Particles; My Style.

I find particle preparation spans a weekend perfectly.

Step 1. Friday night. Slightly wobbly. Take an empty gorilla tub.

Step 2. Fill it a quarter full of hemp seed.

Step 3. Fill it up to half full with pigeon conditioner.

 

 

 

 

 

 Step 4. Add water so the seeds are covered and give it a stir.

 Step 5. Leave the seeds to soak for a t least twenty four hours. Add more water to keep them covered if necessary.

 Step 6. Light a fire. I use a fire pit of brick construction which attracts no end of ribbing from my dad as I didn't use cement when putting it together. I maintain it is ultimately flexible.

Kindling and fire lighter.

Executive fire pit.

The bricks are interwoven and stacked in a 'U' shape but I brick up the front as I find this concentrates the heat from the fire.  

I have a steel grid, like that used in reinforced cement, suspended on four metal pins to provide a rest for the pot.

Step 7. Fill a large stock pot with mixed particles and put over the fire.

 Step 8. Two essential bits of kit. Fireproof welding gloves to move the hot pot, and a trowel to stir the mixture.

 

I have wood.

When there's a fire on the boy's never far away.

Within twenty minutes of lighting up the pan is boiling.

Step 9. After another twenty minutes boiling the hemp is split and the seeds are done.

Step 10. Once cooked I transfer the seeds into a large container with a lid and drain off the excess liquor. The liquor is sweet and sticky and I collect it in a smaller pot.

Collect the liquor.

Step 11. I add the hot drained liquor to the second pot of seeds and they come to the boil quickly over the now roaring fire.

Step 12. I repeat the boiling and draining for the second lot of seeds then put the liquor back on the heat to reduce down. This lovely nutty smelling sticky sweet liquid is put into an old lemonade bottle and frozen until needed. Whenever I defrost some seeds I give them a glug of this liquor.

Step 13. Bag up the seeds. A two pan boil up like this sees me through the first half of the summer. I leave the bags on the lawn overnight to cool before putting them in my bait freezer. I've a night session planned in the coming week hence the large carrier bag. Normally the seeds make six to eight freezer bags full.

How much would thirty litres of particles cost in the shops?

Cheers.