Plants, health, food and gardening

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food

spironlina

spirolina is an edible algae that needs only water, urine and iron (from rusty nails for example). However, it needs quite a warm climate. In colder places it is only possible to grow it in a greenhouse in summer. A possibility could be to pump it through a wood stove or compost heater.

aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). apparently this has more chlorophyll than spirulina, needs less salinity, has more calcium, and importantly, can live in a colder climate. But it seems it only grows naturally (not cultivated). AFA and Spirulina Compared


tempeh:

Tasty indonesian soja with mould grown on it. The difficult thing is keeping the temperate constant. tempeh needs to be at about 32 degrees C for about 22 hours. Not a problem if you live in indonesia. If it gets colder than that for some time period, it seems it still works but takes longer, eg: on a woodstove which goes out at night but you light it again in the morning. but there is then increased risk of contamination with other bacterias. If it gets too hot the mould cannot survive.

electric incubators are easier to regulate temperature but less ecological and use too much power to realistically run from batteries. typically an isulated box (eg: an old refridgerator) and a heating element (eg: 40 or 60w light bulb). The simplest way to regulate it is with a dimmer switch (this works quite well). but leaving a dimmer set external temperature changes (eg: at night) and towards the end of the process the tempeh begins to produce its own heat and the temperature rises. Old water heater thermostats can also be used, which can be regulated by moving the temperature sensing element closer or further from the heat source. It would be interesting to know if its possible to use a refridgerator thermostat for this as these are much more readily available.

Regulating the humidity is also an issue, a small amount of air circulation is needed but it must not dry out. You can experiment with covering them and leaving a small gap open. Some people use plastic food bags with tiny holes in which works well but is expensive and wastefull.

Another tricky thing is how to save the spore so you can make more and dont have it keep buying tempeh starter. You must leave the tempeh in the incubator for longer (When you take it out, cut off a thinner piece for more surface area and to not waste the middle part). After about another 8 hours, the black powdery stuff is the spores. these can be scraped with something sterile to collect, or just take the whole piece of spore covered tempeh and dry it out (eg: on the stove) and blend it/grind it to a powder.

  • kedai perantau sell tempeh starter from malaysia, quite cheap.
  • how to make tempeh starter from scratch also recommends books and has facts about how healthy it is.
  • tempeh incubator
  • makethebesttempeh.org home made tempeh culture
  • wild fermentation this site has good forums much info about many kinds of fermentation.
  • Grain mill for grinding the beans: look for porkert grain mill, this is said to be the best. Note that they must not be totally ground to a powder but cracked in half. Some electric grinders (something strong enough to grind coffee beans) work well you must just give them a really short grind.
  • The book of tempeh, shurtleff and aoyagi - very good book (can be found as pdf online)

beansprouts

very important food for winter, when theres not so much salad to eat. they will grow much faster if kept warm. rinse them as often as possible - so keep them close to water or somewhere where you will always notice them and remember to water them. water is important to them, so give them good water.

almost any bean or lentil (not split ones) will work.

wine making

alcohol drinking is not healthy. but if you do drink, it can be a good idea to make it yourself. it saves money, does not support the supermarkets, and you can be more in control of how much you drink. However, do not be tempted to drink it before its ready. If this is a problem remember to make more so you have a constant supply.

Making wine is easy, but making good wine that does not give you a hangover is not so easy. Keep everything clean with hot water (or chemical sterilisers if you really dont have much water), and 'rack' the wine at least once (syphon it into a new container to get rid of the sediment). I think its the sediment which causes the hangover. Some fruits make more sediment than others, so it can be more difficult to get them to clear. Apple and pear wines can be difficult as they make a lot of mousse (become frothy).

Yeast and yeast nutrient can be difficult to find. They can be bought on the internet if there is no brewing shop nearby. It is also useful to add lemon juice, a source of tannin (some black tea, for example), and if making a wine from flowers or leaves, rather than fruit, the yeast will like something to live on, crushed or minced raisens/saltanas are often used. and sugar.

The first stage of fermentation can be done in an open topped container, like a pot or bucket, with some textile over the top to stop insects going in, kept warm and stirred as often as possible with something clean.

After five days, or one week, the wine is filtered through cotton or muslin into another container. Traditionally a glass demijohn with an air-lock which can let air leave but not enter. I have had success using 25l plastic water containers, with a condom or balloon instead of an air-lock. but plastic containers are more difficult to clean. In winter, make sure the wine does not freeze.

  • 1 gallon = 3.785 litres
  • C.J.J. Berry - "First Steps in Winemaking" is a good book.

Wines to try:

  • dandelion flower / Löwenzahn blumen / pissenlit
  • ginger / Ingwer / gengembre
  • oak leaf
  • elderberry
  • elderflower
  • rose hip

Links:

gardening

The most difficult thing about gardening is staying in one place. Many of us dont 'own' our land, and get moved on, or want to travel, especially in summer when plants need a lot of attention. The gardening techniques work over many years. We have to find the right compromise between travelling and learning from other places and also wanting to enjoy having a garden and eating uncontaminated food. So whereever you are, treat the gardens around you as your own, try to keep a long term vision even if you yourself wont be there for very long, but respect the ideas and techniques that have been put in place by those who have been there for longer. When you are somewhere for a longer time, try to help passers by become involved and see how the garden works. and of course, save seeds, swap seeds, when you travel carry seeds with you.

Growing food is often separated from enjoying ourselfs and made into 'work', it would be good to see more bands/soundsystems playing infront of garden fields to motivate and inspire people. you might expect that this would destroy the garden. but we need to break down the barrier between work and play and maybe not get so wasted when we hear music or not be so orderly when we 'work' in the garden.

Plants which need more attention could be planted on paths we use often or on junctions of paths where people naturally meet and make a pause.

perrenial veg: (that grows every year and you dont really need to do anything)

  • Jerusalem artichoke/topinambour is a super easy to grow tuber. Good as a reserve if other things fail to grow.
  • asparagus/spargel
  • rhubarb
  • horseradish - the leaves are big and good to eat raw or cooked

plants that are easy to grow and feed you well:

  • broadbean / fevre / dickebohnen - the first beans of the year you will eat.
  • chard / blette / mangold - lives for two years
  • spinach / epinard / spinat

wild plants that feed you well

  • nettle
  • quinopod/fat hen - spinach-like plant that can be eaten raw or cooked.
  • chestnut/chataignes/kastanien if you live somewhere warm enough that they grow big.
  • wild garlic/Bärlauch can be eaten in early spring when there are few other green plants to eat

green manure

  • white clover
  • red clover
  • ryegrass

other gardening ideas:

seed saving information:

bio/organic seed suppliers

Gardening Books:

health

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