Ac Baker

I grew up next to one set of grandparents, and my Grandma showed me how to make whole grain yeasted bread.  I think that was their staple bread.

My partner D's Mum used to do the same.  So when we had our own place after college, we used to make it. Now we have inherited D's late mother's double-skin bread pans.

But since I developed fructans-interant IBS last year, I'm passionate about sourdough baking now!

I adore your maize!  I'm thinking you must know a lot about maize, beans & gourd growing by now .. May I ask a question about gourd family, specifically pumpkins & courgette/zucchini, however?

We seem to have had zero fruiting flowers on our pumpkins & courgettes this year.  Could this be due to the hot, dry weather? Or are there other causes which we should consider?

Many thanks!

How about recycled rubber grass mats for driveways: https://grassmatsco.co.uk/products/premium-rubber-grass-mats

Just to add, the only definition of "weed" that makes any logical sense to me is, "a plant that, once I've learned about it & extensively observed how it interacts with other plants, is where I don't want it to be".

So I am very selective in what plants I edit out of my garden beds.

Chiming in to say, I've not bought any extra equipment to start making & using sourdough.  I like to use a Kilner jar covered by a damp muslin cloth for my starter, but I already had those.  A bowl covered with a damp, clean tea towel would do as well, I think?

Thank you!  I agree!  

I would add, I made a very good gluten-free sourdough starter using the most popular gluten-free strong bread flour mix on sale where I live, following the regular method not the gluten-free suggested work-around.  Allowing for the fact that I don't have a gluten-free kitchen myself,  this worked without any direct contact between the gluten-free flour & the gluten-containing starter.  

So I'm cautiously optimistic this might be possible for a fully gluten-free & coeliac-suitable kitchen too.

That's an amazing difference in soil organic matter.  My recollection is that each added 1% in soil organic matter - especially below a few inches soil depth, where evaporation is low - can increase water retention by the equivalent of up to an inch of rain.

That's less of an issue in your part of the world than mine at the moment, as I don't get anything like the rain & springs you get.  

But it's an eye-opening exercise in how important good soil management techniques are!

Thinking of you.  I support everyone saying, keep using that walker as the right tool for the job.  

Falls are terribly dangerous. Potentially life-threateningly dangerous.  

A walker with a seat is a great tool, which can help us with balancing impatience & long-term safer recovery.

All best wishes for you steady, safe progress.

I just found out about the European Training Foundation or ETF.

They don't seem to currently have any entries in their Innovative Teaching Practices under Permaculture.

For what it's worth, if you make an entry for yourself, ETF will push out notifications to all their subscribed educators.  Might be a way to reach more people interested in teaching & learning about Permaculture.

For example, they have over a hundred listings in Innovation Dimension: Learning for green futures so far, including for Organic Agriculture:

https://openspace.etf.europa.eu/innovative-teaching-practices?combine=&innovation_dimension%5B%5D=710&sort_bef_combine=created_DESC

Indeed, I am growing runner beans from my own saved seeds this year.  This is what I was raised to do. The seeds are what I considered typical when I watched my elders sowing them: black mottled with lilac: