Preserving herbs..

 We have plenty of leftover herbs this season and one way we preserve them is making our own herb oils. They dont last as long as store bought ones (about 2 months), and if you incorporate garlic into your oil you will need to refrigerate it to stop it spoiling (google botulism).

The bottles were put through the dishwasher on the sterilise setting, then I rinsed them with a bit of vinegar to make sure they were clean. 

For our oils we used a mixture of dill, thyme, bay, basil, garlic, ginger, green peppercorn, chilli, parsley, mint, coriander, sage and a good quality olive oil. You can decide which flavours you want.. mix and match, its your oil. Bruise the herbs and push into the bottle, slightly warm the oil on the stove (verrry slightly, i could still stick my finger in it) and pour into your bottles over the herbs. Store in a dark cool place or in the fridge if it contains garlic.

We will never use all this.. they make good gifts, and the parents put up with us making a mess of their backyard, so its only fair to give them some of the produce.

Spring Onion Seed Saving

spring onion flowering, some have gone to seed

The second season for our spring onion and they have begun to flower. To save the seed wait for the flower heads to almost completely dry (you may lose some seeds but there will still be plenty), we cut the heads off and leave them in a paper envelope for a week or so to dry completely. Shake out the seeds into the envelope.

If any chaff or foreign material gets left with the seed, using two bowls pour the seed from one into the other using a light breeze to separate the chaff from the seeds (this is called winnowing). I store my seeds in an airtight container in the fridge.