Oven Drying Mushrooms

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Wild Mushrooms are a great delight if you are careful and only pick the right varieties. If you find a crop of parasols or perhaps some ceps, then you will want to dry some and use them throughout the coming year.

I know mushrooms aren’t technically vegetables, but forgive me this little faux pas.

To dry mushrooms in an oven, first slice the cleaned mushrooms thinly. Woody stalks (the parasol for example) can be discarded.  Place the sliced mushrooms in shallow unoiled trays and place in the oven. Heat the oven to no higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (about 70c) and let the mushrooms dry for an hour. After an hour turn the slices and return to the tray for another hour of gentle drying.

If they still hold water, just do it all again until they are bone dry. Now you can store in sealed jars (with a little salt to absorb any atmospheric moisture).

Of course, to be really environmentally friendly, consider air drying and for something special why not have a go at cold smoking the mushrooms you collect.

Information Regarding Growing Bonsai Trees

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The art of growing small trees that resemble full-sized mature ones is called bonsai. Its purpose is simply for the pleasure of growing them and to be able to enjoy their beauty. Following the second world war, there was a great deal of information available regarding this art form in the West and to this day exhibitions continue to be held. Also, literature about bonsai trees that was once not available was translated to English and became more obtainable.

Chinese penjing which means tray scenery is where the bonsai originally comes from. Penzai is the word used by the Japanese meaning bonsai coming from penjing. Three categories make up penjing including trees, landscape and water and land.

Tropical and subtropical types are sometimes grown inside; however they are generally grown outside. It is not the same as a general plant around the house and will need more care and watering. It will have benefits as compared to the outside bonsai because it can maintain leaves year round. It can never have the moss covering that an outdoor bonsai grower highly seeks.

Seeds are very seldom used to grow these trees and those that are partially grown are preferred. A partially developed plant is known as mature stock and it gives the desired aged appearance necessary. One very important aspect is to choose the type of tree that will grow well in the particular surroundings it is to be placed in.

Mature stock is collected in a couple of different ways. Cuttings are one way; they are placed in a medium for growing until roots develop. Another technique often used is layering which allows the roots to grow next to the live branch before it is removed.

A good option especially for the beginner may be nursery stock which can provide good starting time of a couple seasons. There are things to consider with nursery stock; the shape may be predefined and difficult to alter which will limit the trunk direction. An advantage is that the tree can be worked with right away.

For tending trees it is a good idea to purchase the special tools available. Plan to spend a great deal of time watering as these trees need to be kept moist a lot of the time. It is also important not to over water them as they may develop what is known as root rot. They will need to be repotted frequently to promote new root growth and to prevent them from becoming bound to a particular pot until completely mature.

Many different techniques are used when developing a bonsai which include pruning, trimming, clamping, wiring, defoliation, deadwood and grafting. Any of these techniques is acceptable, but particular aesthetic characteristics need to be considered to comply with tradition. There are some principles that are key including miniaturization, asymmetry, proportion among elements, expression of wabi or sabi and no trace of artist. With developing technique and patience it can be possible for anyone to experience the tranquility of caring for bonsai trees at home.

If you’re curious about a bonsai, then visit Oscar Mandria’s site and learn about the ficus bonsai.

top ten ideas for getting kids gardening

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Kids can really quickly learn to love gardening when young. Many will fall out of love in their teens but come back to it with renewed enthusiasm later. If they already had a grounding in gardening as a child they will remember much of what they learned.

Start them young with ultra fast indoor, windowstill crops such as cress seed on wet tissue. Sow the seeds on Monday and you kids can watch thyem germinate and grow, understand the way roots develop and have a tasty egg and cress sandwhich for lunch by friday.

Give the kids a patch of earth to play with. Let a part of the garden be ‘theirs’. Ownership of grownup areas is a huge motivator.

Give them strawberries to plant. Strawberries are hardy, last years and when looked after produce bumper crops. A great lesson in the relationship between effort and success.

Plant heather and other bee friendly species. Kids should learn as early as possible about the importance of the bees. They provide about 1/3 of the food we eat.

If you have apple trees, ‘give’ a tree to a child. My dad gave me a tree for my 5th birthday. All the apples that fell from it were mine. It was a wonderful gift that I treasured more than my bicycle, computer and all my toys (except teddy who was still my favourite). In the winter dad showed me how to prune the tree and I am still pruning apple trees to his method 35 years later.

Give them seeds and let them compete to grow the tallest sunflower. There is something magical about a 3 foot tall kid growing a 12 foot sunflower.

The following veg are fun becuse the look impressive or taste great:

  • Carrots
  • Pumpkins
  • Potatoes

Help the bees by planting the food they love

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Bees are the best pollenators there are, and are directly responsible for the pollenation of about 30% of the human food supply. So if we want lots of fruit and veg, big flowers and altogether nicer gardens we should do things to attract the bees. Obviously, not using pesticides is a given. Even if a particular substance doesn’t seem harmful to us, bees are so small that the effects are proportinately so much larger on them.

So dumping the chemicals is a great start, but to really get them working your garden, invite the bees in by planting flowers they particularly like. Make life easy by planting large swathes of their favourites together.

what flowers do bees like?

Here is a bee friendly list of flowers.

  • Borage
  • thyme
  • mint
  • Lavender
  • Asters
  • daisies
  • foxgloves
  • snapdragons
  • penstemons
  • heathers
  • Crab applie
  • fennel
  • angelica
  • sedums
  • cow parsley

Keeping a tidy allottment

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Allotment holders have the advantages of neighbours who are keen gardeners. However, that does add a bit of pressure regarding keeping the place looking ship shape.

However, by edging your plots you can easily keep your allotment looking spick and span.

Standard wooden palettes are 4 foot in length, which is the perfect width for a veg plot, so head down to your local garden centre and ask if they have free palettes. Take one away and break it down into its constituents. Now take them to the alootment and make a simple box 4ft by 8ft and just one plank width high.

The box is made by nailing the planks to wooden corner blocks (either salvaged from the palette or from scrap 4×4 posts.

Two straight rows of these plot boxes with a central aisle and 2 foot of space between each will give you a neat plot. The advantage is that it will be easy to keep the grass under control and weeding will also be easier as you will never step directly on your plots so the earth will not get compacted.

Using fire ash

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Ash from wood fires is an organic material and can be disposed of in a number of ways.

It can be sprinkled on icy paths to act as a deicer.

It is high in nutrients (potassium carbonate, phosphate, iron, manganese, and copper) so can be added to soil as a fertiliser. However ash is highly alkaline and therefore should be used sparingly and with care in this manner.
Most plants like a slightly acidic soil, so adding ash may do more harm than good.

Ash’s best use is in soap making. You can turn your ash into lye water and then use this caustic solution together with oils (grow your own sunflowers?) and fragrances (grow lavender) to make completely homemade soaps.

At our house, the most regular use for wood ash is in cleaning windows. This was a method recommended by our chimney sweep. I was buying some nasty chemical cleaner to regularly clean the glass window at the front of our little wood burning stove. The stuff was expensive, not too effective and gave off nasty fumes. The sweep suggested that the ash from the fire itself is the best cleaning product for glass he had ever encountered. A ball of damp newspaper dipped in cold ash and rubbed on a window quickly produces a soap like layer that is fantastic for removing dirt. Rub the grey soap off with a dry newspaper ball for a smear free window that will be the envy of the neighbourhood. It is really quick and easy to do and there is no mess. This method doesn’t just produce great results (and the results really are first class) but saves on water and eliminates the need to use environmentally dmaging detergents. The newspaper balls can be thrown into the fire after use.