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Clean the Chimney – This is How the Stove Gets Clean

Chimney cleaning should be done on a regular basis. This is the only way for the fireplace to work safely and efficiently – find out how here.

After each heating season, the fireplace should be cleaned so that it works efficiently and the risk of fire is reduced. You can do the work yourself with the help of an ash vacuum cleaner. Simple home remedies are usually enough to achieve a good effect and to clean both the combustion chamber and the pipe.

Why the chimney should be cleaned

Rising electricity prices have ensured that more and more households are using a fireplace to warm their own house. The fireplace is relatively inexpensive, and with modern technologies, it can heat the entire house. Wood pellets are relatively cheap to obtain and climate-neutral.

Nevertheless, the chimney should be cleaned thoroughly at regular intervals. If this is not done, the fireplace will no longer work efficiently. The heat is not optimally distributed in the house and the costs rise.

Much more serious, however, is the risk of soot fire. If too much ash is deposited in the pipes, it can ignite and lead to a fire. For this reason, the fireplace should be cleaned thoroughly after each heating period. Superficial cleaning is not enough. Above all, the pipes must be clean for the fireplace to function safely.
Here you will learn the most important steps to cleaning the chimney.

1) Vacuum the combustion chamber

Before the new heating season begins and you want to use the fireplace, you should service the combustion chamber. You can use a shovel to remove the coarsest dirt. However, to clean the entire combustion chamber, an ash vacuum cleaner should be used. Even fine ash can be sucked in with this. This allows for thorough cleaning of the combustion chamber. And this ash can be used to scatter sidewalks in winter.

If you don’t have a special ash vacuum cleaner, you can purchase an appropriate attachment for the conventional vacuum cleaner. This usually looks like a bucket that is connected to the vacuum cleaner. In this way, even the finest dirt in the combustion chamber is extracted. You should also use the vacuum cleaner to clean everything around the chimney and avoid typical vacuum cleaner mistakes.

2) Clean the lens

The fireplace not only provides heat but also spreads a pleasant atmosphere. Because what could be nicer than sitting in front of the warm fireplace in winter, in which the fire is blazing.

Most fireplaces have a viewing panel so that you can enjoy the fire from a safe distance. This quickly becomes dirty when using the fireplace. To get the best view of the fire, keep the pane clean.

One trick is cleaning with ash. You can do this by balling up old newspaper, dampening it slightly, and picking up white ash from the chimney. you can now clean the glass pane with the white ash. You can remove heavy, coarse dirt from the pane very well in this way.

However, cleaning with a glass cleaner is more conventional. You can also use this to clean the pane. However, you must ensure that no moisture penetrates directly into the chimney. You can also read home remedies for window cleaning.

3) Clean soapstone

Many fireplaces have soapstone cladding. This rock has wonderful properties for retaining heat and looks really good on a fireplace too. Over time, dirt builds up on the soapstone and it can even discolor. There are simple ways to make the soapstone look new again.

To clean the soapstone, it is sufficient if you use a normal washing-up sponge. With the rough surface, you can drive over the soapstone. This is sanded down a bit and the top layer is slightly removed. But always work the entire surface. Otherwise, there may be color differences.

4) Clean the tube

An important part of the chimney is the pipe. This transports a significant part of the heat and is directly exposed to the fire. In order to clean the pipe, it must be removed from the chimney. To do this, you should wrap it in plastic and transport it outside. Otherwise, the dirt will spread throughout your house and only make cleaning unnecessarily complicated.

Outside, you can place the pipe upright in a garbage can. The inside of the pipe is treated with a brush and a poker. Once the coarse dirt has been removed, you can use a hand brush to remove the finer dust. An ash vacuum is also recommended for this work and makes this cleaning step a lot easier.

When cleaning the tube, be aware that a lot of dust could be released. Only carry out the operation when you have completely sealed the pipe with plastic bags. Your own clothing is also affected. Therefore, you should only wear older clothes that are no longer meaningful to you.

