Nettle beer: it was only ever a matter of time!

One carrier bag of carefully (!) picked nettle shoots,

plus rhubarb, ginger and lemon

Boiled for about 15 mins (to break down the formic acid);

smelled, BEFORE: great, something akin to elderflower even;

AFTER: yuk!

Added a little ginger powder and cream of tartar, which

resulted in a lot of fizzing and seems to have helped the yeast get going

And the dregs will make a good addition to the compost,

since nettles, like comfrey, make a good plant feed

Comfrey tea

Liquid fertilizer, high in potash and nitrogen:

comfrey leaves from the allotment steeped in water over the winter,

bottled and ready to dilute with water (c. 1:10 ratio);

dredges in the compost bin as an 'activant'

Next to try: 'nettle tea', similarly high in potassium, nitrogen, etc.

Plus, Comfrey is a perennial, so this years' stenchy brew is effectively *free*

October is the cruellest month (!)

A flowering of colour

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Winged Broom (Chamaespartium sagittale)

Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)

Thistle sp.

Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata)
- a creeping perennial that grows from rhizomes

Bistort?

Growth & destruction #2

Growth...

...and destruction