Ben Evert.com » Do It Yourself

Black Tea Wine

ben — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:37:48 +0000

Wine Recipes

4 tablespoons bulk black tea
1 11-oz can frozen red or white grape concentrate, depending on desired color
2 lbs sugar
2 tsp citric acid
6 pts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkt wine yeast

Bring water to a boil and pour over the tea and sugar, stir well, and infuse until cool. Strain into primary, add grape concentrate, acid, nutrient and yeast. Cover and ferment until s.g. drops below 1.020. Transfer to secondary, fit airlock and ferment to dryness. Rack when wine is clear and completely dry, top up and refit airlock. Rack again after 45 days, stabilize, refit airlock, and set aside for 3-4 weeks. Sweeten to taste if desired and bottle.

Source: Jack Keller

How To Grow Your Own Ingredients To Make Your Own Beer

ben — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:12:00 +0000

By Graham Williams

There are two main beer-making ingredients that you can grow. Both hops and barley can be grown at home if you want.

Hops are known by the scientific name humulus. It is commonly referred to as hops vines, however the term vine is misleading. The hops plant is actually a bine plant. These plants use stiff stems with hairs to aid in climbing. They will wrap themselves around something in a clockwise fashion to grow. They grow very quickly, growing from 20cm to 50cm per week during peak growth periods.

Hops are perennial plants and are most commonly grown in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are rather easy to grow and can be grown indoors or out. Hops are susceptible to certain types of insects, so caution needs to be taken to prevent insect infestation. Hops flower during summer and the flower seedpod is the actual hops. These can be picked after the seed is formed, usually in August. The hops are then air-dried for several days at which time they are ready for use.

Barley is another main ingredient in beer. Barley is a grain, commonly grown throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is grown as a major cereal food as well as for animal feed. There are several types of barley. Each type has a different protein and enzyme content and therefore produces different styles of beer. High protein barley is used to produce malt beer. Two-row barley is used in traditional English style ales. Six-row barley is used primarily in lager beer. Four-row barley is not suitable for use in brewing.

It takes a lot of room to produce barley and it cannot be grown well indoors as it needs quite a tall space. Unless you have a large field, you may not be able to grow your own barley. Picking and husking barley can be a tedious process.

While growing your own ingredients for beer can be rewarding and economical, unless you have the time and the space you may want to leave the growing of hops or barley to others.

Graham Williams is the owner of http://www.gw-ebooks.com this site is full of books that are about hobbies such as Brewing your own beer, Camping, Bird watching, Beekeeping. While your there don't forget to sign up to my newsletter and you will receive monthly discounts in any new book that is added each month you can visit my site here http://www.gw-ebooks.com

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Vegetable Gardening Guide – To Help You in Having a Simple But Productive Garden

ben — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:53:00 +0000

Author: Clint Sidney

Vegetable gardening can be very stimulating. If you are just
planning to have you own organic garden, here is a vegetable
gardening guide to help you along with the new pastime and get
you started. First you need a space at your disposal, if you are
an apprentice it is advisable not to start with a big space. You
must begin with a single raised bed of 9'x12'. Then as you learn
all about organic gardening, you can add number of beds to dwell
upon.

Prepare the bed early in the season then it is time to sow, you
can first plant the kind of vegetable which your family needs.
This doesn't mean you have to supply vegetable for your family
for the whole year. Be contented with small achievement that you
can little by little increase. You can search the internet, read
gardening books and catalogues to assist you in deciding on what
kind of vegetable to grow in certain time of the year or season.

The next significant step you must do after planting is
uprooting the weeds surrounding your crop. Weeds are obstacle in
making your vegetables grow healthy. You have to hoe on a
regular basis even if you do not see weeds among the plants.
Avoid walking on the beds. Another method to exterminate weeds
is by mulching. Organic mulches like pine needles, grass and
straw are advisable to use, you just apply it when the soil is
wet. You can preserve the dampness of the soil as well as
enhance the temperature through mulching.

Another important aspect in vegetable gardening is watering the
plants. Frequent watering supports root formation, steadiness of
the plants and revival of nutrients. It is best to put in
sprinkles or drip irrigation. It is essential and a must for
seeds and transplants to be watered every day. Water the plants
before it withered.

The last thing to deal with is the problem with pest and
diseases. You should never use pesticides for the basic reason
that they terminate bugs that are useful too along with the
damaging ones. The common strategy to overcome this trouble is
to grow other plants along with your main crop. You can plant
onions and garlic together with carrots. Grow flowering plants
around the beds because it draws beneficial insects.

Hope this vegetable gardening guide will be of great help in
creating your own organic vegetable garden. You can also learn
more from browsing the internet, by reading books on gardening
or talking about it with neighbors. Have fun on building your
own garden.

About the author:
Clint Sidney is a gardening enthusiast and enjoys giving
information about Vegetable Gardening Guide. You can learn more about
gardening at GreatGardener.eHelpsho
me.com.

How to Make Mozzarella Video

ben — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:24:00 +0000

Beer Broiled Brats

ben — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:01:00 +0000

Ingredients

2 bottles of Octoberfest or Vienna Style Lager

8 fresh bratwurst

1 large onion

8 hotdog rolls

Instructions

1. cut a large onion into 1" to 2" pieces. put onions, bratwurst into pot and pour inbeer. boil for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. take onions and bratwurst out and grill bratwurst for an additional 5 minutes

3. place bratwurst, onions and all condiments in a roll and enjoy

Inspired By: Family Oven

Photo by: mooshee85

Planting Garlic

ben — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Garlic can be planted from fall to early spring, although hardneck varieties prefer to be in the ground during a cold winter.

