We avoid picking plants during or immediately after rainfall because rain washes away the lactic acid bacteria and yeast on the leaves.
Picking plants two days after a rain shower is recommended.
The reason for this is microorganisms have been washed away on the rainy day and haven’t had time to re-establish themselves the following day.
However, after 2 days without rain they are once again present in heavy concentrations.
This is a good time to pick ingredients as the plant is full of moisture.
Plants should be collected just before sunrise as this is when the plants have the most nutrients.
Plants have two metabolic processes; anabolism and catabolism.
When the sun is up, anabolism is primary; from about 3.00 pm to the next sunrise, catabolism is active.
This means that in the early morning just before sunrise the plants contain the most nutrients and vitality.
It is best to make Enzyme Juice as soon as possible after picking the plants.
• Ferment many green combinations for an enzyme juice – Wow!
This is a super-food, green smoothie!
• FPJ or Fermented Plant Juice is a fermented extract of the plant’s blood and chlorophyll.
Unrefined sugar is used to extract the essence through osmotic pressure. FPJ is a rich enzyme solution full of bacteria; invigorating plants, animals and humans.
Enzyme Juice
Apart from foraged greens you can also make Enzyme Juice from your organic kitchen scraps …
Eco Enzyme / Garbage Enzyme / Re-purposed Scrap Enzyme / Wonder Juice is produced by fermentation of fresh kitchen waste (fruit and vegetable scraps), unrefined sugar and water.
Scraps transform to a dark brown liquid with a strong sweet sour fermented aroma.
The enzyme contains nutrients and hormones to aid plant growth, stimulate flowering and extend the fruiting season.
Enzymes are concentrated vinegar’s and work better when diluted with water.
How to use
Use FFJ diluted 1000 times after the changeover period of your crops.
It is excellent for re-energizing crops, livestock and humans.
For foraging …Source a good local wild food book or join a local wild / bush food group.
FOR THE GARDEN
Leave 50 gr of onion skins and garlic skins (can also add the green leaves, if you have them) to soak for 24 hours in 1 liter of cold water.
After one day, heat for 20 minutes, without reaching boiling point.
Once the decoction has cooled it needs to be filtered and can then be used. Good against downy mildew: use on tomatoes and potato
Infusion
Here is a same-day first-aid remedy: put 40 gr of onion or chopped cloves of garlic in 5 liter’s of boiling water and leave to soak for 4-5 hours.
Spray the infusion – without diluting it – on plants and soil, it is great for avoiding fungal diseases and protecting your plants from mites.
FOR THE GARDEN BUGS …. Macerated extract
Finely chop 500 gr of garlic and onion (you can use a mixture of both or just one), put it in 10 liter’s of water and leave to ferment.
Once the mixture has stopped fermenting – when foam no longer forms – dilute in more water, in a ratio of 1 to 10, and spray on the soil in your garden or on the plants.
If you leave the mixture to macerate in the sunshine it will ferment faster.
The Fermenting Fairies + the Garden Gnomes
Many plants thrive in more acidic soil environments.
Grind up or coarsely chop a Kombucha SCOBY and add it to your soil mix.
Adding extra SCOBYs to the compost pile is a great way to return the culture to the earth.
We toss them in our worm bin and boy, do we have a lot of happy worms! + worm tea for the garden gnomes.