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Hi, After some experimentation this is what i do. Make sure you wash your hands and keep your mashing area and the kit below clean. 1) get a plastic colander and use it to scoop the apples out of the bucket. 2) Put the apples into a plastic / wooden bowl. 3) Attack them with a plastic spud masher. 4...

Hi All, my cider is looking good. First lot has been put to bed and will be ready just before xmas. It looked good and had a great smell too. Having followed tips on here i managed to blag another bag of apples and made a further 4 gallons!!! This looks different to my first batch, which i put down ...

Thanks mike. Now moving on, I have some frozen rhubarb in the freezer. Recipe suggestions welcome please. Cheers.

Decided to chuck the wine. Checked it this morning and it
Had lumps in it and smelled rank.

Hi mike,

I am using the recipe from the ish bible, and I am up to stage 5.
I now realise I have left the stuff in the bucket longer than the 3-5 days
Recommended, more like 8 days now. Should I now go ahead and strain
The must or abandon the project?

Thanks.

Worried about my elderberry wine again, now smells, well
A bit vomity. Is this ok? Also has a bit of a film on it. Hmmm.

Cheers mike, panic over.

Help needed here please. I have made my first ever elderberry wine
Using the ish bible recipe. What I have now is a bucket of brown liquid, that
Does smell sort of like wine. Is this how it is meant to look during the early stages? Just looks a bit frightening at the moment.

Hi mike,

I added some wine yeast this morning. See how it goes.
I think I will do a second batch with yeast in from the start.

Cheers,

Noodles.

Thanks Mike. Will do some more of the ish recipie. I have 2 gallons on the go at the moment and havent added any yeast to it. I have some wine yeast, and some beer yeast, would they be any good? how much would you reckon? I have mashed the apples a couple of times, but not done the ginger, lemon jui...

HI, I am trying out Andy H's cider recipie at the moment, but MKG's post got me interested. Just need to ask a couple of questions please. In your post you said:- Added some citric acid, pectic enyme and yeast, covered it up and waited. What I was waiting for was the point at which I could strain of...

wow, those gravel board beds look great. might well nick that idea. I am going to put weed-proof matting in between my beds too, then cover that with chippings. Hope it works. Is 4ft and 12 ft
a standard size for gravel boards?

i think i will go ahead and use the sleepers i am getting. I had heard about the issuse re creosote and preservatives etc. What i plan to do is cover the inside bit of the bed with plastic to stop any chemicals leaking. Hope this works. I had a look at the othe thread on here about making raised bed...

Hi SusieGee,

i see what you have done, thanks for the pic. Like the idea of nailing the sleepers
across the top, that's simple enough even for me.

Cheers,

noodles.

Hi All,

I have been offered a lot of railway sleepers from a friend. I intend to make some
raised beds with them. Anyone got tips on the best way of putting them together for best results? No fancy wood work though as i am not great at DIY.

Cheers,

Noodles.