Sallygardens Smallholding

Baking With Sourdough

Before we began using modern cultured yeasts leavened bread was made with wild yeasts which exist naturally in the air. I've always wanted to try making sourdough bread because I'm curious about the whole process, want to see what it tastes like and as an added bonus it's supposed to be very good for you.

It's pretty simple. Mix half a mug of white flour with half a mug of water in a sterilised glass jar. Shake it up and leave at room temperature. After 24 hours pour off half the mixture and discard it, top up the remaining mixture in the jar with equal parts of flour and water ... this is feeding the yeast. After four or five days the mixture looks bubbly and frothy which indicates that yeasts are now flourishing and you have an active culture ready to start baking with.  Once the culture is nicely active it can be kept in the fridge and will then only need feeding once a week.

There are sourdough starter cultures you can buy in powder form which I tried out last year, but I killed it by mistake when I placed the bowl in a warm oven after baking earlier that day (thinking it would like the heat!). But this time I like the idea of utilising our own local wild yeasts and so I'm about to try again.

It's the frothy culture which is added to your bread dough to raise it and also impart a unique flavour to your bread. The sourdough process results in a more nutritional bread as it semi-digests the flour and releases important nutrients, making them available to us for optimum absorption. The process of sourdough proofing also results in a very low phytic acid content, something that remains high in modern yeasted breads. Phytic acid reduces mineral metabolism (Healing With Wholefoods, by Paul Pitchford), contains flora beneficial to the digestive system and the loaf stays naturally fresh for days, even weeks, after baking. Apart from all that, it's delicious and well worth a try.

For preparation and baking instructions try this website. I'll let you know how I get on in a week or two.

Don't Panic, I Have a 'Survival Seeds Emergency Package'

I recently had an email from a budding new on-line company called Hometown Seeds asking me to visit their website and in particular to review a package of seeds they sell called Survival Seeds Emergency Package which aims to provide everything a family might need to survive during a time of food supply crisis! The seeds are GMO free and not only provide delicious crops, they are also suitable for harvesting seed from when matured.  This is a huge advantage as many commercially available varieties are designed to be infertile so the consumer has no choice but to buy seeds year after year and if a crises does ever come to pass it's a bit of a design flaw from a survival point of view. It may seem a little far fetched but having peace of mind that you've got a sustainable strain of reliable seeds ready to go might not be a bad idea. You may be relieved to be able to pick from the garden rather than shop in a crowded supermarket during a virulent pandemic, or as prices rocket in the shops due to the increasing cost of fuel your home grown will come in at a fraction of the price. For us, the latter is a major reason for home growing and it helps make ends meet.

But we don't need a world crisis before investing in seeds! What could be a more fitting gift for anybody interested in gardening or starting to grow their own vegetables? Any seasoned gardener would jump for joy with this package under the tree and no better way to inspire a beginner than with a range of seeds and maybe a good gardening book.

Best Sustainable Living Christmas Book Selection

Much of our knowledge at Sallygardens has been gleaned from a range of most excellent books and since many folk are considering what gifts to give loved ones for Christmas this time of year I've compiled a list of top favourites. This is a chance to give a gift that can really make a positive lifestyle difference.

Top of the list for anybody remotely interested in living sustainably, whether living in a rural or urban environment is the now legendary eco  bible The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour. This book is fantastic and covers a huge range of topics. It's detailed enough to get you started on most things but such a delightfully presented book it makes a wonderful coffee table book too. Five years down the line I still dip into it and find new ideas. Everything from vegetable gardening, to rearing pigs to making your own wine.

A great practical, no nonsense easy to understand gardening book is Organic Gardening by Geoff Hamilton, it's ideal for either total beginners or seasoned growers. The layout is crisp (although ours is very muddy from repeated use!) and attractive, the information is to the point. It's a great reference book for anything and everything you might want to consider growing in your veg garden, the organic way.

A brilliant way to investigate how all these eco conscious living ideas can be incorporated into everyday life is to get your hands on a copy of the Earthcare Manual, a book based on the theory of permaculture. It's full of practical information on how to achieve sustainable living not just in the garden, but in your home, work and right across the board. It will change the way you think about consumerism and the use of materials.

Now you have the veggies growing and your lifestyle in tune with the environment a great cook book for utilising those crops is the infamous River Cottage Cookbook. It's full of delicious recipies, tips on gardening and rearing livestock.

With the environment in mind ... you could probably borrow these books from your local library, but if you're planning on buying these as gifts you could check with like minded neighbours to make sure you don't buy the same book, instead plan to buy the range between you and then swap when needed. Any purchased via these links will mean I get a few percent towards a gift token. Happy shopping.

Brussel Sprouts Rock

This is our first year growing brussel sprouts and I have to say they get my vote. For some reason brassicas always make me feel sceptical with regards to success. They have such a long growing season in comparison to most crops which leaves them open to attack on many front. The brassicas ar sown in spring but unlike most crops aren't harvested till autumn or even the following spring. A lot of challenging conditions can present themselves to a slow maturing brassica during that time ; a lone slug can wipe one out in the early weeks, a couple of weeks weeding neglect can see them smothered, then there's caterpillar attacks later in the season, when summers over torrential rain or hailstones can leave the plant in tatters and winds can blow the mature plants flat to the ground.

But the majority of our brussels have come through all of that and we will easily have a good six weeks supply of lovely luscious sprouts. They will certainly feature in our Christmas dinner, as will one of our home reared organic ducks. Some homegrown vegetables outshine shop bought alternatives in terms of flavour and brussels score very highly, alongside sweet corn and tomatoes.