The nettles that Farmer Sergio brought over a few weeks back are a fermenting in rainwater – I took a peek, er, whiff yesterday.  Gooey, gagging, goodness. MMMMMM or ACK?

When applying the stinky sludge in the garden I would advise wearing old clothes and having some vinegar or lemon juice on hand to take the horrid smell off your hands - cuz it really lingers, believe me.    Last year I accidentally tipped over a bucket filled with fermenting nettle goop and it stunk up the entire yard - wasn't very pleasant I assure you.  Justin came over and asked "what died?"  Yeah, funny guy.

Last Sunday Sergio brought three more bags (traded this batch for a Gardening By the Moon Calendar-2010 are now in stock so you can get your own to help with planting your garden)

Going to "brew" some more nettle goop for the garden and boost the nitrogen naturally!

In France making nettle "manure" for the garden is like a national past time!

Nettles to the Rescue

Partaking of nettles in every possible way seems to verge on an act of patriotism for the French. There is an Association des Amis d'Ortie (Association of the Friends of the Nettle) who have annual meetings, and of course, the requisite Fête des Orties, or nettle festival, where you can listen to lectures, meet with other impassioned nettle users, and of course, indulge in nettle gastronomy.

.....In France, bodies of serious research exist supporting the various benefits of applying nettle tea to your plants. Much as is the case for kelp emulsion, nettle tea seems to stimulate the "immune system" of plants, making them more resistant to insect and disease attacks. Perhaps this effect is due to no more than the fact that the plant is in a state of optimal and balanced nutrition.

-Via French Gardening

“Mysteriously” Banned in France: Nettles, Hot water and Indispensable Garden Tips

....Ahead of us, Mr. Pott turned around abruptly to warn us of the smell. “Thanks for the warning,” I said, as I repressed projectile vomiting a gag. He apologized and told us it was his purin d’orties. (nettles “manure” or fertilizer. It’s nettles soaked in rainwater.). I’d never heard about it. He mentioned that it not only was a natural insecticide that works but it was also a nutritious fertilizer “tea” for garden vegetables.

Upon further research, I found out that nettles is somewhat of universal super miracle ingredient being beneficial (even curative) to allergies and health problems, as well as serving as sort of a magical elixer in the garden. You can also cook it like spinach for a vitamin rich delish potage or other dish. There are undoubtedly endless uses for this undeservedly maligned weed.

Nettles fertilizer is so effective that it’s probably better than anything you can buy at the garden store. But it has so many more uses. How do people love nettles? Let them count the ways:

1) Dilute your nettles fertilizer “tea” and spray it on your plants for a safe insecticide that knows how to get rid of the bad bugs and keep the good ones (especially good for veggies like tomatoes);

2) If sprayed, it will also be a foliar fertilizer rich in iron, vitamin C, nitrogen, beta-carotene, B complex vitamins, phosphorous potassium, oligoelements, enzymes, chlorophyll, magnesium, calcium, silica, iodine, and amino acids. You can also enrich the soil by directly watering the ground around your plants;

3) The diluted fertilizer is known to stimulate your plants immune system, building their resilience to diseases and insects;

4) Undiluted nettles tea is a very impressive natural weed killer that will not harm your health, the soil or the environment;

- Via Why Travel to France

Last time I was a recipient of a scoby from a local fermenter.   This time around I decided to grow my own. Took three weeks but here she is.

Not much to look at but

Yesterday brewed up a batch of tea with what tea bags I had on hand - white tea that was given to us free in one of our swag bags from one of the film festivals we attended.    This will be the first time using white since normally brew black or green.  So this fermenting batch should be interesting.

Not only am I curious how this brew will turn out but have been wrangled into a friendly fermentation battle of who's brew is better.

The showdown supposedly will take place at our upcoming event on Sunday August 23.  May the be best brew win!

Wild fermentation is the opposite of homogenization and uniformity --Sandor Ellix Katz

On the preservation front

Now that I got some beautiful cabbage heads (thanks to a local Freedom Farmer) I made a batch of sauerkraut - using Sally Fallon's recipe.  I did just plan cabbage for one batch and for the other I mixed a bit of beautiful turnips we had growing in the garden.  The turnips were sooooo sweet and incredibly delicious as was the cabbage.  I couldn't help but eat handfuls raw.

Fermenting is one of the easiest and oldest ways of preserving - not to mention it's fun.

