The Green Lady Thing

I am often asked how I keep my plants so healthy and how I control the pest.

The truth is if your plants are healthy they can defend themselves. That makes a lot less work for me.

My secret weapon is Composted Manure tea.

I happen to have horses, pigs, chickens and a Steer, so I have more manure than I need. I have experimented with several different ways and receipts. The method I use is something I came up with on my own because of what I had on hand. I suggest you start with what you have before you run out and buy something. Remember being GREEN should cost you less, not more. Well composted organic material from your garden also works. At last resort you could buy some compost.

I use a pillow case as my tea bag. Because I do this often I need to buy then, at the thrift stores or Garage sales. I usually buy the ugliest one I can find that way I leave the pretty ones for someone that wants to use it for their pillow. I fill the bag with composted manure and tie it shut with the string from the hay bails. I have an old 55 gallon steel drum with a lid that I put it in. Leave the string hanging out and then fill it up with water. I let it “steep” for a few days to a week. If you do not have a steel drum, use a trash can that can hold the weight of the water or make a smaller batch in a 5 gallon bucket.

I fill a 5 gallon bucket with the tea and put it next to the faucet my hose is connected to. I use a siphon Mixer, it connects directly to a hose bib and the vacuum action siphons the tea at a 1:16 gallon ratio as I water. When that bucket is gone I refill it and move it and the siphon mixer to the next faucet. If I do not use up all the tea I made it stores well in the covered barrel. I found my siphon mixer on eBay for $17.95.

We have all heard that you should not drink from a garden hose; this method gives you another reason not to drink from your garden hose.

Benefits of Manure tea

Manure tea works like a steroid, without the negative effects, it will strengthen the health of your plants and a strong healthy plant can fight off pest and diseases. Pest and disease look for weak plants to attack, if yours are strong and healthy they will move on to our neighbors. Along with making you plants healthier it will also make them more productive. I like to use it as a foliage feeder to cover the entire plant and also apply directly to the soil. Evidence suggest and I believe this is what keeps away the pest and disease. It’s a snap to make. And not to worry: if you use well-cured manure there’s no unpleasant odor.

Manure tea is primarily nitrogen, which encourages leaf growth at the expense of flowers, so when plants are ready to set flowers or vegetables back off the tea. On things that do not flower, like grass, ferns, Palms and non flowering trees etc… use throughout the growing season. I also suggest using manure tea very diluted as not to burn the leaves. When in doubt – dilute. You can always repeat the application over and over again. The best part of using manure tea is that it has the nutrients and enzymes your plants need without damaging the nutrients, organisms, earthworms and other inhabitants already present. The benefits to the soil carry over year after year.

There are as many different recipes and ways to make manure teas as there are sites on the web, I have tried several.

Manure tea helps both present and future garden plants. It carries immediate nutrients to the plants presently growing in the garden. It also enriches the soil as it continues to decompose, leaving the garden in better shape for the next crop to be planted. This is a form of soil amendment that doesn’t have to wait until after the current crop has been harvested. It starts working on next season’s crops while it is helping the current season to produce as bountifully as possible. It’s not often you find a fertilizer that does such easy double duty.

Manure tea is a great source of macro and micro nutrients and valuable enzymes. It contributes those to the plants it feeds and leaves a supply behind in the soil for the plants to follow. At the same time, unlike many inorganic fertilizers, it does no damage to the nutrients and organisms already present. It builds a healthier soil without damaging the environment of the earthworms and other natural inhabitants of the garden. It becomes a healthy part of the garden cycle, giving benefits that will carry through from year to year without creating conditions that will lead to an imbalance in the natural health that every gardener tries to build into their soil. Any plants that live in that garden, now or later, can only thrive and shine in that kind of environment

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