Overall, chimney cleaning is relatively expensive. However, this is necessary for the fireplace to function efficiently. In addition, the risk of fire is reduced. There is no need to hire a professional chimney sweeper for cleaning. With an ash vacuum, you can clean the chimney independently with high quality.

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Food

Raw Honey: This is The Difference to Other Types of Honey

Raw honey is the natural form of honey. But which honey is raw and how do you recognize it? Here you will find all the facts about the natural sweetener.

What exactly is raw honey?

Raw honey is pure, unprocessed honey that has not been filtered or heated. So it is natural honey. It is only sieved to remove coarse particles such as wax, dead bees or impurities.

Raw Honey: A rare delicacy in the United States

The legal situation may be different in other countries. For example, US honey is filtered and partially pasteurized by default – and therefore no longer raw. In the USA, “raw honey” is therefore considered a delicacy. Filtering honey means passing it through a very fine sieve. As a result, even the smallest particles get stuck in the filter, which is detrimental to the quality of the honey.

How do you recognize raw honey?

Viscous, creamy-cloudy honey is usually an indication of raw honey, because most varieties in Germany crystallize out quite quickly.
Clear syrupy honey may indicate it has been heated or filtered.

Sugar crystals on the edge of the glass are also an indication of natural honey. Honey is often not bottled directly, but initially stored in larger containers. For sale, the honey is then heated to a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius so that it is easier to bottle. As a result, the sugar does not bloom later – that is, no sugar crystals form on the glass. This may look more appealing, but it is a sign of reduced honey quality, because valuable enzymes are lost due to the heat (e.g. the enzyme invertase is very heat-sensitive according to D.I.B.).

Raw Honey: That’s how healthy it is

Honey contains valuable minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium or phosphorus as well as C and B vitamins. You can find more information about the ingredients of honey here.
Thanks to certain enzymes, honey also has an antibacterial and antiseptic effect. According to the University Hospital Bonn, certain types of honey can even promote wound healing – here, however, you should only use sterile medical honey.
Honey can support digestion and the immune system.
In raw honey in particular, these healthy ingredients are preserved. Pollen can also still be found in raw honey, which according to the D.I.B. stimulate appetite and aid digestion. If honey is filtered or heated, some of these healthy ingredients are lost (some of the enzymes are heat-sensitive). Only comb honey is healthier than raw honey: the wax contains even more valuable nutrients, pollen and propolis. Propolis (also called bee resin) is a resinous substance produced by the bees themselves. It protects the hive from invaders and diseases. Propolis is known for its antimicrobial properties.

Raw honey is therefore slightly healthier than filtered honey; the sugar content remains the same. Therefore, only consume raw honey in moderation.

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health

Burn Fat: This is How You Stimulate The Fat Metabolism

In order to lose weight healthily and permanently, the body has to burn fat. But how does it work? We have tested various methods for you.

The body constantly needs energy – for the body’s own processes such as the formation of new cells, to warm up or to move. The body obtains this energy from food, especially from the macronutrients fat, carbohydrates and protein. When it gets more energy than it needs, the body stores the excess calories – in the form of fat. This means: If you constantly take in more calories than you expend, your fat stores will grow.

In order to empty them again, you have to burn fat. What exactly happens? Fats consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen. With the additional supply of oxygen, the body can “burn” the fats. This produces energy, CO2 and water. The water is sweated out, the CO2 expelled through the breathing air. In this way, the body loses about 200 grams of carbon a day.

This value can be increased – but how? One obvious possibility is physical exertion. But some foods are also said to stimulate fat metabolism.

Burn fat through food – is that possible?

As described above, the body stores excess energy in the form of fat. If you have a balanced calorie balance, your fat stores will not grow. You can do this by eating a healthy and balanced diet. However, if you want to burn existing fat, you have to supply your body with less energy than it needs. That can be difficult. So wouldn’t it be easier if certain foods stimulated fat burning?

