I first tried making my own starter in Feb but after a full month & more, it was just sitting there staring at me. I dumped it before leaving for a weekend. When I returned home, I mixed a new batch. After searching for more info online, I found a site suggesting using pineapple juice. I went to the site of the originator of that idea & found scientific info about needing an acid mix to grow yeast. Several years ago I had tested our water while testing garden soil & found that it had an 8.0 pH. No wonder my poor little yeasts didn't develop The mix couldn't get down to 4.0 or so pH. I started using bottled orange juice (which I had on hand) instead of water. Now, if left on the counter, it wants to be fed about every 4 hrs. I named it "Audrey" from "Little Shop of Horrors" because it's always hungry. I wish more sites said something about this. There's lots of sites telling what to do if nothing is happening, but I couldn't find one that said "TEST THE pH OF YOUR WATER."

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