form a pellicle, similar to a SCOBY in kombucha.
Temperature:
Warmer air temperatures accelerate its growth, while cooler conditions slow it down.
Fermentation dynamics:
In a dynamic fermentation process, lactic acid bacteria consume sugars and produce lactic acid, creating an acidic environment that inhibits harmful bacteria but allows kahm yeast to grow.

I agree with R Scott, they seem to be very tenacious plants and come up in the darndest places. I let the plants go to seed at the end of the season and shake them to scatter seeds, and instead of coming up in the beds they'll often focus on the gravel areas on the edge of the garden or in the spaces in the walls that border the beds. They come up in my potted plants but seem to prefer the ones with crummy dirt like figs and succulents rather than the rich dirt.

after some years of similar efforts i would say the most important thing is to understand that what works for one person may not work for you or for your environment/zone/soil/needs/etc.

So often people get disheartened after seeing a solution they think is excellent but having it fail in their specific setting. And then they give up, because the next solution they see costs too much or is impractical.
My suggestion would be to talk to people where you live and keep your eyes open. Grow what works where you are (see what your neighbors have that's doing well). If something doesn't work, don't despair and assume it's not possible. Tweak, adjust, keep trying. Weather and rainfall and other factors mean that all of us are always adjusting too.

Here in Brazil they are relatively common in hotter, floodable areas where European cattle don't do well. Indian breeds of cattle were brought in and added to the genetics to help address this; you'll only see breeds like Holsteins and Jerseys in cooler places here (like where I live, where we get frost). But water buffalo are apparently very hardy and not vulnerable to the same illnesses as cattle.

They are used for meat, milk and hides, we pass a farm on the way to my mother-in-law's and they seem to eat the same pasture as the normal cattle in the region. The meat isn't as easily found as bovine beef, but to me it tastes the same. I've only seen mozzarella type cheese, so I'm not sure about the milk applications.

Matt McSpadden wrote:I'm going to put in my vote that there is too much moisture in the freezer or on the bags themselves when they go in. A dry wall of a freezer and a dry cryovac bag should not have anything that will freeze together.

......cardboard

This is where I was going as well.
I have really limited freezer space and often freeze things flat or in blocks so it all fits. Sometimes that means freezing a bag on a cookie sheet or plastic tray, then removing it, or freezing liquid in a plastic bag within a big square food storage container (think ice cream carton size) and then taking it out when it's solid--- the "phantom container" method.

putting your bag of meat on a flat surface (like a cardboard sheet or something, or using that to position it) might similarly be helpful.

wow, mozarkite tumbles up beautifully!!
i used to be really into rocks and minerals as a kid, and managed to let it slide as my interests moved elsewhere. maybe it's time to get back into it!
https://rocktumbler.com/rough/mozarkite/

i grow noodles and normal climbing string beans, planted at the same time.
the string beans succumb to aphids way before the noodles, which is fine since the noodles take longer to grow. They eventually also get ruined by aphids, but it takes longer and I get better yields off both. (this happens every year regardless of weather, but some years are better or worse than others).
Might be worth next time planting some other pole beans as a trap crop!
As for your seeds, I would save them anyway.

I had dextran appeaer recently in a batch of sichuan pickles (chayote and carrots). I want to say it was colder than usual, or something, and someone here was talking about it. I kept the brine for a few more batches but it did keep getting slimy and then resolving-- but it never did form a super pickle mother, unfortunately!

my husband's shop is in a radio/phone "black hole" for some reason, despite being in an urban area and there being towers all over the place (they are on the flight path of a regional airport and I suspect that's something to do with it).

They have a plain old electrical wire strung under the ridge of the garage roof (metal structure) that they've linked into the radio antenna wire, without it they can't get any radio whatsoever.
I have also read that LED lights can interfere with radio signal. Don't know about where you live, but our city recently switched all the street lights from halogens or sodiums or whatever to LEDs!

Thanks for the radio recommendation- I love listening to regional public radio and they have some shows that look great (a fix-it show!! something to fill that "Car Talk"-shaped hole in my heart....)

My pickled beet brine is pretty sweet but I am not super keen on sweet in the egg filling, so definitely check to your taste!