Sundews are coming up in thick, glittery mats, and it makes me want cheese. Ever since I heard the digestive enzymes in the dew can be used as a rennet substitute, I've had a mission. Sometimes I'm slow with my missions (killed all of last year's experiment before it ever touched milk), but when I latch on like this, I never give up. I hear vegetable cheeses can be a bit bitter, but I eat dandelions, so I'm cool with that.
omg, but i LOVE cheese... googling this now, pls share source if handy
@fernfren I have no real source, I heard a mention during research for the coloring book (I still giggle at the thought of researching for a coloring book), so I dug around and found a few descriptions, but it was a hunt and I didn't save the links. I found it was usually D. intermedia and D. rotundifolia, as it was an English thing. They would line baskets with the leaves and pour milk over it. I checked for toxic sundews to see if I could try other kinds, found none, in fact...
@fernfren Last year I had a plastic shoebox, thinking the cover could come in handy when I want to keep bugs out, full of these little mesh pots, but the year was full of mishaps from lights burning out when I couldn't afford more to the time I didn't keep a close enough eye on my water filter and the minerals got too high. This is all that's left, I transplanted the stragglers and these survived the transplant. So, won't entirely be starting from the new seedlings, but close.
@tippitiwichet hunh...they lined baskets-- it sounds like it would take a LOT of sundews-- any idea of the dew to milk ratio needed? am not understanding how you will keep soil out of the milk in the procedure you're describing, but i fully support your experimentation and will wait for updates!!
@fernfren they are medicinal, so cool. Anyway, I don't want to kill the slow growing sundews I have, I kill them on accident all the time so on purpose would be a bit much for me. So I'm going to try growing them in little pots that I can tip to the side (using seeds from these), I can wash the bugs off in a stream of water, let the dew come back under a dome, and then do it again with a cup of milk. I can catch the milk to pour over it again until I get all the dew. That's the plan, anyway.