Making Sea Glass

Making Sea Glass

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC made its first Sea Glass this year, June 2020. Here is how we made our Sea Glass out of recycled glass bottles:

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC started making its Sea Glass for use with our hydroponics and aquaponics, as a growing media. Our location has currently been under construction and I have been using this time to try different methods for plant projects.  

I had thrown some turtle vine cuttings into the sea glass bucket while tending the plants and forgotten them. They all rooted. 

 

 What Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC used to make Sea Glass:

• Glass bottles, jars or other glass items 
• Sand
• Salt
• Safety Glasses and Gloves
• A Hammer
• 5 gallon bucket and Colander. 
• Water, We used the garden hose.
• A Rock Tumbler, but in this case a Cement mixer for large batches.

How Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC made our Sea Glass:

• To start we collected all the items and prepped in proper safety gear to protect against sharp glass. Also the cement mixer was locked in the Garage to protect children and animals from getting hurt during the process, as well as being supervised. 
• After collecting glass bottles, jars and misc. broken glass items, the collected glass was smashed with a hammer into small pieces.
• Those pieces of broken glass, roughly a 1/2 full 5 gallon bucket for a batch, were placed into the cement mixer.
• About a gallon of sand, we grabbed sand from our property, was added to the cement mixer mix.
• About 4 cups of salt, regular table salt, was added to the cement mixer mix.
• Then water was sprayed into the mix with the hose to make a slushy mix. 
• Turned on the cement mixer and let it run in the locked garage, supervised, for a few hours during the day while tending the gardens and doing everyday tasks.
• Afterwards the mixed mix was poured into the 5 gallon bucket again and with the hose water and the colander the new formed seaglass was cleaned of sand and salt.

All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely “at your own risk”. As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only.

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition, or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

          

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

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Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Baking Bread

Baking Bread

During this hectic time, Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC is getting back to basics by making a few items that have noticeably been missing from the grocery store shelves lately. Here is the recipe for making this bread. You can add in your favorite herbs or cheese when baking. As Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC won't be able to sell our herbs at the local Farmer's Market, we had an abundance of fresh herbs to add to our recipe today, including oregano and savory.

What you will need:

• An Oven 
• (2) 9x5 inch baking pans
• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• A wet cloth 
• 5-6 cups of Flour
• 2 cups of warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp of active dry yeast 
• 1 1/2 Tsp of Salt
• Herbs 1-2 Tbsp or to taste
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• additional oil for preparing pans

How to:

• In a large bowl mix sugar and water and yeast. 
• Wait 5 min.
• Mix salt, herbs and oil into mixture.
• Mix in flour one cup at a time until all is added.
• Roll into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl with a wet cloth over it until the dough has doubled in size (approximately an hour) at room temperature. 

• Grease baking pans.
• Knead the dough down for about a minute, separate into two balls and place each ball into a greased baking pan.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Let the dough in the pans rise until it is one inch over the pan. 

• Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
• Let cool and enjoy!

For a recipe to make your own wild yeast visit https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2020/03/yeast.html

All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely "at your own risk". As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only. 

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Yeast

Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter Recipe:

Looking to buy bread at the grocery store, and seeing it was sold out at the time, I next moved on to looking for yeast. Thinking well I'll just make bread myself, and the yeast was sold out! After a few shopping trips at multiple stores I did indeed find yeast and eventually bread, but I was then inspired to start my own yeast to have on hand as well. An abundance of herbs and the cool spring weather fuelled the desire to bake as well.

What you need:

• Pineapple juice
• Flour
• Water
• Mason Jar 

How to:

1. Keeping at room temperature, Mix 2 tbsp of Pineapple Juice and 3 Tbsp Flour in a Mason Jar.
2. Stir the mixture 3 times in 24 hrs.
3. After 24hrs, add 3 Tbsp of Flour and 2 Tbsp of water.
4. Stir the mixture 3 times in 24 hrs.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for 5 days. Yeast should start forming after that, creating bubbling.

Ongoing Maintenance:

• Discard half, use in a recipe.
• If you plan on using a lot of yeast you can leave it at room temperature to grow faster while feeding it daily/or you may keep it in the fridge, feeding once weekly to make about enough for weekly use.
• ...And to Feed:
• After discarding half of the mixture, fill mixture amount back with equal amounts in weight of water and flour(2 parts water and 3 parts flour). Place the mixture in the fridge. 
• If your mixture starts to have an unpleasant smell or shows growth of mold, toss immediately and start again new.
• If your mixture accumulates access liquid, poor the excess liquid out and add more flour to feed it in the future.
• If you are going to substitute dry yeast in a recipe for your wild yeast sourdough starter: Substitute 1 cup of starter for a package of dry yeast, then subtract 1/2 a cup of water and 3/4 cup of flour from your recipe. 

All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely "at your own risk". As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only. 

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Dehydrating

Preservation through Dehydration:

An easy way to help preserve fresh fruit, herbs and other foods is through dehydration. Making your perishables last a little longer. Dehydrated foods can last from 4 months to over a year!

There are many methods of dehydration:

• Sun Drying
• Air Drying
• Freeze Drying
• Open Coal Drying 
• Oven Drying
• Electric Food Drying (Which is how Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC usually dries our herbs, veggies and fruits).

