FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[balloonflower]

I've had pretty good luck with sprouting lentils. A little spendier than plain beans, but much easier.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: When sprouting beans for the garden, I've found that they do best if given a 4 hour soak, or at the very most, over night, then plant them immediately. If you want to give them a head start before the weather and soil are truly warm, then you can lay clear plastic over the area where the beans will be planted. Solarize the soil this way for a few days. Then plant the soaked beans, and cover again with the plastic. You can raise the plastic up a bit to create a bit of a tunnel. I also find that EVERY BODY likes beans. It's not at all uncommon for insects and other critters to work their way down the row that you've just planted nibbling each one, eating the sprout, and perhaps the whole bean. By pre-soaking and having warm soil, you have the best chance of getting that vulnerable sprout out of the danger zone before it gets eaten. I sometimes sprinkle a bit of permethrin right in the planting row with the pre-soaked beans to help deter insect damage.

I've had pretty good luck with sprouting lentils. A little spendier than plain beans, but much easier.

I often buy lentils for sprouting at the grocery store. They sprout very well, and are awesome when put in a stir fry. You want to eat them before the roots get more than an inch long. Definitely before the leaves emerge. An other fun bean to sprout is Adzuki.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Beans are one of the more difficult things to sprout. I always try to sprout a few to put in my garden and they often rot before sprouting. One reason why I don't just start them in the dirt. Did the water get like that even though you rinsed and added fresh water a couple times a day? Barley is supposed to be the easiest sprouting with least side effects and max nutrients. At least that's what my research indicates.

I forgot about it, but had been rinsing for several days. I was cleaning, etc & didn't get it out back in sight. I'm not surprised about not showing as these are old beans I have in a jar. Figured I'd give it a shot. I do have the barley mix that I could separate some out. Plus a bag of oats & bucket of wheat that I bought a month or so ago unopened. Was thinking I'd try the wheat. I've read the oats can be tricky.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

I've had pretty good luck with sprouting lentils. A little spendier than plain beans, but much easier.

I've some in the cupboard I'll have to try. These were just some old ones in a jar that I figured why not.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I forget about things sometimes to.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

When sprouting beans for the garden, I've found that they do best if given a 4 hour soak, or at the very most, over night, then plant them immediately.  If you want to give them a head start before the weather and soil are truly warm, then you can lay clear plastic over the area where the beans will be planted.  Solarize the soil this way for a few days.  Then plant the soaked beans, and cover again with the plastic.  You can raise the plastic up a bit to create a bit of a tunnel.  I also find that EVERY BODY likes beans.  It's not at all uncommon for insects and other critters to work their way down the row that you've just planted nibbling each one, eating the sprout, and perhaps the whole bean.  By pre-soaking and having warm soil, you have the best chance of getting that vulnerable sprout out of the danger zone before it gets eaten.  I sometimes sprinkle a bit of permethrin right in the planting row with the pre-soaked beans to help deter insect damage. 

I often buy lentils for sprouting at the grocery store.  They sprout very well, and are awesome when put in a stir fry.  You want to eat them before the roots get more than an inch long.  Definitely before the leaves emerge.  An other fun bean to sprout is Adzuki.

These were for me or the critters. That might be part of the ones I have. A couple kinds got mixed together in a jar. Think I'm going to toss this mess into the compost & bury it. Last the bug worms the birds will like. The rest will boil with baking soda & eat or go to compost too.

I'll have to do the permethrin trick when I try planting. Though here containers are easier than breaking soil then all the amending.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

I forget about things sometimes to. :/

Fun isn't it? It's why I label so much. Write notes all over on mirrors, windows, etc. Lol it's why I make a day of feed at a time & ferment for 5 days so I've got feed & if I happen to run out there's a cushion. Though right now I'm going thru 3 bags a month. For 11 LF & 21 bantam. The math works out right, but wow. I'm hoping between fermenting their feed with some timothy pellets for greens, & soon the sprouts or fodder. That'll all keep them happy & the food bill under control. Living in the desert I've got to provide the green & plants or similar nutrients to them. That's why I figure when they go to eat the bunny food they're wanting. They've orchard grass hay on the patio, but I don't think it's cutting it since it's dry.

 

[dcba flock]

I cleaned out the freezer today and per someone's suggestion on here made tartar out of some old freezer burnish meat the outside babes LOVED it thanks

 

[mobius]

I love making sprouts for the chickens so they can have greens, especially during the winter, but i don't always get to it...it can be quite the operation (Think many jars on the counter, lol).

So I bought a 40 pound bag of alfalfa cubes at the feed store (it was about $11 I think), to make SURE (in case I got lazy, who me?) they got greens through the winter on a regular basis. I started fermenting the alfalfa cubes. The chickens love it and eat it all up. I think for six chickens it might equal 1/2 cube a day...they get a heaping ladleful, maybe half a cup...These are fermented in a separate jar from the feed, but I dish it up together for them.

I keep the feed jar and the alfalfa jar next to each other on the counter so it is more easily managed. Recently just for fun I added some red pepper flakes and a couple of minced cloves of garlic to the feed jar. You could smell the garlic across the room as it added to the ferment!

Also, today I purchased some beef fat from the butcher and am on to the next experiment: rendering tallow in the crockpot to make the extremely (well-loved) spoiled divas some homemade flock block. Then I read that really good beef tallow has all kinds of good nutrients, so i will have to source some of that next.

Wish me luck on the crockpot rendering experiment! The fat was relatively inexpensive, and supposedly better than store-bought lard.

 

[balloonflower]

I've always just made my lard on the stovetop. I want more control over its temp than a crock pot would give me. And yes, true pork lard is way better than the fake shelf stable stuff they sell in grocery now. I have made my own for cooking, plus purchase true leaf-lard from a local butcher who does it right for delicate flavors such as pie crusts.

My tips would be to chop the fat at least into strips first, plus you'll get nicer cracklins. It will render much more evenly that way. I've only done beef tallow once in a very small batch, so wish you luck!