{"id":5288,"date":"2016-03-19T03:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-19T07:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/?p=5288"},"modified":"2016-03-19T03:00:22","modified_gmt":"2016-03-19T07:00:22","slug":"q-and-a-learning-to-make-cheese-dandelion-syrup-and-starting-seeds-in-peat-pellets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/2016\/03\/19\/q-and-a-learning-to-make-cheese-dandelion-syrup-and-starting-seeds-in-peat-pellets\/","title":{"rendered":"Q and A: learning to make cheese, dandelion syrup, and starting seeds in peat pellets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning to make cheese<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would really like to try a cheese making class. One where you spend the whole day or weekend actually making the cheese, not just watching someone do it. I live in Iowa and am willing to travel to Minnesota or Wisconsin (hint, hint). Do you have any suggestions?<\/p>\n

Becky McKim
\nAnkeny, Iowa<\/em><\/p>\n

While we do not plan on having any seminars this summer, we may do a one-day workshop and cheese making is always popular. It would be later on this summer when our cows and goats are fresh so we have plenty of milk. Keep watching the blog and I’ll see what we can come up with. Otherwise, are there any readers out there who live near Becky and make cheese? Sharing info with another homesteader is always fun and you’d both benefit from the sharing. — Jackie<\/p>\n

Dandelion syrup<\/strong>
\n
\nI was reading a recipe for dandelion syrup that called for a large amount of blossoms. What is the best way to store them until I gather enough?<\/p>\n

William Toeppe
\nBergenfield, New Jersey<\/em><\/p>\n

Dandelion flowers do not store well. Freezing them often damages the flavor. Best thing is to gather them first thing in the morning and begin your syrup making in the afternoon. A blueberry rake works well to quickly gather many flowers. — Jackie<\/p>\n

Starting seeds in peat pellets<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have never used the peat pellets to start seeds before, but the peppers and tomatoes started near the wood stove are up in just a few days. Have always used flats with a homemade mix of compost, etc. to start seedlings in the past. Do the peat pellets provide enough nutrition to grow the new seedlings till they are ready to transplant into bigger cups, or do the new babies need a bit of compost tea or something to get them growing until transplant?<\/p>\n

Rick Riley
\nHopewell, Pennsylvania<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, the seedlings do perfectly well in the peat pellets until it’s time to transplant into bigger containers. No need to fertilize at all until well after they’ve been put into larger cups. I just add a little Pro-Mix to each cup, place the pellet in it, then fill the cup to within \u00bd-inch of the top so watering is easier. Leggy plants get buried deeper, letting just a little stem and leaves stick above the soil. This is a quick fix and with tomatoes, they’ll grow roots all up the stem, making the plants even stronger. — Jackie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learning to make cheese I would really like to try a cheese making class. One where you spend the whole day or weekend actually making the cheese, not just watching someone do it. I live in Iowa and am willing to travel to Minnesota or Wisconsin (hint, hint). Do you have any suggestions? Becky McKim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,9,12,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5288"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}