Lemon & Ginger Kombucha and my not so green thumb

Here is my first batch of Kombucha. I am pretty stoked that it turned out, no mold on the mother and it is tasty. Originally I thought I was suppose to leave it for a month...then I started reading other blogs and finding out that if you leave it to long it will turn into vinegar. Not what I am trying to make.

Everything I read said to taste it, so I poked my finger into the big jar with the SCOBY, and tasted it. Low and behold it tasted pretty darn good and it was super fizzy! BONUS :) I think because its been so humid here that it must of increased the fermentation? All in all it was in the big jar for 11 days.

I am not sure, but when the weather gets colder it might take longer?

Kombucha taste good on its own, but why not enhance the flavor?
Once I drained the tea from the mother I added grated ginger and a couple lemon wedges. Supposedly you can make it more carbonated by letting it sit for a couple more days.....I think its bubbly enough. Once I had a shot of it, I felt neat inside. Its hard to describe but I felt happy. Maybe it was just the happiness that is worked... I have read that it can make you feel euphoric?

With the success of the Kombucha brings me some failure in the garden :(
Perhaps its that I have had bigger things on my mind. No excuses!! I have had luck with container gardening...maybe because there are no weeds to pull, no bugs to eat your veggies ( which was the main problem for me) I went out to look at it the other day, and it was pitiful. I felt bad because I thought it would be easy to grow food. I was wrong.  I got 1 radish, yes 1.
Radishes are suppose to be one of the easiest things to grow.pfff. I feel defeated.

On to better things...my friends have said not to give up, and I wont. I think that I am better suited to containers. I like the idea of a veggie garden, and hey next summer I might plant some more. I won't start from seed. Its hard with these east coast summers, I think there is only 2 months of actually growing time.


On the positive side I have a salad growing on my deck! Which I clipped some out of and made a tasty salad with orange segments and red onion.

and a big pot of chocolate mint a friend gave me last summer that is thriving!

I think it was smart of me to save my tomato plants for pots, they seem to be happy.

I feel that because it was my first time...I won't give up. I WILL grow my own food, and I do have a pumpkin still growing, fingers crossed it will make it to see Halloween and then soup!!

Kombucha

A few months ago a girlfriend and I went to a workshop on beneficial bacteria. We learned about making kraut and kefir but the coolest part was the KOMBUCHA I was super intrigued by this alien looking thing in a huge glass jar. 

The people that were hosting the workshop were really informative and gave us a taste of it. It had been brewed with ginger and lemon, it was fizzy and very tasty. I had seen the health drinks in the stores, but I have always been reluctant to buy one. Probably because they can be expensive.

So what is Kombucha? Its a  is a fermented beverage made of tea and bacteria cultures. Suppose to have healing properties? I have read a bit about it and decided that it sounded neat and was something I wanted to try.

So I have been on the look out for a baby since. Now when I say "baby"....if you are lucky enough to know someone whom has kept theirs happy, it will grow another one. You are suppose to give it away, to keep the cycle going. A friend of a  friend has been successful with theirs and asked if I wanted one.  Ummm...YEAH!

This afternoon my friend came over with a SCOBY ( Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast ) for me! I had to Google what to do with it. Apparently you brew some sweet tea, and let it cool, pour the baby in a big glass jar let it sit for 20 or so days drain and drink.

I am excited to see what happens. Have you ever tried growing you own kombucha? If you have what are your experiences with it?