Loke Mani

We were a little worried that the late and harsh winter would damage the #garlic, but it appears to be thriving! 🧄
In fact, every single variety we are testing is looking good so far.
#growyourown

Redrawing the ant border again. 🐜
We have an ant nest right next to the terrace, and every spring, the ants explore and build new highways. They like to create one path straight to our sitting area where delicious crumbs tend to fall. We don't particularly appreciate this.

So, every spring, we mix up some cinnamon infused oil and paint a border. It lasts for a month or two, which is plenty of time for the ants to build their path under the terrace instead of across it. And so everyone is happy for the rest of the year. We get to eat in peace and the ants can gather the crumbs once they fall through the gaps.

No need to poison a nest just because it's close to the house if we can get along instead. I quite like our little cleaning crew under the planks. Not to mention that they keep other damaging insects at bay.
#ants #homemaintenance

The black salsify is all up and processed. ⭐ In total, we got about 2.8kg. Some of that, we enjoyed right away. The rest, we froze and pickled.

As usual, cleanup after peeling was the worst part. The sticky latex is a bitch to get off. But I got a pretty good system going, peeling the salsify in a bucket of water and vinegar and rinsing often. Only the knife and peeler were truly gunked up.

I'm always very happy to have such an abundance of black salsify. The few times it is available in the shop at all, it's not the best quality and crazy expensive (and you still have to peel it yourself). This harvest was essentially free since we started with seeds from my mom and these hardy taproots really don't need any further care. Also, while it is growing, the leaves can be thrown into any dish for a little extra crunch and fibre. 🥗

#blacksalsify #growyourown #homesteading

This week's #bread split beautifully. 🍞
#baking

Went to the botanical garden yesterday with the family. Always a good time. And, while most cherry trees were not quite ready to bloom yet, we saw at least one that was beautifully pink. 🌸
#botanicalgarden #koifish #cherryblossom

After years of random packets in multiple containers, jars, and plastic bags, I finally gave in and got myself an organiser. It's intended for photos, I believe, but it's just the right size for my seed collection. (+Some jars of seeds that we have a lot of)

Along with the database I've been tinkering with, my process is slowly getting streamlined. Hopefully, by next year, I'll be able to know exactly what I need to refill, where each packet is, and when everything needs to be sown and how, without putting in any extra effort analysing the existing stash. 🌱
#seeds

With the naked eye, you could only see a shift of green and red tones on the horizon. Still, it's always very cool to observe #auroraborealis .

Pickled red onion and daikon radish on avocado toast.
The bread is homemade and as is the pickled daikon and onion mix. 🍞✨
#pickled #cooking