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I recently got my hands on some glass demi-johns from a charity shop and have completely changed my opinion about the 5l plastic bottles. As others have pointed out - it's much much easier to rack the glass bottles than the plastic ones due to the ridges. I wouldn't use plastic bottles again...

Here's a link to the Eat Weeds recipe for Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar: http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/elderberry-balsamic-vinegar I've made for a couple of years now and it's really worth doing - very rich and fruity. Great on salad. I've not tried making beer yet - maybe pine needle beer will be my firs...

What a great idea - here's my list, roughly in order of season: - something with alexanders (chutney?) - Wild garlic and few-flowered leek pesto - Beech leaf noyau - lime flowers (for tea) - Garlic mustard / lime leaves salad - Cleavers juice - something with pine needles? - Elderflower wine - Meado...

Same as irigg - I use 5l plastic bottles from the supermarket. cut a wee hole in the lid and use a rubber ring and airlock as normal. The ridges do catch sediment so you have to be aware of that. As for cleaning I rinse thoroughly and then use Milton liquid to sterilise. Never had any problems. Good...

OK - thanks very much for the advice Mike - I'll take a look at it tonight - hopefully it's recoverable.

If not then everyone will get white wine vinegar for christmas this year :)

ARGH! just found some dead flies in my 2 gallon brew bucket...! that's that ruined and me left with only 2 gallons of elderflower wine....

lesson learned - lid AND muslin on the brew bucket from now on...


Oh well - I'll collect meadowsweet whilst that's flowering - it makes a great fizzy wine too.

Will give this a go - thanks.

Quick question though - is there a reason why you add the sugar after the brew has been sitting for a few days? Most recipes I've seen just add it at the start.

Cheers

I've been using 5 litre plastic bottles as demi-johns. T***o sells 5l bottles of still water for 95p, I get them delivered with our monthly shop.

You can poke a hole in the lid and fix a grommet for your airlock.

But yes - you should definitely get a few...!

oh it's definitely edible - I've even convinced my wife to eat it, she'll eat anything in a crumble! Here's a few recipe links: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Knotweed.html http://www.phlorum.com/blog/2010/04/20/japanese-knotweed-crumble-recipe/ http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/sear...

Hah!

My new strategy is to top and tail the stems where I find them (i.e. in the middle of the knotweed patch), so there's no waste once I get back home.

Thanks Marc - I think I'll just boil them for a while.

Hi - I picked my first batch of Japanese knotweed this week and made a nice crumble and some jam. I have a box of offcuts now and am wondering what's the best way to dispose of them? I don't have a bin to burn them in right now so was thinking I could just cook them in the oven for a while until the...

Yup - definitely Lathraea clandestina. I've never seen so much of it before!

Well I've now tried soapnuts in four washes and have been pleased with the results - even toddler and baby clothes came out clean. Towels (and clothes in general) feel a bit softer than before. The only issue was a fine wool jumper that came out with some white bits on it. My wife was very sceptical...

Just ordered a small pack - really keen to see how they work out, particularly in the dishwasher.