Kombucha (чайный гриб) SCOBY

For a few years we made чайный гриб (pronounced as chai-knee grib).  This translates to tea mushroom.  The beverage itself is sometimes known as grib which means “mushroom” or "fungus".  I have read on the internet that it is also affectionately called gribok “little mushroom”, but have never heard anyone use this term.  Most people in Australia call this drink kombucha.  

Kombucha is sweet tea that has been fermented using SCOBY.  If you make kombucha at home it is cheap and surprisingly simple to do.  Many people flavour it with various things, while some of these are nice I prefer to drink it as is without flavouring.  

SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.  Various studies have been done to count the number of species present in the scoby, while these numbers range dramatically depending on the scoby tested (and keeping in mind that each scoby will gain and/or lose species as time passes), kombucha often contains around 200 species with 20 bacteria and 16 yeast being the most dominant.  

Other studies such as this one that was conducted over three years https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8871122/ have recorded kombucha containing 320 different species.  This study clearly demonstrates that the number of species, and abundance of each type, fluctuates significantly over time, and that the number of species/abundance of species is different in the liquid than it is in the pellicle/biofilm. 

People often like to think that symbiosis means all the organisms working together in balanced harmony to benefit each other.  The truth is far less romantic.  Symbiosis only means different organisms living together for a period of time, symbiosis does not have to be mutually beneficial, or even beneficial at all.  

In kombucha, all the organisms are competing for survival, some of them benefit from this arrangement, others less so, some even entrap and almost 'farm' others.  These organisms competing for survival make the environment too harsh for non-beneficial organisms, while adding health benefits to the drink.  It is a fascinating subject that is poorly researched, and no two scobys are exactly the same.  

kombucha jellyfish

For some inexplicable reason there is a growing number of people who like to argue (looking at you Reddit) over what exactly is the 'SCOBY' in kombucha.  It seems like semantics to me.  They will also aggressively demand that scoby is written all in capitals because it is an acronym, they are correct on this point, but I find it harder to read when all in capitals so tend to use lower case. 

Kombucha biofilm/pellicle

When making kombucha at home it often has a biofilm which is also known as a pellicle or a mother.  The biofilm/pellicle is a flat thing that looks a bit like a pancake, or a jellyfish, (or a placenta).  Some people refer to the pellicle as the scoby, while others aggressively attack them for using this term as it is not strictly accurate.  

The pellicle is largely made of cellulose that is built by bacteria.  The scoby lives in and on and under the pellicle, you could not separate them if you tried.  The pellicle helps to protect the scoby, and helps the scoby survive if conditions are not ideal.  Kombucha pellicles have been tested in the international space station to see how it protects against radiation etc - it is a fascinating subject.  We don't fully understand how the pellicle works, or exactly what it does, but we know it has a role for the microorganisms interacting with each other and it has a role for protecting the microorganisms.  While the pellicle is not the scoby, I don't see much harm in calling the pellicle the scoby, to me it seems like semantics.  

While not ideal, it is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding a pellicle to sweetened tea.  

This is possible, and I have done it, but things could go wrong.  The main problem is the liquid will generally not be acidic enough to prevent undesirable microorganisms from growing in the liquid.  Another issue with using the pellicle only is in the early stages most of the scoby are in/on the pellicle rather than mixed through the liquid.  If starting kombucha with only using the pellicle, by the time enough of the scoby are thoroughly mixed through the liquid, and the pH is low enough, there may also be other microorganisms that have started to grow.  

For this reason you should always include at least some starter tea when brewing kombucha.  Most people add about 10% starter to 90% sweet tea, but I include a lot more starter.  You could only use the pellicle and add something acidic to lower the pH, but it is easier and better to just include some starter tea.  

Kombucha looks like a monster in a jar

Kombucha starter tea

Some people refer to the kombucha liquid that you drink as the SCOBY.  Again, this is not technically true.  

The liquid is tea and waste products after it has been partly digested by bacteria and yeast (it sounds gross, but it is good for you).  The scoby lives in this liquid, and feeds off this liquid, and it would be very difficult to separate them if you tried.  While the liquid is also not the scoby, I don't see any harm in people referring to the liquid as the scoby, again it seems like semantics.  

It is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding some starter liquid to sweet tea.  I am told the finished kombucha brew tastes different than when the pellicle is also added.  There is a higher chance of losing some species of microorganisms from your scoby when only using starter tea and not including any biofilm.  

Fermenting kombucha using only the liquid and no pellicle works well enough because this liquid is often too acidic for many harmful microorganisms to thrive, the scoby are mixed through the liquid, and the scoby can multiply quickly and make the environment too harsh for other microorganisms to get a foothold.  