Such foods should exist. The following candidates are particularly often said to stimulate fat burning:
Some vegetables are said to provide “negative calories” to help burn fat. This means that these foods have fewer calories than you need for digestion. Lose weight by eating? Sounds good, but unfortunately has no scientific basis, according to Stern. In 2012, a study examined the myth of negative calories using the example of celery. 15 healthy women ate celery while their calorie balance was being measured. The result: even a low-calorie vegetable like celery (16 kilocalories per 100 grams) supplies the body with calories. This does not fundamentally disprove the phenomenon of negative calories, but it is very doubtful.
Certain enzymes are said to boost fat metabolism. The enzyme bromelain, which is found in pineapples, among other things, is particularly well known. According to Stern, there is no scientific evidence here either. The Apothekenumschau adds that enzymes from food are mostly broken down in the digestive tract and do not even get into the blood.
Vitamins are important and healthy – but do they also help burn fat? Vitamin C in particular is considered a promising candidate. This is partly due to observational studies that show that people with a high vitamin C intake tend to have a smaller waist circumference. As the star judges, there is still no connection between vitamin C and fat burning. Perhaps people who consume a lot of vitamin C simply eat healthier.
Another candidate comes from a completely different group of foods: the substance L-carnitine is found primarily in meat and dairy products and plays a role in burning fat. So eat more meat? This is not only a bad idea for animal welfare and climate protection reasons: According to the Apothekenumschau, the body only absorbs as much L-carnitine as it needs. It excretes excess L-carnitine.

Burning fat – does it have to be?

As described above, visceral abdominal fat is considered particularly unhealthy. Too much fat or being overweight is associated with many diseases, such as diabetes. If you want or need to burn fat for health reasons, you can do that with a combination of regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Important: Health should be the priority – not the desire to conform to an ideal of beauty. If you live a generally healthy life, there is no reason to additionally boost your fat metabolism.

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Food

Storing Ginger: This Way it Stays Fresh For a Long Time

You only need a small piece of fresh ginger for most dishes.

Tip 1 for correct storage: Don’t buy too much ginger

If you want to enjoy fresh ginger for as long as possible, you must not buy old tubers. Old ginger is very difficult to store. You can recognize fresh produce by the fact that the tuber feels firm and heavy. Ginger that is no longer as dewy is softer and has a wrinkled skin.

Also, don’t buy too much ginger at once. For most recipes you only need a few slices, the rest is often forgotten and eventually ends up in the bin. So you should consider beforehand how much ginger you need and how you want to use it.

Tip 2: Store ginger outside of the refrigerator

If your fresh ginger root is still unpeeled and uncut, you can store it in a dark and cool place outside the refrigerator. The pantry is best for this. You can store fresh ginger there for several weeks. Wrap it up completely in a paper towel beforehand and then put it in a sealable container or paper bag.

Sliced ​​ginger can also be stored outside the refrigerator for some time. Store it in a dark and cool place. While the interface may become a bit woody and hard over time, the ginger flesh stays fresh and you can keep using it.

Tip 3: Store cut ginger in the fridge

If you want to store cut ginger in the fridge, you should make sure that it is kept as airtight as possible. There is high humidity in the refrigerator, which promotes the formation of mold in food.
Option 1: To prevent the ginger cut from drying out too much, you can cover it with reusable beeswax towels instead of plastic or aluminum foil. Place the fully wrapped ginger in a sealable can or paper bag.
Option 2: Alternatively, you can slightly dampen a cloth kitchen towel and wrap the ginger in it before storing it in the crisper of the fridge.

You can use these methods to keep sliced ​​ginger fresh in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Tip 4: Freeze fresh ginger

If you always want to have a supply of ginger on hand, you can also freeze it. Proceed as follows:
Method 1: ginger pile
Peel the ginger and then grate it finely.
Use a spoon to form small mounds of the grated ginger.
Put these piles on a plate, which you then put in the freezer.
Once the ginger mounds are frozen, you can remove them from the plate and place them in a freezer bowl.
Method 2: ginger slices
Peel the ginger.
Cut it into strips or slices.
Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze.
You can pour hot water over the heaps or slices of ginger to make ginger tea or add them to dishes. Processed like this, the ginger will keep in the freezer for about 3 to 6 months.

