Recent content by Rek

I believe her perspective is that any mold growth is bad, and so that jar may have had some mold in it. She has a bit more explanation here on the day she threw it out as well as pics of the brine through a...

Thanks for the info. I tried scooping it out, tasting it (tasted like olive oil), and then heat it up. Turned back to liquid, so I think you were right on that. I think the dotted stuff in the sauerkraut was the same thing, but more distributed. The green beans taste even better than when I...

So on my way to hot sauce making I'm trying to learn to ferment, and figured I would start with something easy like sauerkraut and pickled green beans. It went ok, but after 4 or 5 days I put it in the fridge. That was about 2 weeks ago and now there is some weird growth...  ...

This is *sound* advice!

I've used hydrogen peroxide occasionally on my container plants when I was feeling the soil had become too compacted, I was a bit worried about mold/bugs, or when my plants had been over-watered, were drowning, and needed more oxygen.

Because, 'tis a joke. Had no idea! Those sure do look different. I hope never to encounter them myself. :D

FoxFarms Grow Big is the one thats been suggested to me. I've used their Ocean Forest soil in the past and got great results. I've got a bottle of this stuff I'm planning to use next season in a sub-irrigated planter made out of either a 5 or 7 gallon bucket...

Is this like a joke on these forums? I feel like someone could post a picture of a butterfly and someone would declare it an aphid! :D

Probably a cheaper option for solar-based heating is just do it directly with some black piping filled with water. The sun will heat the water, and since water is a good insulator, it should be able to hold on to the heat pretty well into the night. I've never tried this, and you'd have to look...

Sauce + Mash separated. :)

So I've made it, unfortunately I don't have a good camera right now but it's turned out pretty tasty. It's a bit "zestier" than I'd like, but I think if I was to ferment it it would make the flavor thicker. Any suggestions on what to add would be welcome as well. I'm impressed at how strong the...

I'm planning on planting basil and cilantro with my hot peppers for my first attempt at growing outside. They are supposed to keep away aphids and some other pests, and basil is supposed to help with the flavor too. I'm not sure exactly what effect the basil I have will do, as it's osmin basil...

I'm in the Valley, Sherman Oaks/Encino area. It gets pretty hot out here. I'll keep that tip in mind--bigger is better. :D The most success I had with my plants was when I was mixing the Ocean mix with about 25-50% of the miracle gro moisture stuff. Helped to keep the plants hydrated while...

Wow, so many responses. As to my plants-- for the most part they're not young (two of them are in their second year, the others have been growing for 6 months), but they are still pretty small. I think in general my goal is to increase growth speed to help them fill out more, get thicker stems...

What type of plant food should I use for my pot-grown pepper plants? Miracle-gro? I'm using some Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix (although it's not the best soil I've used, it's the most readily available), but I'd like to help boost my plant growth to get some really huge success in...