[DIYbio] Re: Gram Staining Problems

I am entirely self-trained.  I am trying to do a gram stain from a vegetable fermentation (I have done sauerkraut and cucumber).  From what I understand, the bacteria from a vegetable ferment should be almost all lactobacilli, which are mostly gram-positive.  However, every time I do a gram staining procedure against either one, it comes out gram-negative.  Does anyone have any tips to share?

The photo is below.  I am assuming that this is actually bacteria that is in the photo:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-zu5qfA3muGdmU5b0NnWk5GVW8/view?usp=sharing

My procedure (I am doing this on a table with a plastic container for a drain/sink):

• Put on 2-3 drops of liquid from fermentation
• Let it dry
• Heat fix with butane lighter (3 passes)
• Apply a few drops of crystal violet and wait 1 minute (NOTE - I don't know if this is unusual, but my crystal violet dries out about halfway through the minute).
• Wash off crystal violet with water.
• Apply several drops of iodine and wait 1 minute
• Wash off iodine with water
• Apply a few drops of ethyl alcohol and immediately rinse off
• Apply a few drops of Safranin O and wait 1 minute
• Wash off Safranin O with water
• Dry reverse side of slide, add a drop to the top, and add a cover slip
• View using 40x objective

Originally I thought that the alcohol was staying on too long.  That is still entirely possible but I am getting it washed off as quickly as I can.  Then I thought that maybe my sauerkraut just happened to have a gram-negative bacteria (maybe Pseudomonas fluorescens or something).  But when it was also happening with my cucumbers I figured it is probably not that.  

Anyway, I am very frustrated, and any help is appreciated.

Jon