Tip 5: Pot ginger and plant it yourself

Ginger is one of those foods that grows back on its own. This means that you can easily keep fresh ginger bulbs alive by planting them one at a time. In this way, you can also recycle ginger bulbs that have already sprouted. The ginger pieces sprout and form reed-like plants. After some time you can harvest fresh ginger bulbs for kitchen use.

Here you can find out how to plant ginger yourself.

Tip 6: Preserve ginger by pickling it

To prevent ginger from spoiling or becoming too woody and dry, you can preserve it by pickling it. Peeled, cut, grated and preserved in a vinegar broth, the ginger prepared in this way can be kept for up to six months. Pickled ginger is particularly popular with sushi.

Here are the instructions on how to pickle ginger.

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Food

Sodium Acetate: This is What E 262 Causes in Food

Sodium acetate acts as an acidity regulator and preservative in various foods. The additive is considered harmless. We’ll show you where it usually occurs.

On many toast ingredient lists you’ll find this entry: “Acidity regulators: sodium acetates.” Behind this are the sodium salts of acetic acid. Strictly speaking, there is sodium acetate and sodium diacetate, but sodium acetate is often spoken of in general.

Sodium acetates have various effects in food:
The additives reduce the sour taste in acidic foods.
In addition, the pH value (i.e. the degree of acidity) of food and medicines can be controlled and stabilized via sodium acetate. Hence the name “acidity regulator”.
Sodium acetates preserve baked goods. They could theoretically also be listed as preservatives.
Sodium acetates can be produced from acetic acid by simple chemical reactions. At room temperature they form a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water.

Sodium acetates in food

Accordingly, sodium acetate (E 262) is permitted in almost all foods without restrictions. Unrestricted means here: Manufacturers can use as much as they need for the desired effect. In Latin it means “quantum satis”. There are only a few exceptions, such as organic food. These must not contain sodium acetate.

You can find sodium acetate in these foods:
canned vegetables
canned fish
Mozzarella and whey cheese (e.g. ricotta)
Baked goods (e.g. toast or white bread)
Baby food

Are sodium acetates harmful?

As reported by the consumer initiative, sodium acetate is considered harmless. There is no recommended maximum daily intake.

Some experts are fundamentally critical of the approximately 150 additives permitted in baked goods – for example, they can have a negative impact on the intestinal flora. However, it is unclear whether the statement also applies to sodium acetate. However, it is possible that the EU will reassess sodium acetate in the future.

If you want to avoid sodium acetate, go for organic foods. You also avoid other additives and synthetic pesticides, and you also support sustainable agriculture.

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Food

Yeast From Beer: With This Trick You Make Yeast Yourself

Yeast from beer is an easy secret recipe for when you don’t have yeast at home. Be it for pizza, yeast braid or cake – we’ll show you how you can make yeast from beer yourself.

Yeast consists of microscopic organisms that make dough rise. Yeast is also an essential ingredient in beer – here it ensures that beer ferments. You can take advantage of this if you don’t have any yeast in the house and still want to bake something.

Note: Even though yeast consists of small organisms, yeast is vegan: they are unicellular fungi.

You only need three ingredients to make yeast from beer

The following ingredients replace about one cube of yeast. This amount is therefore suitable for about 500 to 1000 grams of flour.

What you need:
100 ml beer: Here you can use a beer of your choice, preferably naturally cloudy.
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp sugar
Recommended kitchen utensils:
1 small bowl
1 fork or 1 small whisk for mixing
1 kitchen scale or 1 measuring cup
1 jar or other container that you can seal

Make yeast from beer yourself: It’s that easy

Pour 100 milliliters of beer into a small bowl.
Slowly pour in the flour and sugar while whisking constantly. This will prevent lumps from forming.
If there are small lumps, try to crush them with a small fork and stir to break them up.
Pour the whole thing into a screw-top jar and seal it tightly. If you don’t have a screw-top jar handy, you can use another container like a food storage box or a bowl covered with a plate.
Set the beer-flour-sugar mixture aside and let it sit for several hours, preferably overnight.
Note: Use 100 milliliters less liquid for the recipe you want to use the yeast for.