Recently in the news, sauerkraut and pickled vegetables fermented the natural way with lactic acid fermentation are being credited with correcting bodily imbalances of intestinal flora, leading to problems including acid reflux for which doctors often prescribe harsh antibiotics.

Natural lactic acid fermentation is one of the oldest and healthiest means of food preservation. It allows natural, beneficial bacteria to perform a fermentation process in which vegetables develop a pleasantly sour taste and remain rich in vitamins and minerals. Lactic acid fermentation is the only method of preservation that retains all the natural plant ingredients while improving the quality, taste and aroma.

The preservation season has just begun!  Soon, apples, apricots, peaches, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes and peppers will be (God willing) pouring in and we'll be busy in the kitchen.  But the June gloom has delayed the harvest a bit so I have a feeling we are going get slammed in July & August.

Preservation is definitely food security at its best.

What new preservation methods will you be trying this year?  Care to share?

References

Wild Fermentation

Fermentation crock and cutting up the locally grown cabbage

Homegrown carrots (seeds available at FREEDOMSEED.org)

Homegrown carrots, daikon radish, green onions and local cabbage

Pounding with a wood mortar in whey, salt and spices to release the juices

After a few days in the crock, time to put the kimchi in cold storage

Last week we had a bit of fermentation fun here on the urban homestead.  With our homegrown daikon radishes, homegrown carrots and locally grown (bartered) cabbage from a Freedom Farmer it was time to get a'fermenting (thanks for the trade!)

Making My Own Whey

I've never eaten or tried making vegetarian Kimchi before so I was a little unsure how this experiment would turn out.   Days before harvesting the vegetables we made the whey from yogurt.  Then was time to cut, mix and pound!

It was fun making the kimchi (recipe courtesy of 'Nourishing Traditions' by Sally Fallon) as the whole kitchen filled with spicy fragrance.

On Saturday I put a spoonful of kimchi on crackers as we had some friends over for a potluck.  One of them happened to live in Korea and having eaten kimchi every day said this was the best kimchi she's ever tasted.

So I was quiet pleased with the positive review!

At the Pasadena Smith & Hawkens store on Saturday April 18th over 40 plus people turned out to hear Jules Dervaes talk about composting methods he uses around the urban homestead.   He covered about a dozen different types and composting methods that he's used over the past twenty five years.

From simple methods like:  mulching, bag, pit and passive pile to fermenting compost, vermicomposting Then advancing to the many types of our favorite digestors, bins and tumblers used on the urban homestead.

If you would like to purchase any of the composters featured during the presentation they are available at our online store PEDDLERSWAGON.com

All profits go right back into our non profit outreach and support our growing work.

Talking, thanking them for their hospitality, with the store employees afterwards (who were very pleased at the turn out), we asked innocently "so how did the store fair?"   One of the employees said whenever they have in-store workshops like this they are happy to clear/get $500 in sales.  This time around they raked in $2000 in sales so they were certainly very pleased at PTF's popularity.

Also like to thank DS for his $40 donation.  Your support is greatly appreciated and we certainly enjoyed chatting with you afterwards.  Good luck with your garden!

On Monday, April 20th  Jules Dervaes gave a two hour urban homesteading presentation at the Santa Monica Library.  The event was sponsored by Santa Monica's Co-oportunity (who's celebrating 30 years btw - congrats!

Over 50 people filled the library's auditorium to listen to Farmer D present the 10 elements of urban homesteading. The presentation included a showing of HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION, a power point presentation followed by Q&A.

Thank you to all those at Santa Monica's Co-oportunity for inviting us to participate!

Going Back to Basics

Los Angeles chefs are happy to be in a pickle

Pickling is as old school as the patés and prosciutto that often accompany its results. It's a technique born of pre-refrigeration necessity and the cyclical pattern of gardens.

Read full article

In a Pickle?

Do you have loads of vegetables and there's no more room in your freezer?

Pickling is one of the oldest (drying the other) of food preservation and it's fun!  Low acid vegetables would require a pressure canner (more about low acid, pressure canning in a later post), pickling is a quick and easy way to extend your summer harvest.

Guide to Pickling Vegetables (pdf)  This is a great online guide!

Now go forth and ferment!  Just be warned that if you do happen to pickle peppers, you may find yourself muttering something about Peter Piper.