Sprouting Seeds

Looks like my vegetables might be off to a good start. I guess that these little sprouts are going to be spinach...


Now I just have to nurture them to full size...

Winter Coat

It feels like we've had a relatively mild winter bar a week-long cold snap in mid-August. But that hasn't stopped Jasper developing a lovely thick winter coat. No doubt he'll start shedding it soon as the spring warms up.

Whispering Rabbits

If you think you haven't seen much of the rabbits lately, that would be right. And neither have we as they've been banished to the bottom of the garden whilst we renovate. My father-out-law's house is far too nice to have rabbits roaming around.

But don't feel too sorry for them - once we move back in, they'll get full access rights to the rumpus room which has been designed to be rabbit-proof with all plugs and cables off the ground.

Antfestation

Warm weather means more ants and wet weather means more ants inside.

And more ants inside make me ITCH!!!

Grapefruit Wine: Step 3

We've been using a grapefruit wine recipe found online here, increasing the quantities according to the number of grapefruit we had. The recipe has produced two successful batches so far so we have some confidence in it.

The second batch was much sweeter than the first though so this time we cut back on the sugar a bit. This might be why our third batch stopped fermenting after about a month. We added more sugar after wracking off and it started glugging again within ten days. Hopefully it will be ready to drink by the time I finish breastfeeding...

Grapefruit Wine: Step 2

Once all your wine-making equipment is sterilised, you can start extracting your grapefruit juice. I used the juice of 50 grapefruit and the zest of 10 fruit. Just be careful not to grate your fingers when removing the zest - otherwise the juice will really sting in your cuts!


Unfortunately, there was too much waste to risk putting it in a compost heap without turning the resulting product acidic (though there is some debate about that topic). I put my grapefruit skins in the household waste. Make sure you have the bin close to hand before you start - otherwise you'll drip sticky juice all over your floor. I have heard a suggestion since that you can burn the skins in a woodburner, producing a lovely citrus smell, so I'll be trying that next winter.

Grapefruit Wine: Step 1

We made use of our bumper crop of grapefruits to make wine again this year. The first step, once we'd harvested the fruit, was to get all the equipment ready.

If you want to make fruit wine, you'll need the following equipment -

1. Glugger, spoon (for stirring in the sugar) and fermenting vessel - all sterilised
   
2. Campden tablets and citric acid, clean washing up brush and shower attachment for sterilising
3. Outside drain for disposing of the sterilising solution without poisoning yourself

Sterilisation is the first stage - and arguably the most important stage - of wine-making. Otherwise you risk ending up with vinegar rather than wine.

Just crush four Campden tablets and mix them into a pint of cold water with a teaspoon of citric acid. Put all your equipment into your fermenting vessel, pour in the sterilising solution, put the lid on and swill it all round together.

Take great care not to inhale the sterilising solution, otherwise you'll be coughing for hours.