Hello to All,
Back in February there was some discussion of herbal garden sprays.
In a post (Re: Herbal Garden Sprays on 2/17/07), Keith gave his recipe for
Compost Tea.
(I took some liberties with the ingredients/measurements. see below **)
I filtered the compost tea through fiberglass screen into a 5 gallon
(19L) buckets and used a submersible pump to pump it through a 50 foot garden
hose with a nozzle on the end. It pumped about 1.5 gallons/min.
The pump cost me about $30 (US) a few years ago. I had to experiment with
different nozzles and was able to get an acceptable spray.
Last year there was some discussion about fertilizing lawns organically.
Yesterday I sprayed the lawn on the side, back and front of my house with the
compost tea I had concocted. Almost 24 hours later it is not only still alive,
but greening nicely in the spring sun.
** Recipe I used:
I used water from the first and second washes (BD) (I use KOH for my
caustic; small amount of phosphoric acid in the first wash) + some well water
to give about 40 gal liquid. I added approximately 4 - 6L of the glycerin
cocktail to the 40+ gal of liquid. To this I added about 5 shovelfuls of good
compost and some garden soil. This was stirred and then aerated in a 55 gal
plastic barrel (no top) and then allowed to settle for a few hours.)
This may turn out to be a good way to use wash water; especially when it
contains Potassium and Phosphorus ... important plant nutrients. Last year I
found that the glycerine cocktail not only composts well, but seemed to
accelerate decomposition (higher temps, quicker). There is additional Potassium
in the cocktail. I will keep an eye on the pH of the tea especially when using
on garden plants.
Small, very lightweight submersible pump .... will also pump water out
of basements should the need arise.
Tom
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