Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!
Anyone can make the thread, first in first served. If you are here on a day and there’s no daily thread, feel free to create it!
Anyway, it’s just a chance to talk about your day, what you have planned, what you have done, etc.
So, how’s it going?
Heading out to the Winton market today. Hoping to buy some “grow your own mushrooms”.
Growing mushrooms is a fun and rewarding hobby.
If you enjoy harvesting the fruit from the prepared blocks (which is what I assume you’re getting from a market), try looking into growing some from grain spawn and finally making your own.
I may or may not have grown a bunch of different (and tasty) mushrooms - some of my favourites (wine caps) grow really well in garden beds if you use hardwood mulch!
We got some spawn and put it in a mulch growing bed. Not sure we did it at the right time though, we did ours in late summer and despite attention, correct watering etc. have had nothing appear. We got ours from Sporeshift.
Thanks for the link. The dowels that they sell might be a better method for us. Inoculate a few logs and wait 6-18 months. We can source plenty of logs and have space. Just need to research how well they survive in the cold.
I’ve had success in a few garden beds in Aus, but also some where the spawn just didn’t take.
I’ve tried to continue growing my own from purchased blocks before, but couldn’t keep on top of it. I am hoping to have another go this time. Can you do it well without sterilization?
Are there any good NZ based resources for ‘How To’ grow them fairly easily? I’m down South, so it gets cold, but the guy at the market seems to be able to do it. I’ll be having a chat with him today. Any tips or links would be great.
Did you get some?
Bought a medium size bag to see how it goes. The guy selling them says it’s still a bit cold to grow them outside down south - frost is the main issue and they grow very slowly in the cold.
So we’ll try this bag inside and see how it goes. I’m going to have a go at growing spores after we’ve done a third harvest off this bag. If I can get some going I’ll inoculate some wood shavings. Otherwise I can buy some spores off this guy and try that.
It sounds very much like a trial and error thing until you get just the right conditions and ensure you are fastidious with cleanliness when growing spores.
I really want to try this again, but, I know it’s probably just cheaper to buy mushrooms.
Most small scale growing of food is cheaper to just buy, but that’s not as fun 🙂
I guess there is something to getting older and back pain. This whole year I seem to keep easily tweaking my lower back. I was fine the whole day yesterday and sat funny for a short period on the couch and now my back has been killing me since last night
There’s a book by a NZ doctor called “Treat Your Own Back”. Has a set of simple exercises that for me really help if I get twinges.
Thanks I’ll look it up
You’ve reminded me that I’ve got an app that walks me through easy stretch programs. I was using it right before bed a while ago and noticed a real difference but got out of the habit. I should probably pick it up again.
What’s the app? I generally don’t have back issues but I’d like to give it a go anyway!
This is it. You select which categories you want (lower back, legs etc), and how long you want to spend doing it. I just used the free version so there were a couple of ads to skip at the end but it really made a difference.
Thanks! I use DNS ad blocking so don’t see ads in mobile apps anyway, I’ll give it a go.
Thanks for posting this. I just started running again and need to start stretching when I’m done.
Isn’t there something about abdominal strenth and back pain? Like as you get older you get less exercise so you get weaker core strength and sorer back?
You’re right. I’ve gotten kind of obsessed with running over the last couple years, so I’ve been neglecting a lot of other exercise. But this year seems to be bad for me with the low back. I’m starting to do a bit of yoga again to regain flexibility and should probably do something for core and posterior chain strength. I was feeling pretty good the most of the week, but last night something just went and I could barely stand up straight
I haven’t done proper exercise for years. Starting to try to get into regular bike riding but haven’t done a lot recently.
Sore bodies are probably inevitable as we get older, but it would be nice to slow it down.
Just started a new Natto ferment. Using Black-Eyed Beans, can’t find any small soybeans in NZ.
What’s a natto ferment?
It’s traditionally made from soybeans cultured with Bacillus Subtilis, a traditional culture. It comes out slimy with weird bacteria sticky strings threading between the beans. Traditional in Japan and revered for its health giving properties.
Traditionally eaten by stirring the beans and adding soy sauce and mustard to taste. I mix mine with homemade plain yoghurt, spices and hot sauces, then spread it on toast.
Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea due to the slime.
Is it something you can buy without making it yourself?
If you have a Japanese supermarket/shop nearby, they’ll probably have some. It’s sold in packs of 4 from the freezer. Can’t get it where we are, and they can’t post it, so it’s DIY for me.
There typically are 2 types, the red pack and the green pack. The red pack is traditional, the green pack is a mix of natto and tofu.
Give it a try. Take it from the freezer, let it thaw for an hour or two, open the pack and stir in the mustard etc. In Japan it’s served on a small dish of rice.
Thanks! On not sure if we have a Japanese shop nearby but I’ve saved your post and will look into it when I get around to it 🙂
