Potting on

Not in the greenhouse this time but in the kitchen. 

 It rained all morning so I took the opportunity to transfer my current ferments from their clip-top jars into screwtops which will remain in the fridge for eating. 

Right to left: rat-tail radish pods, kale, kimchee. 
The nearest jar is a new ferment made today of multicoloured beetroot + carrot. It will need a few weeks at room temperature before it's ready.

 Any overflow produced by the fermenting process will escape via the clip-top jar's rubber seal which lets liquid out but not air in.  It's tempting to peep and taste before it's ready but each time you do you risk letting in bad bacteria  or mould spores.

Lacto-fermented food is made purely by the addition of brine to raw vegetables (along with garlic, herbs and spices as you prefer). You may think you don't like it but believe me, once you try it your body craves more - like it knows the benefit!

Fermentation is the oldest form of food preservation and we all eat it in different forms: cheese, wine, yoghourt, miso, sourdough bread etc.  but this kind of 'brine pickle' is cheap and simple to make and contains nothing that might be adverse in other ways i.e. no milk, no vinegar, no gluten, no alcohol. It improves our health and may prolong our lives.
 
The scientific stuff