Interestingly, the only times I have heard of kombucha going wrong was when people batch brew and/or are using only starter tea.  Perhaps the pH is slightly too high, or there are not enough scoby living in the liquid and they struggled with cold temperatures, which allows mold to develop.  

kombucha jellyfish in a jar

For those who disagree with me that the pellicle/biofilm can be used effectively as an inoculum to brew kombucha, I thought I would include a link to a paper on this topic and quote some relevant parts.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8371556/#:~:text=Kombucha%20pellicles%20are%20often%20used,part%20of%20the%20kombucha%20consortia.

The below talks about what the pellicle is, the different layers, and the role of entrapped yeasts: 

The kombucha biofilm presents similarities to cellulosic pellicles grown by pure acetic acid bacteria (AAB) in sugared black tea but differs by the presence of yeast, which are involved from the early steps of biofilm formation. Based on observations, the formation model consists in an initial trapping and aggregation of yeasts (possibly in pseudo-mycelium form) in bacterial cellulose. With accumulation of cellulose and cells, a consistent layered pellicle is formed and, from then on, grows in thickness. The top layer at the interface with air is made of parallel cellulose fibrils and hosts yeasts and bacteria, while the bottom surface at the interface with liquid is made of cellulose network colonized by bacteria and where biomass accumulates. Finally, a middle layer located under the top cellulosic layer is filled with biomass and viable bacterial cells that are suspected to be the active agents of pellicle growth. This region is thought to play a nutritional function for bacteria by taking advantage of entrapped yeast metabolism and autolysis, thus revealing an aspect of the microbial interactions in kombucha. This study indicates that the yeast–AAB interactions in kombucha act on the structure and building of the pellicle, which could, in turn, enhance other types of interactions, including the metabolic interplay necessary for optimal kombucha production.

Some people brew kombucha without ever using a pellicle, and throw away every pellicle they see.  While this seems to work well enough for them, they are reducing the metabolic interplay in their kombucha even if they don't know it.  They are also slowly reducing the number of different species of microorganisms that are present.  

Brewing kombucha using both starter tea as well as the pellicle is the traditional way that stood the test of time because it is very simple, and it has been demonstrated to produce a healthy result.  Using both pellicle and starter tea is the traditional way to make kombucha, it helps maintain the highest diversity of microorganisms, and it is really hard for anything undesirable to start growing.  I am yet to hear of anyone having issues when using both starter tea and pellicle to brew kombucha. 

For someone who is just starting out brewing kombucha, it is easiest and safest to use both pellicle and starter tea.  

The pellicle and the starter liquid both contain live SCOBY, and including both when brewing kombucha is simple and gives a beginner no real way to fail.  Including both the pellicle and the starter tea ensures you will have the maximum diversity of microorganisms, it will have the maximum number of beneficial microbes, and it gives the best chance that they will be interacting in ways you want them to.  The linked paper above demonstrates that in some years some species were present in biofilm that were not present in the liquid, other years they were present in the liquid but not the biofilm, other years they were present in both but at vastly different concentrations.  

Once you have done a few kombucha brews and have a feel for how things should progress, as well as what looks normal, feel free to discard the pellicle and only brew using the liquid (which is simple), or to only use the pellicle (but only if you are very confident you know what you are doing).  When you are still learning, or if you are planning on sharing your kombucha scoby with others, I strongly suggest using both the liquid and the pellicle.  

If you are new to kombucha, and are buying scoby to get started, don't just buy a pellicle.  Make sure you get pellicle and some of the starter liquid.  While you can begin a kombucha brew with either just the biofilm, or just some starter liquid, it is better and easier to use both. 

Kombucha

Kombucha continuous brew 

There are plenty of kombucha recipes on the internet.  They all work because it is hard to go wrong brewing kombucha when you use both pellicle and starter liquid.  

I tend to do continuous brew rather than messing around with batches and bottling and using fridge space.  Continuous brew is the traditional method of brewing kombucha, it worked for generations of people, it works for me, it never goes wrong, it's cheap, and it takes very little time and effort.  

Other people prefer batch brewing.  This usually works for them, and they are often happy with the result.

They are both good methods, they both work, it is mostly personal preference.  

Continuous brew чайный гриб

You can see in the photo above I have a large jar that has a tap.  It is simple, and can never fail unless the jar gets smashed or the tap falls out.  

I don't put the lid on the jar as the scoby needs some air.  I tend to keep a cloth on top of the jar, this keeps out insects and dust.  I used to hold the cloth on with a rubber band, but stopped bothering with that a few years ago and it still does the trick.  

You can see there are a bunch of pellicles in my jar.  Once or twice a year I remove most to free up jar space for more liquid.  Leaving the extras causes no problems, it helps things brew a little faster, and it ensures the diversity of microorganisms isn't slowly being reduced. 

This blog post is getting a little long.  Rather than make this post even longer, I wrote another blog post with the kombucha recipe I use. 

Red jelly bean succulent

Red jelly bean succulent (Sedum rubrotinctum) is green with a slight reddish tinge for most of the growing season.  When stressed, however, this variety of jelly bean succulent gets a lot of red colouration.  

Red jelly bean succulent

Winter brings out the colours

Many succulents can take on some impressive colours when under stress, the red jellybean succulent is no exception.  

Over summer many succulents take on some impressive colouration to protect themselves from the harsh sun.  The cold weather of winter seems to bring out the best colouration where I live.  During spring and autumn they are less red and more greenish.  

Various succulent cuttings - some have winter colours

The little plant in the front of this picture is usually green

String of beans gets purplish in my winter

The slight pink is only over winter in this one

Red jelly bean succulents are very simple to grow.  They grow equally well in a small pot on a window sill as they do in the garden.  They prefer full sun, but can survive a little shade.  These little succulents look delicate, but are surprisingly hardy.  

The healthiest red jelly bean plants I have seen were under large eucalyptus trees in poor soil.  The tree had sucked most of the moisture out of the soil, and provided a slight frost shadow.  Life under that tree would be pretty harsh, yet these plants thrived there.  

I am told jelly bean succulents are not frost hardy, but mine have survived years of heavy frosts with little protection.  They survive drought and blasting sun, and they cope surprisingly well in the wind.  

Red jellybean succulent

Propagation of jelly bean succulents is simple.  Each leaf, each little jelly bean, can be planted and will produce a new plant.  Given how small the leaves are this is a slow way to make more plants and I prefer not to propagate this plant from its leaves.  

To propagate them I tend to take stem cuttings.  Snip a section off that has some leaves attached, leave it for a few days somewhere in the shade for the wound to heal, then plant it in soil.  It really is simple.  A stem can usually be cut into several pieces if wanted, or left larger, either way works well as long as the stem has at least one leaf attached.  

Sometimes the stems already have roots, sometimes they don't, either way I get 100% success rate from propagating these from stems.  The stems I use always have at least some leaves, I have never tried to propagate using a stem with no leaves, it may work.  

They get more green when not stressed

For me these succulents flower in spring.  The flowers are small and yellow, and appear in clusters.  I would not grow these for the flowers as they are not overly impressive, but I don't make any attempt to remove the flowers as I don't dislike them.  

The flowers aren't large and don't seem to have a scent.  I have seen some insect pollinators on the flowers from time to time.  I don't know how easily these set seed, or how easily they grow from seed.  

There are various (remarkably different looking) forms of this species, if they grow well from seed it would not be difficult to develop a new variety by crossing them.  

Clusters of small yellow flowers

Red jellybean succulents are relatively common succulents.  They look nice, are simple to grow, and are very simple to propagate.  They may be found for sale in a local garden center.  

If you can't find any for sale in a local plant nursery I sell red jelly bean succulents and can post to most states in Australia.  During postage some leaves may fall off, if this happens don't worry.  You can plant these leaves and you should end up with one large healthy plant that you bought, and a bunch of cute baby plants from the leaves.  The baby plants can be left in the same pot as the mother and allowed to catch up in size before repotting.

Duckling and pigeon

A few years ago when we lived on acreage we found a baby crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) that had fallen out of its nest.  Crested pigeons are a native bird, they are nice birds.  

It was fully feathered, but could not yet fly.  We called the local wildlife rescue people who could not pick it up until the next day.  At that time we had some very young ducklings in a brooder, so we put the baby pigeon in with them for the night.  

Thought it was worth sharing the photos as they are super cute.  

Duckling and pigeon

Super cutie

Fruit tree hedge bad idea

When we moved here the land behind us was paddocks that was being developed into housing.  What was paddocks filled with sheep is now rather ugly and brand new housing that seem to change owners almost annually.  

People can see into our windows at night, and over summer the heat of the day radiates as if it is a hot plate.  We decided to plant a hedge to screen it off so we could have windows open at night without people being able to see in our windows, and to hopefully block some of the heat.  

We decided to plant fruit trees for the hedge.  Why plant a tree and get nothing from it?  We knew fruit trees would lose leaves over winter, but figured we mostly had curtains closed over winter so that should not be too much of a problem.  We planted two different apples, a peach, and a nectarine because these grow well in this climate and I like their fruit. 

Our trees are established now, and over summer they do a great job of screening off the shanty town behind us.  In spring they are covered in blossom and look incredible.  It blocks a surprising amount of heat over summer.  

It is good to share what works for me, it is also good to share what does not work for me so people can learn from my mistakes.  Even with all the benefits, I regret planting this hedge. 

View from fence towards house, windows nicely protected

View from house - can't see the houses back there

If I had a chance I would never have planted a deciduous fruit tree hedge.  If you are thinking of planting a fruit tree hedge, I would advise against it.  

Over winter there are no leaves.  We knew this and figured that would be fine because curtains are closed at night.  We were wrong, it isn't fine.  During the day we sit on our deck and eat lunch in the sun, and we can see the houses behind us.  Sunny winter days we have curtains open, and the street behind can see in unimpeded.  

Pruning a hedge is very different to pruning to get fruit.  I currently prune part way between the two methods, we get less fruit and have a less dense hedge.  To be honest, pruning this hedge is a pain.  

Pruning fruit trees for fruit is simple, pruning a hedge for privacy is simple, pruning this mess to be both hedge and produce fruit is harder and takes a lot more time than it should.  Admittedly we do get fruit from this, but not very much.

Deciduous fruit trees were a poor choice for a hedge.

Fruit tree hedge from the side

Someone suggested we should have planted a citrus hedge as they are evergreen and provide fruit.  This was considered, but decided against as most citrus don't survive well here without protection.  We have a meyer lemon next to the house, it is well protected and gets heat from the brick wall at night.  They would not cope well out in my yard like this with no protection.  That being said, they might work well in warmer climates.  

Someone suggested feijoa.  I think that would take far too long to reach a decent height as they grow slow here.  I planted a feijoa tree at the same time as these apples and stone fruit.  The feijoa is only about 5 feet tall.  A house down the road had a feijoa hedge near their fence, it was never dense, and never grew more than chest tall.  I have seen really tall feijoa at other places.  Feijoa survive and fruit well here, but perhaps the conditions are too harsh here for them to reach their height potential.  Or maybe the larger feijoa I have seen were just older.  There is a feijoa hedge in a park near where I work, it is old and looks ok as a hedge, but it is too short and produces next to no fruit each year.  It seems like feijoa are not suitable as a tall hedge in my climate.  

Another person suggested Chilean guava (Myrtus ugni) as a hedge.  I can't imagine a hedge of these, they are too short.  I planted one around the same time as the fruit trees, it is only a bit over knee high, maybe waist high.  Some years it grows well, others it dies back and gets smaller.  I have never seen one over a meter tall.  I looked online and it is says they only grow 1 meter to 2 meters.  If you want a short edible hedge then I think rosemary would be a better choice.   

Things like olives are slower growing and are a bit too scraggly to work well as a hedge unless they are well cared for.  Loquat are also slow growing, and not dense enough to hedge well here without a lot of work.  

These plants may work well as hedges in other climates, but they wouldn't work well as hedges in my garden.

Short edible hedges of things like rosemary or lavender would work, but anything taller seems to be more work and less effective than a non-edible hedge.  

If you want to plant a tall hedge and live in an area of cool winters, then fruiting trees may not be your best option.  Perhaps learning from my mistake would be wise.  If you really want to plant a deciduous fruiting hedge, go for it.  Perhaps you will work out a better way to prune, or perhaps you will make better choices of fruiting plants.  

Saffron crocus

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a very easy plant to grow.  I have been growing saffron for a number of years, and it flowers reliably for me each year.  While the spice is expensive, growing saffron is surprisingly simple and cost effective.  

Saffron grows from a corm (a corm is similar to a bulb) and is dormant over summer.  Saffron only flowers once per year, and each saffron flower only produces three threads.  Given the price of saffron you want each corm to produce as many flowers as possible.  Luckily, saffron corms can produce multiple flowers. 

Saffron threads from my plants

Saffron flowers reliably for me each year.  The flowers are pretty, and the plant takes up little space. 

From what I read online, many people seem to get good flowering in the first year but have trouble getting saffron to flower reliably in following years.  I think this is because they are following bad advice, they treat saffron corms like spring flowering bulbs and have poor results.  

Saffron needs slightly different conditions than most bulbs to flower well.  Luckily these conditions are even easier to achieve than the conditions needed by many flowering bulbs. 

Saffron corms 

Firstly, some things are the same between saffron corms and ornamental flower bulbs.  

Larger saffron corms produce more flowers, and smaller ones don't flower at all.  This makes sense.  You can even work out flowering size by measuring the corms.  

Don't measure the width of the corms, they aren't very round and it is impossible to know where to measure.  It is more accurate if you measure the circumference.  The simplest way is to wrap a string around the corm, then measure the string.  All saffron corms that have a circumference of 7cm or more will flower.  It's that simple. 

For me a corm 7cm circumference (not width) usually produces 3 or 4 flowers, and larger corms produce more flowers.  Some smaller ones may flower, but most won't.  

Mine don't often put up all the flowers at once, each corm seems to take its time and puts up a few flowers over a few weeks.  While this makes growing commercially difficult to get pickers when needed, it is not an issue for the home gardener who can pick threads whenever they are ready.  

Saffron produces beautiful flowers

Fertilising during the growing season, and leaving the leaves to gather energy and die back naturally helps the corm to grow larger and produce more flowers in the following year.  Fertilising won't help this years flowers, it will help the corm grow strong and produce flowers next year.  

I find that top dressing with guinea pig manure results in larger corms, and more flowers the following year.  I've tried using compost, green manure, vermicompost, and poultry manure, all of which work well but nothing seems to work as well as guinea pig manure.  I have never used store bought fertiliser, so can't comment on its effectiveness. 

Saffron needs a cold winter to flower well, which we have here and saffron seems to like it.  I have no idea how they would go in climates with mild winters, I assume they would struggle.  Don't lift corms and store in the fridge like a tulip, when dormant saffron corms need heat.  

Some dormant saffron corms of various sizes

Saffron needs a hot dry summer when they are dormant, which we have here.  If we get a wet summer I dig some corms and put them in the garage somewhere dry.  Putting them in the garage somewhere hot and dry would kill most flower bulbs, but heat when dormant helps saffron to flower well.  If I lift them I tend to split them into batches and put them in mesh bags and hang them on a nail.  

Leaving the corms in the soil works well only if the soil is relatively dry, if it is too wet they will rot.  I grow some in pots, I can move the pot under cover when they are dormant so they will be dry over summer.  I want to stress, do not put dormant saffron corms in the fridge, saffron corms need heat when dormant.  

The thing that makes the most difference to saffron flowering, and the thing most people get wrong, is the depth they prefer to be planted.  

Saffron flower before fully open

The advice given for most flowering bulbs are planted twice as deep as the bulb is tall.  This is far too shallow for saffron corms.  If you want saffron to flower well, they must be planted deeper.  Saffron prefers to be planted much deeper than you think.  Even though the corms are relatively small (a corm with a 7cm circumference is rather little), plant them 15-20cm deep.  Larger corms can even be planted a little deeper than that.  If you plant them shallow they will not flower well.  

Healthy saffron corms divide each year.  One corm can produce anywhere between 0 to 15 new corms each year.  I prefer my corms to produce fewer, but larger, corms.  Large corms flower, and larger corms produce the most flowers. 

Planting shallow will usually mean your corms will divide into many tiny corms, none of which will be large enough to flower.  You don't want this.  Planting deeper means you get less division, but more larger flowering size corms.  

It feels like planting a small corm under 20cm of soil is too deep, and it feels like it will not have enough energy to reach the sunlight, but they will be fine.  If you don't plant this deep they will not flower well next year.  Plant saffron corms deep. 

Saffron growing in a pot - lower plant has several flowers 

I grow saffron in large pots as well as in garden beds.  Both work well as long as I can plant the corms deep enough and they have good drainage.  Saffron corms can rot if they are too wet.  

The past few years I largely forgot about my saffron and left it to do its thing.  During this time it multiplied, and the corms got smaller and smaller.  I still got a few flowers, but overcrowding lead to less and less flowers.  

This year I divided my corms, planted some in pots, some in the garden, and some in mesh bags that I still need to plant.  I planted them deep, and fertilised with guinea pig manure.  While I won't get a lot of flowers this year, the small corms will grow larger and many should be large enough to flower next year.  

Saffron starting to flower

Saffron is a sterile triploid that does not produce seed.  

If you want to grow saffron, you must get corms.  You can not buy saffron seeds.  Saffron seeds don't exist. 

You will see a few people online selling what they claim is saffron seed.  These people are thieves, they do not have saffron seeds and they are trying to steal your money.  They will send you seed from whatever they have on hand, it won't even be crocus seed.  By the time it grows and you realise it is not saffron you have already left positive reviews and it will be too late for you to do anything to get your money back.    

Many of these thieves have pictures of other species of crocus in their listing.  This is a giveaway that they are not honest.  Saffron does not grow from seed, do not buy anything from anyone claiming to sell saffron seed.  

Dutch crocus 'pickwick' is not saffron

While saffron is given its own species name (Crocus sativus), this is slightly misleading as it is either a mutation of Crocus cartwrightianus or possibly an interspecific hybrid involving C cartwrightianus.  

Saffron is pollen sterile, but under some circumstances it is possible (albeit rather rare) for it to develop hybrid seed.  There are a few papers where pollen from C cartwrightianus produced viable seed in saffron.  You will never see seed of this cross for sale because it is very difficult to produce, and most of the seed is not viable.  I am unaware if the ploidy level of these hybrids has been tested, and I assume the resultant plants have never achieved any commercial success as they are not particularly great.  

I would love to get my hands on C cartwrightianus and try to cross them with saffron.  There used to be one place in Australia that sold this species, but they went out of business before I go a chance to buy one.  If you know anyone with this species in their collection I would very much like the chance to grow some and try to cross it with saffron.

If you are thinking of growing saffron you should give it a try.  Like most things, growing your own saffron works out to be far more cost effective than buying it from the shops.   

One reputable company in Beechworth sells small packets of saffron threads for $3.  These packets contain 6-9 threads, which is meant to be enough saffron for an average dish for 4 people.  

My corms tends to produce 3 or 4 flowers each, which is 9-12 threads.  This means that one corm usually pays for itself in its first year, plus you get to enjoy the beautiful flowers.  

Each year the saffron corms tend to divide and multiply, meaning you get more saffron each year.  

I used to sell saffron corms, but I don't have any for sale this summer.  I don't have many flowering size corms this year, and I don't like selling smaller corms that are unlikely to flower.  As mentioned further up in this post I divided my corms, and I should have some larger flowering size corms next year.  

If all goes well, I hope to sell saffron corms in future years.  If this happens they will be listed on my for sale page.  If you know of a source of Crocus cartwrightianus in Australia, or you have some that you may be willing to part with, my contact details are listed on my for sale page.

Growing African Violets

African violets used to be very common houseplants, they are surprisingly low maintenance if you meet their minimum requirements.  I like the looks of them, some of the colours are incredible, and I am amazed at how long they can produce flowers.  

While African violets used to be very common, and many households grew them, I don't see them for sale very often.  In the old days there were only a few varieties, and most were not all that great.  

Nowadays there are a lot more varieties, many are superior to what was available in the past, and some are not as good as the old ones, yet for some reason these plants are not commonly seen anymore.  

African Violet

I grow a few African violets, and have read a lot about their history and genetics, yet I still feel like I don't know what I am doing with them.  

I got my first African violet in early 2021, it was unnamed other than to say it was 'light blue'.  It was in a pot with a wick which made care very simple.  It is the only one I have in a pot with a wick, all the others grow in regular plant pots.  I probably should grow a few more with wicks as it really is very simple to care for plants in these pots. 

After growing this plant for about 4 years, it is still alive and flowering.  It was not overly symmetrical as I didn't rotate the pot often enough.  It took me some time, but I eventually fixed this and evened out the plant's growth.  

I took a leaf cutting from this plant, which produced 3 baby plants.  I probably should take some more leaf cuttings as it is a lovely plant. 

My first African violet - looks better in real life (I am no photographer)

I got a leaf of another African violet variety in July or August 2023.  This leaf cutting produced baby plants, which grew well, and flowered in March 2024.  This was about 7 or 8 months after I first got the leaf.  From leaf to producing baby plants felt like it took forever, from baby plants to mature plants felt a lot faster. 

The leaf cutting grew several plants.  They flowered, then some stopped flowering.  I fertilised with leachate from my worm farm, and they flowered again.  I like the colour of its flowers.  

They stopped flowering again, so I divided them into their own pots and ended up with four healthy genetically identical plants.  I love the colour of the flowers and really should take some more leaf cuttings of this variety.  

African violet - I was told the variety is 'New Hampshire'

This stopped flowering so I divided and planted in its own pot

African violets are reasonably simple to grow.  They don't love lots of full sun and don't like deep shade, and don't cope with frosts, other than that there is not much to worry about with them.  You would likely get better results by using expensive and specialised equipment, but I don't use anything special to grow them, and so far they are doing well.

Special African violet pots with self watering wicks are strangely expensive.  I have one plant growing in one of these, and it practically takes care of it self.  All my others are in regular small plastic plant pots.  I keep considering buying some pots with wicks, perhaps one day I will do this as they really are a lot simpler to care for.  

Each year my African violets flower for most of the year.  It is incredible how many months they will bloom.  Winter is a little cold, and a bit dark, and I don't use heating or lighting and my plants don't flower well over winter for me.  Grow lights and heat mats would certainly help, but they cost money to run, and anything electrical poses a fire risk, so I don't tend to use them.  

I have seen special African violet fertiliser for sale, it is meant to be good but I have never used it.  I sometimes fertilise with leachate from my worm farm.  I don't know if this is just a coincidence, or if African violets like worm farm leachate, but each time after doing this they always throw up a flush of new growth and some flower buds.  

I have seen special African violet potting mix for sale in stores and online, other than my first plant which probably came growing in this mix I have never used it.  I buy regular potting mix, and perlite, and mix them together to make a light airy soil.  I use this mix when growing African violets, and it seems to work ok.  The regular potting mix has nutrients in it, and the perlite adds air space in the soil.  From what I have read, this is what these plants need.  Unless something goes very wrong, I will probably continue to use this mix as it is cheap and seems to do the job well.  

Seed pod beginning to develop

As well as growing the original plant, and growing new plants from leaf cuttings, I cross pollinated some flowers, and self pollinated some flowers.  These produced seed pods which contain lots of really tiny seeds.  I planted these seeds, many of which germinated.  I then accidentally dropped the pot and lost all the seedlings!  I have since pollinated more flowers, collected more tiny seeds, and have recently planted another batch of seed.  This time I plan to be more careful.  Hopefully they produce nice plants with interesting and unique flowers, but only time will tell.  

African violets seedlings are said to flower in much the same time as using a leaf cutting, but each will be genetically unique.  Growing from seed seems like a good way to increase my collection and hopefully add some more diversity of flower colours/types.  It also gives me a chance to develop something new and nice and to mess around with breeding if I can find the time and energy. 

'Light Blue' African Violet

Apparently few people grow African violets from seed, I am not sure why.  Other than fake seeds being sold through ebay, I can only find one place online who actually sells African violet seed.  I have seen a few social media posts of people who have grown nice looking plants from their own seed, but none of them appear to sell seed.  

Perhaps the lack of seed sellers is due to these lovely plants becoming unpopular.  I looked for a club or something so I could learn more, and discovered that there used to be a local club and it closed a few years ago due to lack of interest.  I looked for clubs further away, and the ones I found only have meetings during the day as their members are mostly retired people.  This surprises me because African violets can look rather incredible, and are not difficult to grow.  

African Violet - New Hampshire

Even though I have successfully grown African violets for about four years, and have propagated them using leaf cuttings, and I have self-pollinated and cross-pollinated flowers, and my seed have produced seedlings, for some reason I still feel like I don't know what I am doing with African violets.  

These plants have always seemed so mysterious, and have always been described as being difficult to grow, that something inside me still thinks I am missing something.  It almost feels wrong that they could be this simple to grow.  

Then again, plants such as saffron, watercress, and Chinese water chestnuts have reputations for being difficult yet are absurdly easy to grow and are all very productive.  Many people have killed their share of maidenhair ferns and venus flytraps, both of which are reasonably easy to grow for many years and have an undeserved reputation for being impossible to succeed with.  Perhaps the reputation of African violets as being hard to grow is equally as undeserved. 

Milk Kefir Bottle Strainer

Years ago I got some milk kefir grains, and we made milk kefir regularly.  

Milk kefir is kind of like a thin drinking yogurt, it has been around virtually forever, and is very good for health.  Kefir contains vastly more probiotics than yogurt, it is simpler to make than yogurt, and once you have it you can keep it going for ever as long as you have access to milk.  

Back when I was first making kefir there was very little information on kefir on the internet.  From memory there was a web page by Dom Anfiteatro (which seems to no longer exist) and basically no other internet sites mentioned kefir at all.  Things have changed a lot since then. 

At that stage lots of people made kefir at home, but no one really spoke about it.  There was no kefir (or kefir flavoured milk) available at supermarkets back then, and it seemed like no one had thought of selling those dreadful starter satchels.  

Kefir bottle strainer

I drank our milk kefir most days, and it was good.  We then moved house and bought the kefir grains with us.  Back then we had access to raw milk from a dairy, so making kefir was very cheap.  

Years later we moved house again, once again we brought the kefir grains with us.  As we no longer have access to a local dairy, milk kefir started to cost a lot more as store bought milk is expensive.  

I used to use a kitchen strainer to separate the grains from the milk.  When the kefir was thicker than normal or had a lot of curds I found it difficult to strain through the fine mesh.  I started to find that cleanup was bothersome and my strainer was starting to fall apart from old age. 

The cost of milk, combined with the hassle of clean up, plus being busy in general, meant I eventually let my kefir grains die.  I regret that, it was a mistake.  Don't ever let your kefir grains die.

Our kefir from years ago: Milk Kefir on left, Water Kefir on right

I missed kefir, so not too long ago I decided to get milk kefir grains again.  Milk kefir is very simple to make, you can't really do it wrong.  

To help with clean up, I got a cheap can strainer.  I figured this would be fast to use and simple to clean.  

Kefir can strainer

I won't be making a lot of kefir to begin with.  Perhaps a few cups or so for now.  This amount fit easily in a small jar.  

This strainer is made of silicon (or silicone, I can never remember how to spell this), and fits neatly on the end of a jar.  The holes are large enough that I thought it should strain thicker kefir much faster than the fine mesh strainers.  The holes also seemed small enough that I thought they should be able to retain most of the larger kefir grains.  

The bottle strainer was very cheap, and the jar was free.  Making kefir is simple, I don't know why people try to make it more difficult than it needs to be.  Kefir was made by generations of nomads using bags made of goat skin or horse skin, there is not need for much expense or high tech equipment when making kefir.  

Milk kefir doing its thing

I found a solid lid to keep out dust and insects

The other day I saw a kefir kit for sale at the supermarket.  This kit sells for $35 (plus postage if you cannot pick up in store).  This seemed overly expensive for what it is.  

That price only includes a jar, a strainer, some instructions, and a weird wooden spoon.  Even at this high price it does not come with any kefir grains.  My can strainer on the end of a jar should work much the same as the pre made expensive kit.  

Massively overpriced kefir making kit (not my photo)

This lid is prettier than mine (not my photo)

To get an idea if my strainer would work I looked at reviews for the kit online, but none seemed to be written by anyone who had used them for any length of time.  Some reviews speak of how their kefir tasted, or how the instructions were simple to follow, but few mentioned how well the kit worked.  How strange.

The jar I use was free, the strainer cost under two dollars including postage, I already own various spoons, and (while I don't need instructions) anyone who sells grains sends instructions or instructions can be found online for free.  My set up is similar to the kit, but cost me a tiny fraction of the price.  

I figured I would give this can strainer a try and see how it works.  Now that I have used this for a while I figured I would write a blog post explaining how it worked for me.   

Bottle strainer should be good for milk kefir

After using the strainer for a few days it was obvious that it doesn't work well enough.  It is a great idea in theory, but doesn't work well in practice.  I pushed on and kept using this to see if it got easier with time, and it didn't.  It looks like it should work a treat, and I really wanted it to work, but it isn't the best tool for the job.  

Over summer my kefir seems to get thick curds within a few hours of adding the grains to the milk.  I could probably have more milk to less grains to make it thinner, but I don't want to do that.  Much more importantly, the kefir grains also clogged up the holes and prevented any liquid from flowing through. 

The liquid would not go through the can strainer without being stirred constantly.  I tried first mixing the curds and grains through the liquid and then immediately tipping the kefir through the strainer, but it still didn't work well.  The grains almost immediately block all the holes, and the kefir would not go through the jar strainer without being stirred constantly.  What a hassle! 

Stirring got the grains off the holes and it made the liquid go through the can strainer easily while I was stirring, and it stopped going through when I stopped.  Stirring kefir while it was in the can strainer is more difficult than just using a kitchen strainer.  It worked, but was not overly practical.  Eventually I got frustrated and looked for something else to use. 

I found it a lot faster and easier to tip the kefir through a tea strainer that we already have.  The mesh is very fine, but I can stir it with my finger or a spoon, which is enough to make the kefir go through quickly.  I sit this tea strainer in a coffee mug which catches the kefir.  The fine mesh means it captures all but the tiniest of grains, retaining tiny grains has meant my grains have divided and increased faster.  

I don't love using metal with kefir, but stainless steel is meant to be ok.  The grains are only in the strainer for under a minute each day, and most of them are not in contact with the metal at any point, so they seem to be coping well and multiplying fast.  

tea strainer with very fine mesh

can strainer vs tea strainer

Cleaning the tea strainer after using it for kefir is simple and fast.  After tipping the kefir through I scoop the grains out, and then run the strainer under the tap for a few seconds.  That seems to be enough to clean it well.  This only takes a few seconds.  

I plan use the tea strainer for now, but my grains quickly multiplied to the point where they no longer fit in it and the jar I am using does not hold enough milk.  I find kefir grains multiply well in the warmer months, and not so well when it is cooler.  

Soon I will use a larger jar, and spend a few dollars and get a plastic kitchen strainer with fine mesh like I used to use.  We don't have one of these at the moment, but they shouldn't be too expensive.  

This is the type of strainer I previously used (not my photo)

I already have some very large jars that used to hold pickles or olives or something, so this won't cost me anything.  Instead of tipping the kefir into a mug I will use a bowl or something that we already have.  Other than a few dollars for the strainer, and buying milk, it won't cost anything to make kefir.  

Making milk kefir at home is very simple, and there is no need for it to cost a lot of money other than a once off purchase of grains, and buying the milk.  

Milk kefir bottle strainer - may work for water kefir

As mentioned, the can strainer seems like a good idea but is not well suited to straining milk kefir.  I also don't think the expensive milk kefir kits would work any better for milk kefir.  Or maybe they do work, but only if you use satchel starter instead of grains, in which case I don't know what you would be straining.  To be honest, I don't understand why you would bother making kefir using stater when grains are so much cheaper and vastly superior to satchel stater, but that is a topic for another time.  

This strainer looks like it might work well when making water kefir.  Water kefir is different to milk kefir, there are no curds or thick liquid to deal with, it is just the grains and the liquid.  Or perhaps the water kefir grains will clog the holes and it won't work, I don't know yet.  I plan to try using this can strainer with water kefir for some time and write another post on how it performs for me.