Week 16 - Seed collecting and fermentation

We have time to help grandmothers and community garden. Basically main activities were weeding. When our team member Tara leaved from the project other team member Julian joined the project. Everybody tried to adapt new situation. As of today our new team member Julian will visit permaculture designers places and make permaculture interviews. How permaculture informs everything in designers, farmers and people life now, how permaculture brings a sense of hope during disorder times, and how the movement needs to find a better balance between the human ‘people care’ element and the practical physical systems.

Fermenting a food product obtained by the vinegar is based on fermentation. Fermentation method is to decompose it in a healthy way by means of heat and foaming method through beneficial bacteria. In this fermentation process, the fruit sugar in the vinegar first goes to alcoholic fermentation. At the end of the fermentation process, fermented fruit, vegetables and so on. turns into one of the most useful things for our body. If we give an example to fermentation products; vinegar, boza, sour yeast, sour yeast bread, homemade yoghurt, homemade sausage.

“What is the benefit?” We have two brains in our bodies, actually. Our second brain is our intestines. One of the most important things for them to work in a healthy way is the probiotics. Fermented products enable probiotics to survive and help to multiply. For this reason, fermented products are very valuable. It is very important to consume them. Vinegar is one of the most beautiful products fermented.The vinegar mother converts the alcohol in the vinegar to acetic acid, and thus the acetic acid fermentation begins and this process continues until the moment falls. What makes vinegar healing and valuable is acetic acid, which contains minerals and vitamins.  

 

Apple Vinegar Ingredients:

5 lt jar dechlorinated water 

Non-poisonous grown apples  

300 g sugar or honey

 

 

 

Preparation

1. Wash and drain apples,
2. Place them in a big jar,
3. Add in the water and sugar (make sure to submerge the apple well),
4. Cover the top of the jar with cheese cloth and tie the cloth using a thread,
5. Store it somewhere dark and cool for about 20 days until the apples sink to the bottom (for the first few days stir everyday, then stir twice a week),
6. Remove the cheesecloth, cover the lid loosely and keep it in the same place without stirring for 30-45 days more,
7. At the end of this time drain our vinegar with a cheese cloth, and transfer to narrow mouth glass bottles.

This week also past with collecting seeds. If you still wish to harvest flowers and vegetables from a particular row, either select just one plant to allow to go to seed or wait until the end of the season. With podded plants like sweet peas, the seeds will be ready when the pods are brown, and you can hear the seeds rattle loosely inside. The pods should crumble in your hand when you crush them. That’s how you know they’re ready to harvest! Nigella is a bit of an exception, with the pods still retaining their green colour while the seeds are ready. The seeds should be black. You can always check one pod to make sure. A paper bag used similarly is also a good idea for plants that dispel their seeds with a bit of force.

A common mistake made by new growers is harvesting seed too early. The seed must be completely “ripe” before harvest. That usually means they are very dark in colour and very hard.  

When collecting your seed, especially finer seed, you may find a bit of debris mixed in with your material. If you gently shake your seed gathering container, you'll find that the seeds tend to sink, and the lighter bits of plant material come to the surface.

From there, you can pick it out or winnow it by gently blowing across the top of this layer. You can also choose to ignore it and plant it with your seeds if this is too bothersome.

The final step is to label and store your seed. How you keep your seed is entirely up to you. Paper twists, envelopes, jars, and more are all acceptable, as long as no moisture can reach them.

Storing your seeds in a cool, dry place will ensure longer shelf life. Labeling and dating your seed is also a good idea, as germination rates tend to decline over time. 

Young leaves - cooked as a potherb and added to soups. They can also be dried for winter use. Nettles - Urtica dioica are a very valuable addition to the diet, they are a very nutritious food that is easily digested and is high in minerals (especially iron) and vitamins (especially A and C). Only use young leaves (see the notes above on toxicity). Cooking the leaves, or thoroughly drying them, neutralizes the sting, rendering the leaf safe to eat. The young shoots, harvested in the spring when 15 - 20cm long complete with the underground stem are very nice. he juice of the leaves, or a decoction of the herb, can be used as a rennet substitute in curdling plant milks. Nettle beer is brewed from the young shoots.(*)

.Zanthoxylum piperitum - Japanese pepper tree's seed - cooked. It is ground into a powder and used as a condiment, a pepper substitute. It is used in Korea in the treatment of tuberculosis, dyspepsis and internal parasites. The resin contained in the bark, and especially in that of the roots, is powerfully stimulant and tonic.(*)

(*) https://pfaf.org

Brought by Ruhsar