Sonja Corterier

I am late to the persimmon party it seems, though I am VERY envious (I tried to start a small persimmon tree this year but so far unsuccessful) but the one way that my husband loves it when he is not like me usually fond of them in all their forms, is PORRIDGE. I peel and cut them up and put them into a mix of very fine oats, buckwheat, and puffed amaranth, and a tiny bit of psyllium husks cooked with some brown sugar and whatever else I have (oscillating between pine nuts, walnuts, Hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds.

I have been trying to hunt down some long term (as in newer) information about that mushroom tiny house that you have references for the reason to use the mycelium. But I won't brave the app formerly known as twitter at this point in time and on tumbler nothing new seems to have surfaced.
Is there anything where I could read up more technically about this stuff? (I own mycelium running and entangled life but most references to insulation there are either old data (mycelium running) or more general in Entangled life..) I am so reluctant to just message the company who is rather oblique on their website regarding their stuff (not that I do not understand but also they said they'd incorporated to drive this mycelium shift, but tm and patents will in fact ALAYS slow things down, sigh) I am just so curious about this stuff and expect some building to have to happen within the next 4 years or so

But I am also a bit confused: was the Oyster mushroom harvest intended?

Thank for any information on this
S

if you really want it to look "Invisible" it depend mostly on two things skills and what material you can access

IF you can find loose wool that looks just like this one then the previously meantioned needlefelting imho is a DEFINITE do this. It is Much easier than you think if you have never done it before (but avoid my mistake: take a single needle not one of the multiple needle thingies they usually sell in the cheaper sets, this makes the work more intentional/controlled and it is still quite fast) It also has the benefit of making everything extra sturdy there and you can probably do it without haveing to open too much of your lining.

HOWEVER
If this is going to be the fancy respectable coat.. then, in my humble opinion, scavenging from your seam allowences is probably the best way. Be it for "reweaving the area" or a small patch.
The reweaving is the highest skill requirement but for a relatively small hole might be doable (there are multiple instructional videos on youtube on how to do this & it is very impressive)
The patch will be the most "obvious" version but if done well most people will never notice it, even though it might still be visible when "you" look.

BUT both option presuppose that the insides of your coat still truly have the same color, which is something you will have to see (some dyes hold up against sunlight better than others, and a coat is often worn in less sunny conditions.. but it really depends)

(I hope you treated the coat against the moths... if not yet: place it into the freezer for at least 48 hours if you have it and then clean well afterwards. Yes, I know that it was stored and there is no judgment here atr all only the point that the TLC will make probably more of a difference than the quality of the mend)

(I , personally,  would TOTALLY visibly mend this but I understand that the location is a bit "off for that, but I would  make it bigger note smaller (like felting differently sized polka dots in a dancing line over one shoulder and just keep the one of the hole one of the smallest), but then I am shameless and even mend pant crotch areas very overtly) (but also imagine a nice deeper Red thread sahiko patch there and another on one cuff and one matching on teh oposite Shoulder... hmmmmm.... or some meadow flowers at the hem like with a dandelion and then just a few of the parachutes dancing over your back over that area and further upwards.... however, that is not what you asked)

much love and luck in finding your materials and inspiration
S

Nancy Reading wrote:

Sonja Corterier wrote:
I am also looking forward to the spring Aegopodium podagraria (ground elder is it?) we prefer it over spinach and make pastries with it and tempura works well too.

Ooh! My ground elder is just coming into leaf now, I've not used it much to date. So do you just steam it as a vegetable, and stuff that in pastry cases? I must try that this year. I've made liqueurs with it. I quite liked the result - to me it had chocolate overtones, but not everyone who tried it was keen. 'medicinal' was one of the terms used! My husband also isn't keen on celery family plants, and I've got a feeling that groundelder falls in this camp too, despite the very dissimilar growing habits.

I am not sure if it does but it may well be. my husband prefers it over spinach. and yes, you can steam teh leaves a bit and add a bit of egg slurry and sage or otehr spices and then fill that in a pastry and bake. its quite good. herb quiches also work well with it

C Murphy wrote:As a regular eater of Jerusalem artichoke, which I prefer to call sunroot, I would like to add my 2 cents. If you eat them regularly (starting small), they make a wonderful addition to your diet. So easy to grow and good for you. I harvest mine all at once (soil is heavy clay and not pleasant to dig through once it's cold and wet), and roast what I can fit in the oven low and slow. That gets made into sunroot and leek soup, with garlic, stock, coconut cream and thyme. The rest is lacto fermented and used throughout the year for more soup, adding to salads (sunroot and potato salad is so good), and a new favourite which is sunroot and potato latkes.

Otherwise I also grow nettles, hostas, and asparagus for perennial veg. I grew Turkish rocket last year but haven't harvested it yet, same for Egyptian walking onion and shallots (looking to establish a perennial patch). This year I'm sowing hablitzia, good king henry, and perennial kale. And a neighbor has offered me some Solomon's seal so I think I'll take her up on that!

I would really like to hear how you lactoferment the sunroot, that sounds intriguing. I hope that this year I will catch my hostas at the correct time to try them.

one of my VERY favorite spring flavors comes from Alliums. in my region we have allium ursinum first thing in spring and I missed my window due to poor health to harvest enough of the seed pods to pickle them and eat throughout the year with GREAT delight.  
you can also make a (not long lived) Kimchi out of them. delicious.
We also have allium vineale here, but due to current circumstances again, I have to rely on foraging for them and I only get very occasionally lucky enough to be able to wait untl the seed pods arrive which dried make a great flavor for soups but the fresh greens I find regularly and they are so much more aromatic than chives.
What I really wish we had and will definitely try to cultivate when I get some more land is ALlium paradoxon/three corner leeks. their little onions , collected in th fall, make the BEST little pickle throughout the rest of the year,
I am also looking forward to the spring Aegopodium podagraria (ground elder is it?) we prefer it over spinach and make pastries with it and tempura works well too.

I really feel your pain, I feel like there is a lot of talk about going less annual, and doing restorative agriculture but very little in terms of culinary resource material. People will only follow when the food is already scarce or when there is a viable, yummy cooking culture to be taken advantage of.

I hope the next space will afford me some oaks and some peaches... I feel both of these are nowhere NEAR explored on a culinary basis, I found that peaches when a bit tart work very well and similar to tomatoes, though obviously the very sweet ones are different.

I also second Miner's lettuce, I used to have a really big patch nearby but they killed it off, sigh.

Stunning work, and super pretty.

Thank you, there must have indeed something been wrong with the log in, I am usually logged in.. and now that I returned it is there again. Thank you and have a good dreaming of spring gardening time
Sonja

I was quite sad, because this was "supposedly a freebie" for me, sugh, I couldn't watch it right away and now it seems inaccessible again... very sad

Sergei Boutenko wrote: