Mystical Mundane

For all you folks in the 'wack March 26-28 is the 8th Annual Outdoor Decor Yard and Garden Show at the Chilliwack Heritage Park Things to do in the garden. Seeing as the weathers been a bit wacky, I'm going to go with a late winter/ early spring combo of chores  - Mulch those garden beds! A good decomposed bark mulch is a great thing- it gives the garden that lovely tidy and finished look that only a nice black mulch can. And the weed suppression is a great perk too  The plants benefit too- mulch helps keep the soil warm when the temps are low and cool when the temps are high. The mulch also contributes the organic matter content of the soil- O.M is important in that it helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients, as well as encourages microbial activity (all them hardworking little critters that make a healthy soil). So weed/ clean out any left over debris, and add mulch! A good rule of thumb is approximately 1-2" of mulch (I find one inch is more than adequate, but it y...

Well, make sure you've got your bulbs planted! Generally up to the end of December is dandy, but after that, it may be pushing it a bit  Also, consider putting out some food for the birds. Most seed heads and fruit have disappeared now, and all those tough little feathered ones who stick around these parts through the winter need a hand! If you haven't done so yet, you'll want to rake out any leaves from trees that are prone to fungal leaf problems and dispose of them in the city green waste. Alternatively, other remaining leaves are good to leave in the garden to be broken down naturally and then turned into the soil in spring. Flowers! Even though we're in the middle of winter, there are still plants making flowers. Often they are a bit inconspicuous, so you need to keep and eye out. Some of these include Hellebours (or winter rose) and the 'Dawn' viburnum (Viburnum x bodnatnese "Dawn")- it blooms off and on from November through February. Most other...

Nov 2/09 Reading on the hydrometer is 1.05 (10%)= must is currently at 8% alcohol content. Continued skimming the gunk off the top. Then figured it too much of a pain in the ass with all that fruit floating on top and just took to giving it a quick swirl to allow some air access to the surface. Nov 4/09 First racking Used sulfite to sterilize carboy, siphon, hose, air stop and plug. Hydrometer reading 1.062 (8%)= must with 10% alcohol content Tasting- fizzy! the yeast is still active a lovely fruit sweet taste still very cloudy, a dark pinkish colour Nov 5/09 Added 4 additional litres of bottled spring water

Oct 29/09 *sorry for the mixed use of degree designations, it's just now i had it written down... started with 6kg (=2gal) of honey, with 2gal of water, heated until honey dissolved then brought to a boil for 20mins to sterilize. removed from heat, let cool to 70-75F before adding yeast (temp approx 175F or 77C when removed) and added: 15tbsp of air dried bee pollen (yeast energizer, recommended 1-5tbsp/gal); 1/2 each blood orange and lemon, sliced (one whole citric fruit); 7tbsp very strong tea (steeped 6 Earl Grey teabags in average sized teapot)- recommended 2tbsp/gal. at 50C, added 1 additional gallon of cold water added 900g frozen mixed berries raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry (75.5C). Oct. 30 added additional 500g frozen blue berries started yeast (lalvin 1118) in 1 cup warm water, let stand for time indicated on package added to must at 110F initial hydrometer readings, 1.135 (18%) 1.1 (15%) after yeast added *notes fill sink with cold water and place pot of boi...