Still alive. My family are absolutely horrified hahaha.Well my mother is and almost dry retched, havent actually told the rest of them yet about my new culinary expertise. My daughter however seemed to recover rather quickly tho when I mentioned "escargots" and "of french descent" and simply said that escargots is the same word in portuguese (as french)- her partner is of portuguese descent. Hmm with regards to American canning (and their strange rituals) sorry sweetpea, but there seems to be (what I consider to be ) an irrational fear of germs/botulism (it can kill you you know!). My partner is American and refused to be fed some sweet chilli sauce that I made because it had not been 'canned properly'...ie killed completely by double cooking. I bottled it in a recycled sauce jar with a pop top lid. I forgot and months later fed it to him and was told it was the best darned chilli sauce he'd ever tasted!! Eco. I just reread your post.. ooww naughty girl, anyway they arent fat enough.not one of them.... wasnt there a thread on this subject alittle while ago-gross. I wouldnt eat humanmeat, they are diseased, dont you know. Off to the chemist tommorrow to get worm tablets which hopefully will get rid of any parasites I may not have cooked thoroughly enough.
mischief, I had a look at your photoblog Great looking gardens and I've never seen a broad bean without the black spot either. Do they smell the same? I'm pretty sensitive/obsessed with smells and broad beans are my (and the bumbles) first real floral hit after the winter. Next year I'll be growing 'red seeded' which apparently has pinky-red flowers. Cool! Importantly though, I wanted to warn you that the yellow, multi-spotted guy is a 28 spotted ladybird. They are bad news. Squish them!
Thank you, I have borrowed mums camara which is much better than ours and got alittle snap happy, of course I have been snapping the good looking bits, as you do. I did see your comment and raced outside to find that bug but couldnt so I will be religiously looking at holey leaves til I do. I have seen alot of 2 spotted ladybugs tho which I left alone. I couldnt really smell the flowers but thats probably due to smoking for so long.It will be interesting to see how they produce compared to the other plants, not sure if its worth taking seed from this to see if it will breed true tho but I might try.
I don't seem to get the 'normal' ladybirds, but I don't have much in the way of aphids and I wouldn't hang around if there's no dinner either. So I was excited to see a ladybird last season, albeit yellow and extra-spotty... reminds me of when loads of little black, red and green ladybird-looking things showed up. Aww, how cool said I. Then they turned into green shield bugs and sucked all my tomatoes dry!
Why would you want to poison yourself? :sweat: Aloe vera (especially the candelabra strain Aloe vera barbadensis F. Asphodelaceae) is, amongst other things, an excellent vermifuge. The following is from Isabella Shipards' website (herbsarespecial.com.au): Cut one or two large leaves from the base of a plant, and allow to stand half an hour for the yellow sap just under the skin to drain. Take care not to get this sap on clothes, as it can stain. To make an infusion from the leaves, cut them into 2cm chunks and place the pieces into half litre size glass jars with lids (or other containers), filling the jars about one third. Top up the containers with cold water and put them in the refrigerator. Leave to steep eight hours or overnight. Pour off one half to one glass of the aloe infusion and drink first thing in the morning and also the same amount before each meal and at bedtime if desired. After draining the infusion from a jar, refill the jar with water. This is where it is beneficial to have several jars prepared, so that the jar just refilled goes to the back of the shelf in the refrigerator, and the jars are continually rotated. This allows enough time for each jar to steep before being used. The infusion can be drunk whenever you feel thirsty. After 10-12 days, the used aloe can be emptied into the compost, and a new batch started with fresh leaves. If the jars are not used for a number of days the liquid may ferment. Discard and start a fresh batch. Each time the jars are refilled, the infusion will get milder and weaker, but it will still benefit the body. The flavour is mildly bitter during the first days, but then the infusion will taste like crystal clear spring water. In fact, many people use this method of infusion to purify drinking water, particularly in countries where water is untreated. Some people use this procedure to remove the chlorine taste from treated water by placing a peeled chunk of aloe (with the yellow sap washed off) into a large jug of water in the refrigerator. As liquid is taken out to drink, the jug is topped up again. After several weeks of use, a new chunk of aloe can be started in a clean jug of water. You can also add ginger (fresh or ground) for a bit of flavour.