Tip: You can use the rest of the beer to prepare a dish with beer batter, or you can mix up a tincture for your skin or hair – because brewer’s yeast is also good for this thanks to its healthy effects. Or you simply enjoy the rest on the balcony or by the window.

Yeast from beer or “normal” yeast?

Yeast that you can buy at the grocery store is a type of pressed yeast, and there are about ten billion yeast cells in a gram. In beer, yeast converts sugar contained in the beer ingredient malt into alcohol and carbonic acid. Yeast also contributes to the flavor of beer.

It doesn’t matter whether you use “normal” yeast from the supermarket or make yeast from beer yourself, there is no difference in taste. But the difference between the two types is the driving force: that of brewer’s yeast is somewhat weaker. So your dough will need a little more time to rise. Optionally, you can prepare a pre-dough that you let rise several times over several hours or freeze.

If you don’t yet know what you can do with the homemade beer yeast: how about a yeast braid with raisins or a plum cake? If you don’t like plums, you can also prepare a simple yeast dough and top it with fruit of your choice. If you want it hearty, we also have a recipe for pizza dough for you.

Another way to make your own yeast is to use dates or other unsulphured dried fruit to make yeast water. However, this alternative must rest for up to a week. Yeast substitutes such as baking powder are also suitable for some recipes. Making your own yeast from beer is easy and also quickly ready for use, which is a clear advantage for us over other variants.

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Food

Freeze Yeast: This Way You Can Use it For Longer

Freezing yeast makes sense if you have leftover yeast after baking or you bought it in advance. Here we explain how you can freeze the fresh yeast.

Freeze yeast: in jars and in cans

Would you like to stock up on fresh yeast or did you only need half a yeast cube for your yeast dough? Then simply freeze the fresh yeast. Frozen yeast keeps for several months and you don’t have to waste food
Place the yeast cube in a small tin or jar

Thaw yeast after freezing

If you want to use the frozen yeast, thaw it ahead of time. There are two variants:
Defrost gently: Put the yeast in the fridge the day before you want to bake and let it thaw slowly.
If you’re in a hurry: Thaw the yeast in a warm liquid if your recipe uses that liquid. Note, however, that yeast does not tolerate temperatures above 45°C, as the yeast then loses its effectiveness.
The yeast may become slightly softer and runnier after thawing than before freezing. But that’s not a problem, you can use them normally for baking.

We recommend organic yeast

Organic yeast is the ecologically better yeast:
While conventional yeast is produced using chemical substances that have to be washed out afterwards, organic yeast is much more sustainable. Because organic yeast does not have to be washed out, it requires less water during production and no unnecessary chemical substances get into the waste water.
In addition, genetically engineered enzymes can be used in the production of conventional yeast. Since there are no long-term studies on the use of genetic engineering, it can harbor undiscovered risks. The production processes of organic products do not contain any genetically modified substances.

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Food

Plant Garlic: This is How it Grows at Home

Planting garlic is not difficult at all – even if it is not native to us. If you follow a few simple basic rules, you can do it at home too.

If you don’t have a green thumb, you’ve made the right choice with garlic. It is one of the leek plants that are usually very easy to care for. In addition, it is winter hardy and only needs sufficient sun and moisture to be able to grow optimally.

To plant garlic yourself, all you need is a fresh clove of garlic. With a little patience, you can soon be harvesting your own garlic.

