Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Holiday Weekend

Happy Valentine's Day! It's also Washington's Birthday Weekend, and if you are stuck indoors, here are some old-fashioned bouquets to remind you of his era.

Dobbin House Tavern, Feb. 6

To chase away the bitter‑cold winter blues, we offer a glimpse of summer from the Dobbin House gardens. Each week, we gather and arrange fresh blooms for the deep, inset windows of Rev. Dobbin's 18th‑century stone home - - now the cozy setting where our guests enjoy menus of fine food and drink.

We like to imagine that Isabella Dobbin herself filled these very rooms with similar, homemade arrangements in 1776, brightening her household just as they brighten ours today. With the Gettysburg countryside blanketed in white, viewing this burst of color gives us comfort, as it promises warmer days ahead. We hope it brings a little warmth and cheer to you as well.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

By-Tor bottled up his sauerkraut (see Jan. 17 post) on Jan. 31:

My sauerkraut has been fermenting for 24 days now so time to jar it for the upcoming LA County Fair in May. You can ferment it for months if you want; it gradually becomes more sour and softer. This is the right amount of sourness and crunch I like.

Next up- bread and butter pickles, applesauce, and naturally fermented dill pickles.

Recipe:

Make a brine of 3.5% saltwater using kosher or any un-iodized salt. I use grams. So for example 35g of salt in 1000ml of hot water until it’s dissolved. There is no specific amount to make; you just need enough to cover the cabbage. Use as much cabbage as you want.

Shred or buy pre-shredded cabbage. Put that in a food grade plastic or glass container. Cover with the brine. Use a plate or similar to push the cabbage below the surface. Cover loosely with a lid. Leave it on the counter. In about 4 days it will start turning beige. In about 8 days it will start turning sour. You can start eating it whenever you want. I think 3-4 weeks is best.

You might see a white flakes on the surface. That’s yeast. It’s harmless but off-flavor. Skim it off. It’s normal in fermentation.
When you’re ready, put it in jars. Jars going in the fridge don’t have to be sealed. Jars for the shelf need to be water bath canned in Mason jars to seal the lids. It will stay good pretty much for years.

It’s going to taste different than most store bought sauerkraut that uses vinegar to create the sourness. It has a more natural flavor.
The recipe for naturally fermented pickles is the same except do 4% and use whole pickling cucumbers. They take about 6 days.

Looks great! Good luck at the fair.

By-Tor, Feb. 2:

It’s pickling and fermenting day to get ready for the LA County Fair. Bread and butter pickles are done; then a jar of cucumbers in a 3.5% saltwater brine with garlic and fresh dill to start fermenting into dill pickles. These should be ready in six or seven days.

They look great, too! Interesting bottles!

Adventure

From Sharon(willow's apprentice)

I got to spend Christmas with my son, DIL and 4 yr old grandson on the Dutch island of Bonaire. Located off the coast of Venezuela, it is 82 degrees all year round, 70's at night.The little town is very colorful and looks like a classic beach town.Most of the island is an eco preserve where there is a flamingo breeding ground and a donkey sanctuary. There is no fishing allowed and the reef is literally off shore so you can walk in from the beach and snorkel. It is extremely dry and although there are extensive gardens, there was watering hoses all around the plantings. So many different textures and vibrant colors. The air was so clean. It just felt so unspoiled.

Glorious! Anyone recognize one of the flowers there?

Gardens of The Horde

What's going on in your garden?

Hope everyone has a nice looong weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Feb. 7

Any thoughts or questions? Anything blooming since then?

I closed the comments on that post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.