Making jam without sugar: using excess fruit

This is a variety of useful recipes plucked from the net for making a jam or spread. There are source credits after the recipes for links to the original sites. There is no need to do without jam just because you are avoiding high energy sweeteners like sugar, honey and various syrups. Please take notice of the recommendations regarding the use by periods.

I boil down our home grown cumquats with only a very small amount of sugar and a little water to make a delicious sauce or runny jam, perhaps I will now try cooking down citrus without any sugar or use stevia to sweeten. Happy experimentation.

Click pictures to enlarge.

Gathering April 2014 at Jodi & Michael's

Bellingen Seed Savers' Gathering at Jodi, Michael and Quinn's hugely productive property in Dorrigo in April 2014. 

Here's a glimpse of their ever-evolving piece of paradise,  achieved by creativity, innovation and sheer hard work. 

View from the terrace

The chicken tractor fits the terrace beds and is moved frequently 

New swales will gently guide water into the new dam - when it rains!

Like-minded friends share their joy in their surroundings

The large variety of fruit trees are all grown from seed

The blue recycled half-barrels hold strawberries and hard-to-confine herbs such as mint.
Flowers are grown throughout the garden to attract beneficial insects and delight the eye. 

Jodi finds that the most efficient way of raising seedlings is to sow into soil blockers
To look at the equipment used click on soil blockers

Quinn enjoys foraging in the garden for
wonderful nutritious, truly local food.

Bellingen Seed Savers at Autumn Plant Fair 2013

Bellingen Seed Savers

at the Autumn Plant Fair

Saturday 9 March 2013

We provided a wide variety of interesting, resilient fruit, herb and vegetable seeds and plant material raised by our members and suitable for our climate.

Our new seed display and labels. Click to enlarge and read.

Native Bees, Bananas and Fruit Salad Plants

 Jen and Gai's hive contains stingless native bees, Trigona carbonari, which are tiny creatures that do a great job of pollination and don't sting!  Here's a useful site about native bees that has information about ordering them and caring for them once the courier drops them off at your place: http://www.aussiebee.com.au/stinglessbees.html  

The hive nestles under the Icecream Bean Tree. Do you have native bees?

Their bananas thrive on the slope above the house.

The bananas are recently established, and have peanuts growing in the mulch around the base, using seed kindly provided by fellow local seedsaver John.  The peanuts are planted when the soil is warm in late November, and have foliage and flowers that are typical of nitrogen-fixing legumes. 

The Monsteria deliciosa is already fruiting despite its small size. Jen believes it is because of the applied rock minerals. Are you growing fruit salad plants? When do you pick yours?