#beet speaks

[beetpunk]

Wow I must be reblogging the right money posts because I:

1. Just got hired for a SWEET summer inventory gig

2. Just got notified that I earned a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement in biology and

3. Got promoted to head electrician in my lighting studio!!!

Ahh!! I’m so excited!!! Plus I have a bunch of small scale projects I’m working on that I’m super excited about - moonshine, a vinegar mother, garlic and mushroom propagation, a full garden makeover... I can hardly contain myself!!!!!!!

[beetpunk]

i just scheduled my first testosterone appointment and ahhhhhh i’m so excited i am literally crying!!!!!!!!!!

[beetpunk]

Spent all day weeding a severely neglected garden bed today. Took almost everything out! Left in some purple foxgloves and pineapple sage for the hummers and the nipplewart because I laughed so hard at the ID that I didn’t want to pull it out!!

[beetpunk]

Started another project because I can... propagating shiitake mushrooms from a small clamshell of organic ones! If I do it right, they should be harvestable in just a few weeks!!

I wanted to work on a fast growing food source, and mushrooms grow suuuper fast in comparison to actual plants. They’re a fungi, so they work differently

Right now I’ve got chopped stems in a box along with a mix that’s part garden dirt and part potting soil, got some worms and onion skins in there, adding coffee grounds as we make them. The box is lined & covered with cling wrap and insulated and covered with flannel pillowcases I had lying around.

I’ve also got some caps drying now, which I read was supposed to produce spores, but we’ll see. If it does, those are going to get sprinkled in on top to help with mycelium development.

If anyone has any tips on growing mushrooms, I’d love to hear them! If this works, I’m going to try something similar with a few other varieties

[beetpunk]

My first garlic’s sprout is showing. how embarrassing ☺️

[beetpunk]

Been thinking about one of my favorite trees, the Oregon big leaf maple, and how many of them are in my town...

I don’t usually say this, but I’d tap that 👀

[beetpunk]

So the mushroom caps dropped their spores!! I left them out a little longer than intended so now I’m drying them to eat later lol.

The spores have been mixed into the grow box along with some coffee grounds from this morning’s brew, so we’ll see what happens over the course of the next week!

[beetpunk]

Started a new experiment today - Moonshine! We’ll see how it goes... 

I’m going to have to rig a still over the course of the next week. I’m using a kettle, some silicone tubing, an insulated bag, and some mason jars. I figure making your own alcohol can’t be that hard - I’m a biologist and this is just some basic biochemistry and harmless summer fun! 

It’ll be a good in-home distraction from quarantine (and it’s always nice to have access to cheap liquor)