Planting garlic: the right time

As with all herbs and spices, when you plant the seeds or bulbs is crucial:
Ideally, you should plant garlic in the fall so that it can sprout in the spring.
While you can start in the spring, the garlic plants will often become smaller and slower to grow.
The right soil is just as important as the timing:
Only when the garlic plant gets enough nutrients can it form roots and sprout.
A loose soil, such as humus or special herbal soil, which contains a particularly large number of nutrients, is best suited.
However, fertilizer is not necessary.

Plant garlic on the balcony

You can simply plant garlic in a small pot or box on the balcony:
To prevent waterlogging, the bottom layer in the pot should consist of small stones or compost. This allows the water to drain away and no mold develops.
Choose a sunny spot on your balcony close to the wall of the house and plant the garlic cloves in the soil as described above.
The same applies here: water only occasionally and let the soil dry out a bit.

Planting garlic in the garden

The easiest way to plant garlic is in a small bed:
First loosen the soil.
Then stick the garlic cloves, point up, about 1.5 to 2 inches (4 to 5 centimeters) into the soil.
Attention: Do not plant the individual cloves too close together so that the plants have enough space later. A distance of 10 to 15 centimeters is sufficient.
At the end you have to close the holes again and water something.
You should observe these care tips:
Make sure the soil doesn’t get too wet.
You should also loosen the soil from time to time.
Even if frost and cold can hardly harm the garlic plant, you should still protect it from heavy rain: Cover the bed with a tarpaulin in winter.
Important: Do not water too much, otherwise the garlic can rot!

Harvest garlic you planted yourself

In summer you can harvest your garlic. You can even use the stalks in the kitchen: They are ideal for seasoning all kinds of dishes, and you can use the stalks like spring onions.

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Food

Vegan Chips: You Have to Pay Attention to This

You don’t always recognize vegan chips at first glance. In addition to potatoes, oil and salt, there are often flavors and additives, which is why not all chips are vegan. We’ll show you what to look out for.

Vegan chips are not a matter of course due to various additives. Animal ingredients are hidden in the salty snacks, especially in the form of flavor enhancers and flavorings.

Therefore, you should always take a look at the list of ingredients when shopping. The following substances are often found in conventional chips:
butterfat
sweet whey powder
milk protein
cream powder
buttermilk powder
cheese powder
animal rennet
shrimp powder
honey
pork powder
animal flavors such as game, poultry or fish

Animal additives are also hidden behind some E numbers, such as in emulsifier E471. The substance is obtained from animal fats.

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Lifestyle

This is How You Garden Sustainably and Close to Nature

Everyone is talking about climate protection. Farmers and forest owners are complaining about major losses as a result of changing climatic conditions, which are reflected in violent storms and unusually long dry periods in this country. The agricultural partner companies of meine ernte are also feeling the consequences and, like Bauer Bachhausen from Solingen in 2018 and 2019, have to accept heavy losses in the cultivation of cereals, vegetables or strawberries. Anyone who grows their food in their own garden or on the balcony without using pesticides is acting sustainably in many respects and is therefore making an important contribution to climate protection.

Seasonal and regional – your own garden as the basis for climate protection

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is not only healthy, but also quickly brings about a new appreciation for food. You get a feeling for when which crops are “in season” or when they have to be grown or imported under energy-intensive conditions. Tomatoes in December, for example, tend to seem “Spanish” to a vegetable gardener and are not exactly one of the climate-friendly meals on the plate in winter due to long transport routes and high water consumption. On the other hand, by growing your own crops in the kitchen garden and being more conscious of consumer behavior, energy and long transport routes can be saved.

With your vegetable garden or balcony you create the perfect conditions for gardening close to nature and doing your part to protect the environment.

But there are a few tips on how you can garden even more sustainably in your vegetable paradise!

Work the soil close to nature

The most valuable resource in your vegetable garden is the soil. In the best case, the soil always contains the right amount and concentration of nutrients. Since we remove nutrients through our vegetable harvest, additional care and protection of the soil is essential. Useful soil organisms are promoted through near-natural care. In addition, nutrient-rich soil strengthens your vegetable plants and makes them less susceptible to disease.

