One of the biggest excitements for me this year is the 72 calendula plants! I have big plans for tinctures and salves with these babies! They are really taking off and will need to go in little pots soon.
Mr. B. has also been whipping up some compost tea for the garden! What's compost tea, you ask? Well, it's compost (we make our own) soaked in water to make a nutrient rich, organic fertilizer and pesticide for your garden - with no chemicals!
Mr. B. was kind enough to write out some instructions for anyone who might be interested:
Brewed Tea (the "I don't mind paying for it" way)
Stuff you need:
- 1 fish tank air pump
= $10 - $12
- 6' plastic tubing
= $2
- 1 bubble stone = $5
- 1 five gallon bucket = free (Note: Restaurants get food in 4 and 5 gallon bucket; if you can't get one from the diner, hardware stores have them for about $4. DO NOT use a bucket that had building materials or chemicals in them.)
- 1 old sock, stocking or cheese cloth = free
- Compost
= free
- Molasses = $4 ( but you get more than one use from it)
(Fish tank air pump, plastic tubing, bubble stone)
Total if you have to pay for everything = $25
* A one time purchase of fertilizer and pesticide would also cost about $25. The brewing kit will last for many seasons if cared for.
Brewing Instructions:
1. Fill bucket 3/4 to the top with water
2. Connect bubble stone to air pump with tubing and place in water
3. Leave for one hour to bubble off chlorine
4. Place a sock full of compost in bucket
5. Add 2 oz of molasses
6. When tea is foamy and smells"earthy", its ready ( 24-36 hours )
7. Apply immediately as a soil drench and spray on leaves
Steeped Tea ( the "I don't want to pay for any thing way")
Stuff you need:
- 1 five gallon bucket ( see above) = free
- 1 old sock, stocking or cheese cloth = free
- 1 sock full of compost = free
Steeping Instructions:
1. Fill 5 gallon bucket 3/4 with water
2. Let stand 24 hours to in sun to cook of chlorine
3. Toss in compost tea bag
4. Let steep 12-24 hours
5. Apply immediately as a soil drench and spray on leaves
It's cheap, easy and organic. It is a substitute for pesticide and fertilizer.
(PS brewed is a lot better!)
If you'd like to see more about compost tea, here's a great video about it! (If you want to skip the giant veggie part and get right to the tea, fast forward to about 3:41 in the video.)
6 Comments:
Ooo, I'd LOVE to try growing calendula this year. And thanks for the compost tea instructions. All looks great!
P.S. Sorry about your rabbit. But how blessed he was to live such a long life with such a loving family.
You are ahead of my wife. She just got hers planted yesterday.
A most AWESOME blog, Mrs. B! I loved your compost tea recipes! As a fellow plant/gardening lover, I am thrilled to see your calendula! Such healthy seedlings!!
Happy Gardening!
Kallan
2oz molasses for less than five gallons tea is much to much. also compost if made with manure especially should have been over 132 F for 2 plus weeks and turned five times moving the cooler outer edges of the pile to the hot center. otherwise one could end up brewing human pathogens
That's A LOTTA calendula! Wow! :D
As for liquid manure ... I generally don't feed my seedlings, not until they get several true leaves on their own. The seed itself holds the vital nutrition to get the little buggers goin'. And when they reach that point of their true leaves it's generally getting warm enough outdoors during the days to steep comfrey leaves and assorted "weeds" in my free black nursery containers right out in the sun. It may take a couple extra days in the cooler weather ... but it's the simplest method I know of (so far) ... and truly Green to boot! I do this all summer long to feed my growing babies.
Green, thanks! Ig did have a nice, long life. We miss him.
Travis, we get the spring fever, lol! Had to start something green.
Kallan, thank you! I'm very excited about the calendula!
Patryk, there are a lot of recipes for tea with various amounts of molasses. This is the one we've used for years, and it's similar to the one found here:
http://www.newportrestoration.org/writable/resources/compost_tea_recipe_3__miles__rp.pdf
As for our own compost, we don't use any manure in it at all. We're also very careful to care for it in all the safe and healthy ways.
Rose, that is a lot of calendula, lol!
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