Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

500ml freshly picked young cucumbers (unpeeled, the crunchier the better)
1 onion (about 200gm), very thinly sliced
1 & 1/2 tablespoons kitchen salt
1/4 cup hot water

Pickling Liquid
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chopped dill
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

Method
- Slice cucumbers very thinly,
- Mix cucumber & onion together in a mixing bowl,
- Dissolve salt & hot water in a saucepan over medium heat stirring with a wooden spoon until all salt is dissolved,
- Pour this salt & water mixture over the cucumber & onion mix. Mix though & leave for 3 hours.

- Tip cucumber & onion into a colander resting over a plate or bowl, press with the back of a large spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

- Mix all ingredients for the pickling liquid in a saucepan & bring to simmer over a medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved,
- Tip onion & cucumber into pickling liquid and simmer for 2-3 minutes stirring once or twice
- Remove from heat & leave to cool in the saucepan,
- Spoon or ladle into sterilised jars, ensuring cucumber mixture is covered with pickling liquid.
- Seal, date & label the pickle.

from Kitchen Garden Companion by Stephanie Alexander

Butter beans are going great for me. From seed they grew very quickly and producing beans. Purple climbers shot out of the ground at the same time and have grown well but very slow at producing beans.

Cucumbers that I planted from seed are doing very little. Actually still the two leaf stage I think and they were planted at the same time as the beans.