Garlic grows best in deep, fertile well-drained soil. To plant, separate the cloves from each bulb and place pointy end up 1-2 inches below the surface of the soil and about 3-4 inches apart. Mulch the area and keep the garlic moist.

Garlic will be ready to harvest in summer when the flower stalks of hardneck garlic stand up straight or when the leaves of softneck garlic begin to turn yellow. Allow garlic to dry for several weeks before storing or using in your cooking.

Green Tea and Ginger Wine

ben — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:40:00 +0000

* 16 teaspoons or teabags of Green Tea
* 1 cup chopped white or golden raisins
* 1 ounce thinly sliced ginger root
* 2 lbs granulated sugar
* zest & juice of 1 lime
* zest & juice of 2 small lemons
* water to 1 gallon
* 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
* 1 pack wine yeast

Boil water and pour over all ingredients but yeast (in primary). When water cools to under 100 degrees F., add activated yeast. When specific gravity drops to 1.015-1.010, strain tea, ginger and zest. Transfer liquid to secondary and attach airlock. Ferment to dryness, rack, top up, and reaffix airlock. Stabilize when clear. Wait 30 days, sweeten if desired, and rack into bottles. Allow 3-6 months to smooth out.

Cinnamon Wine

ben — Fri, 14 May 2010 09:37:43 +0000

Wine Recipes

12 six-inch cinnamon sticks
3 lbs granulated sugar
7-1/2 pts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp tannin
3 tsp acid blend
1 crushed Campden tablet
Champagne wine yeast

Put cinnamon sticks and one quart water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a simmer and hold for 10 minutes with the lid on, turn off heat, and let steep for two hours.

Strain the water into a secondary and discard the cinnamon sticks. Add sugar to remaining water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Add all remaining ingredients to secondary except Campden and yeast and then pour in the sugar-water. Cover with a napkin held in place with a rubberband and allow to cool. Add Crushed Campden, stir, and allow to sit 24 hours covered.

Add activated yeast and recover. Ferment 5-7 days, or until specific gravity falls below 1.030. Fit with airlock and continue fermentation 30 days.

Rack into sanitized secondary, top up, and refit airlock. Ferment another 3 months, rack again and ferment additional 3 months. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, and let sit under airlock additional 10 days. Rack into bottles and store in dark place.

Source: Jack Keller

Basic Tips For The Home Grape Growing Gardener

ben — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:37:00 +0000

By Matt Granger

One of the things that I always found to be beautiful when I was young was to see a trellis covered with clusters of grapes hanging from the vines. Not only did the vines have a function but they brought beauty as well. I always found backyard grape growing to be fun even as a child and I would like to share with you some of my experiences.

Grape growing is actually something that is not too hard to do. For thousands of years people have been growing grapes and perfecting the art of pruning and caring for them. Now there are many modern twists to make it even easier. We don't have to haul water from a creek that is a mile away and we don't have to keep the soil nice with a hoe in the bright summer sun.

The art of grape growing is one that should be showed to our younger generation so that they realize that not all produce has to come from a grocery store. They can grow them right in their own backyard and be overjoyed when they see the first clusters begin to form on the vines. So often the younger generations have no idea where things really come from and grape growing would be a wonderful way to show them.

When you decide that grape growing is something that you want to do, all you will need is some soil that has been fertilized and some patience. I say patience because these vines will need love and attention for a few months before you are able to reap the fruits of your labor, pardon the pun. Gardening of any type takes patience and grape growing is no exception.

To achieve the best soil possible for grape growing you will of course need to fertilize the soil. There are many types of fertilizer available from organic to a chemical fertilizer, all able to help you achieve a beautiful grape vine.

Organic fertilizers such as manure are great because they have been around since time began and have been able to still keep this world green. Seems to me that most of the chemical fertilizers can't say that about themselves. But there are many people who would rather not spread manure as they think it's gross and so if you are one of those people, the store bought fertilizers might be for you. They will achieve the same goal, just with a different ingredient.

If possible, try to fertilize the soil before you go planting. I know that many, like myself, are terrible at planning ahead. So if you are one that didn't plan ahead, then you are always able to spread fertilizer once the vine roots have been placed in the ground.

The last thing to remember about grape growing is that these grapes do need to be watered. On average a grape vine needs to get an inch of rain a week to grow properly. When you are going through a dry spell you will of course need to water the plant yourself. If you fertilize appropriately and water when needed, you should get some super growth on your vine the first year. Growth on the vine the first year is very important for the future of your plants.

So remember, with grape growing you mainly need some patience, water and a little manure and you'll be set.

Matt Granger has been growing grapes for over 30 years and is an expert in backyard grape growing and grapevine farming. For a bundle of free tips and advice on how to grow grapes, visit his personal grape growing website here: www.grapegrowingsecrets.com

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Spring Garden Vegetables

ben — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:25:00 +0000

n addition to the four new vegetables being added to the White House garden, there’s a nice variety of spring greens, onions and peas.

* Red Romaine lettuce
* Geen Oak Leaf lettuce
* Spinach
* Sugar Snap Pea
* Butterhead lettuce
* Fennel
* Red Oak Leaf lettuce
* Radishes
* Shallot
* Shell peas
* Broccoli
* Onion
* Chard
* Kale
* Collards
* Carrots
* Rhubarb

Read More: Hail to the Peas - Vegetable Gardener