Our top 5 tips for a nutrient-rich soil in the vegetable garden:

1. Use organic fertilizer: A soil used for gardening and agriculture should be fertilized. We recommend the use of organic fertilizer. These are products of animal and/or vegetable origin that decompose slowly and add value to the garden soil.

2. Conserve water by hoeing: During the gardening season, you should regularly hoe your soil around the vegetable plants. This keeps the soil permanently loose and well aerated. A loose garden soil can absorb rainwater and irrigation water better. Chopping also removes weeds. You can simply let them dry out on the bed when the sun is shining.

3. Composting is about studying: Make your own nutrient-rich soil with your garden waste. With a compost heap in the garden, you can use the remaining nutrients from plant residues and return them to the earth as finished compost. Tip: There are also small composters for the balcony!

4. Mulch soil: Protect your garden soil from erosion. Soil erosion is the removal of the topsoil, the fertile soil for your vegetable cultivation. Protection is provided by a layer of mulch made of green waste and plant residues. Mulch is particularly important in winter so that your cleared vegetable beds are not exposed to wind and weather.

5. Buy peat-free soil: If you buy soil for your vegetable patch, raised bed, or balcony plants, then make sure that it is as peat-free as possible.

This is how you save water in the vegetable garden

To get a feeling for the water needs of your plants, you should consider the length of the roots and the water content of the vegetables.

In general, outdoor plants form longer roots and require less additional irrigation water than raised bed or balcony plants. Plants that need a lot of water are, for example, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, lettuce and aubergines.

Hacking – the solution to save a lot of water
A loose and regularly chopped soil saves additional watering, since the existing water reservoirs can be more easily reached by the roots of your plants.
Likewise, a layer of mulch on your vegetable patch keeps moisture in the soil and protects against superficial drying out. Incidentally, there are gardeners who do without watering the entire year because they always hoe as soon as it has rained, so that the soil stores enough water.

That’s how you water properly

If you still need to water extra, stick to the following points:

Use collected rainwater and water the roots of the plant vigorously once instead of just watering a little several times a week. This will encourage root growth in your vegetable plants and train them to search for water on their own.
You should water in the early morning hours or late afternoon/evening if possible, since the plants can absorb the water best at these times.
Some vegetables, such as cucumber, require regular watering and will produce few or bitter fruits without it. Here you can think about an automatic watering system like drip irrigation.

Beneficial – the natural alternative to pesticides

No one wants pesticide residues in their vegetables or soil. So-called “beneficial insects” can prevent the use of pesticides and plant protection products in your vegetable garden. The ideal protection for your plants is to encourage beneficial insects in your garden and to garden in an insect-friendly manner. In this way, pests and diseases on the vegetable plants do not increase. Beneficial insects ensure a balanced soil life and have the larvae and eggs of pests as a food source.

Attract wild bees and insects with a variety of flower mixes. You can upgrade empty beds in autumn with green manure. This serves as a source of food and supports the nutrient requirements of the soil. Edible flowers and herbs are a good opportunity to do something good for the insects and yourself.

Make sure there are enough places in your garden for insects and microorganisms to retreat to with leaves, piles of dead wood and stones, as well as nesting boxes for songbirds. Especially in winter, the animals are happy to accept this shelter. You should also leave dried stems of e.g. chives over the winter and only cut them off in summer.

No plastic in the vegetable garden

Small plastic particles are just as undesirable in your vegetable patch as they are in the oceans. Nevertheless, nets and fleece are often essential to protect the plants. Here it is worth buying a long-lasting crop protection net that does not fall apart and can be used for many years. Fix it with stones or bury it well in the ground – this way you avoid plastic net holders.

There are also alternatives made from compostable materials such as organic cotton or grain-based.

Plant pots, especially for growing young plants in spring, are also available made from coconut fibers or you can make your own growing pots from newspaper or toilet paper rolls.

When it comes to gardening tools, it is also better to spend a little more money and then have something of it for a long time: You really need these gardening tools. Large garden tools that are used less often can be shared with your neighbors.

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