What you will need:

• An electric dehydration machine. I use a Presto Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator. 
• The Food Dehydrator you choose should come with instructions for how to best prep and process your dehydrations.
• Cutting Board
• Knifes
• Storage for you dehydrated Goods

How to:

• Read the directions for the dehydrating unit you have.
• Cut/Slice the items you intend to dehydrate according to the specifications of the machine you are using. 
• Place your food in the machine, turn on and wait!

 

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Rose 🥀 Update

2 Week Propagation Update on our Valentine's Day Roses:

When the Roses wilt, we regrow them. #Growalittle™

https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2020/02/growing-roses.html

Checking in on our Rose Stems... 

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC, used three methods for propagating wilting long stem roses.

1. Using Fast Root and Planting in Dirt
2. Using Honey, placing in a Potato and Planting in Dirt
3. Placing in water with a water soluble fertilizer.

Method 1. Using Fast Root and Planting in Dirt.

2.Using Honey, placing in a Potato and Planting in Dirt.

There are still leaves attached and no signs of growth yet.

There are still leaves attached and no signs of growth from the Rose Stems yet.

There does seem to be something sprouting from the soil in the potato bucket. Waiting to see what is growing. The Potatoes with the Rose Stems were not washed prior to planting. 

3. Placing in water with a water soluble fertilizer.

The water propagation in test tubes is taking off the fastest.

Starting a week later we left our Peach Long Stem Roses trimmed up in their vase to propagate.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Making Maple Syrup

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC made our first Maple Syrup Run this year, February 2020. Here is how we made our syrup, following up from our Blog on tapping Maple Trees 

https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2020/02/maple-tree-tapping.html . 

What you will need to make Maple Syrup:

• Maple Sap (40 gallons of Sap will make roughly 1 gallon of Maple Syrup.)
• Large Pots is what we used. There are also pans made specifically for Maple Syrup making.
• Something to Boil the sap in the pots on. We used an old wood burning stove that a friend gave us. You could use a well maintained campfire or again a unit that is pre-designed for Maple Syrup making. You could use your kitchen stove top. We did to finish, but that will let a lot of humidity into your home, so not ideal.
• Fuel and Fire/Electricity. We used wood. If you are doing the process the way we have you will need a lot of firewood to boil the sap for multiple days. 
• A Hydrometer
• A filter and something to support it. We used a funnel.
• Your choice of storage. We used mason jars.

Boiling Sap through the Night and Day to make Syrup.

As our Syrup was boiling down low outside, we brought it into the kitchen to finish up. 

How to, or how we did:

• Pour the Sap from your 5 gallon collection buckets into large pans for boiling.
• Start a fire in the wood stove to heat the Sap to a boil.
• Keep the sap boiling uncovered until most of the water has boiled off. This may take a couple of days.
• When you think the sap may be getting boiled down enough, take a sample and test it with your Hydrometer. Here's a link for how to use your Hydrometer https://www.wikihow.com/Read-a-Hydrometer. Sap reaches Syrup at 66% sugar.
• When the Syrup is ready use a filter to strain the mixture so that you can remove any impurities. 
• Pour your strained, 66% sugar Syrup into the jars or containers that you will be storing them in. Refrigeration is recommended. Syrup will keep longest frozen and will not fully freeze. 

Make sure whichever methods you use to use all safety precautions and beware the dangers of heat and fire. 

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

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Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Maple Tree Tapping

Here in New Hampshire Mid February to Mid April, dependant on weather, is Maple Tree tapping season. Carrying out New Traditions today by using some of the Maple Trees located at Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC to collect Sap to turn into Syrup this weekend. 

What you need:

• A Maple Tree
• 12-20 inches in Diameter for one tap
• 21-27 inches in Diameter for two taps
• 28 inches in Diameter or wider for three taps
• Stainless Steel Maple Syrup Taps 
• Hammer
• Measuring Tape
• Drill with 5/16 Drill bit
• 5/16" ID 7/16" OD Clear Vinyl Tubing FDA Approved Food Grade Multipurpose Tube
• Food Grade 5 Gallon Bucket with Lid

How To:

Identify your Maple Tree(s). Measure the size of the Tree you intend to use to verify that it is an adequate size. With the Drill and 5/16 bit Drill a 1.5" hole straight into the tree. Using the Hammer, hammer the Maple Syrup Tap into the hole in the Maple Tree. Push the 5/16 tubing onto the tap to seal, Drill a hole into the lid of the 5 Gallon Bucket to fit the hose into. The lid should prevent anything falling into your sap while you are collecting it. 

You will need to collect 40 Gallons of Sap to boil down to 1 Gallon of Syrup. This is a weekend project here. After the buckets fill they will need to be slowly boiled down to evaporate the water and make the Syrup sweeter. We will follow up this Post with another showing how we made our Syrup.

...https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2020/02/making-maple-syrup.html 

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Lavender and Orange Bath Tea

Bath Tea

https://www.instagram.com/littlellakeviewconservatory/

Making Bath Tea and using our leftover scraps towards Orange Vinegar. #CaraCara #Mandarin #Selfcare #BathTea #BathSalts 

#DIY #Reuse #Recycle #LittleLakeviewConservatory 

LittleLakeviewConservatory.com https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/p/orange-vinegar.html

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC was est. in 2019 to provide sustainable plants in NH and to share information to help people create self sustainability in their own homes.

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!