Category: Sustainability

  • How to grow mulberry trees from cuttings with wax

    How to grow mulberry trees from cuttings with wax

    Mulberries are awesome trees because they have so many uses and are real easy to propagate. The cuttings will root if you leave them lying on the ground and they have enough water. 

    Here’s a few tips on how to grow your own mulberry trees from a cutting using wax. 

    Grab a mulberry cutting

    Get yourself a cutting off a healthy tree. You might able to find a tree in a public space in your neighbourhood, a neighbour may have one or you could order online. 

    A cutting that’s thicker than a pencil, 30-40 cm or 16 inches or longer is good. The thicker and longer, the better chance of survival. Anything thinner than a pencil may not survive and may need lots of attention. 

    Prepare your cutting

    Keep your cutting(s) in the shade. Close off the open parts where you cut (not the base) with some wax. I use baybybel cheese wax because we eat the cheese! Put the wax in a jar lid and melt it with a candle or other method. You can just use candle wax too. 

    This closes off the open wounds on the cutting so that water doesn’t evaporate the and cutting dries out. 

    Plant your cutting

    Plant your mulberry cutting in a 10L or 2.5 gal pot. Water it in and mulch it. Any neutral soil that’s a little sandy and has lots of organic matter will suit.

    Place your potted cutting in a shady spot to settle and root. 

    Leaves will shoot

    Wait for a month or so and your first leaves will start to shoot from the cuttings. The cuttings won’t be rooting yet, so keep watering and be patient. I water every couple of days or daily in summer. Keep your pot in the shade. 

    You got mulberries!

    A few months later your cuttings will be small trees, rooted and producing small berries. The first berries will be small and not really the yummo. Plant your tree in the ground in a place where it has access to water and sun and it will thrive. 

    These trees (unless it’s a drwarf version) will grow up to 5m / 16 ft so give them some space. You can trim them aggressively and make more cuttings. 

    Enjoy your berries!

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  • How to make spicy ginger beer

    How to make spicy ginger beer

    How to make spicy ginger beer

    I’ve been making all sorts of combinations of this, mixing in other fruit, honey and spices. You can use any organic material that will ferment, basically any fruit. 

    I’ve experimented with peach, mango, ginger, strawberry, lychee, watermelon and all sorts. Sometimes you hit a good combination, sometimes simple is best. I love just a simple ginger and a little honey mix. 

    Make your ferment mix or ginger plant

    Start off by making your ferment mix (ginger plant). Sugar, water and ginger bits in a jar and let it ferment and bubble for a week. Warm weather helps this whole process.

    I just pierce a metal jar lid for breathing holes. Add in two tbsp of your fruit ingredient, and one of sugar and ill with water. Keep adding a little fruit and sugar each day. Throw some water or fruit out if you overfill. After a few days it should start to generate CO2 and bubble. Cover it with a cloth or paper towel (keeps the ants out) and then put your aerated lid back on.

    Boil your ingredients

    I put them in a pot with a little more water than I need, chuck in all of the fruit ingredients and bring it to the boil. Let it simmer for 10 mins and tun the heat off. Then let it cool to room temperature. 

    Bottle it up!

    Put your boiled mixture (including the fruit) into your sealable bottle (I use these flip cap ones) and add a cup of your ferment mix (or half will do). Give it a gentle roll upside down to mix. Sit it in a cool, dark area to ferment for a week or two. 

    Top up your ferment mix

    Add whatever you used back into the mix and you can make as much as you like!

    If you don’t want to use a ginger plant / fermentation method, you can used a soda machine to carbonate your mix. Just keep it in the fridge and mix it with soda to the strength you like. 

    This is all worth the effort, my ginger and honey 🍯 mix is really carbonated and so refreshing in the morning. It’s a real zing and immunity booster in the morning or hot afternoon.

    Drop a comment if you make your own probiotic ginger beer.

  • Living with chickens – training the egg laying location 🐓

    I need help with chicken training 🥹 one hen 🐓 refuses to lay in the nest box and lays under the olive tree. How do I get her to relocate? I’ve tried fencing off the area, she just flies over it. Any ideas … ?💡