Keep it Simple Garden Tea or Liquid Fertiliser Recipe
A liquid fertiliser can be instantly absorbed by a plant when sprayed onto its leaves. Do this weekly as an instant boost to plant growth and to prevent disease. If possible spray either early in the morning or later afternoon when the plant’s stomata are open allowing the fertiliser to enter the plant’s system more easily. (On a plant stomata are similar to human pores.)
Just follow these easy steps to brew your own:
Equipment
1 hessian sack or large onion bag.
Some string to tie neck of bag.
A large barrel or a black or dark coloured 40 litre plastic container with a well-fitting lid.
Note if you use plastic drill some small holes into the lid to allow it to breathe.
A couple of bricks or similar sized garden rocks.
Now when the tea has been made and is ready you can simply ladle it out of the container into a watering can but the job can be made much easier and less smelly if you take the time to organise a plastic tap to be fitted to the bottom of the barrel or container then before filling place the barrel onto some breeze blocks or a higher surface so you can simply place the watering can under the tap. Experiment with the barrel and watering can you will use before you begin.
Store the container away from the house and any recreational areas or outdoor entertaining areas as it will be a bit smelly.
Note the above is for school and larger gardens so if you just have a small container garden with plants mainly in pots you can do the same with just a 10 litre container (large bucket) and a smaller onion bag or old hessian shopping bag.
INGREDIENTS for your garden tea:
Any of the following that you have available
- Horse-dung, cow-pats or sheep/goat/deer/rabbit pellets
- Chicken or pig manure.
- Seaweed
- Any homemade compost
- Garden weeds like nettle, chickweed, dandelion, thistles, cleavers, fat-hen
- Comfrey leaves and/or borage
- Any herb cuttings
- Fish-heads, tails and skins, crayfish and kina outer skeletons, mussel and other shellfish shells.
- Old dog bones and other fairly clean meat bones.
Don’t worry about the ratios of ingredients just throw what you have into the sack and tie the top of the sack firmly.
Place the sack into the container or barrel.
Fill the barrel/container with water and put the lid on firmly even weighing the lid down with the bricks or rocks. Keep the air holes clear on the plastic container.
Leave for 21 days and if you do not have a tap wear a standard face mask when you lift the lid as it will be smelly.
Fill the watering can with what should look like weak black tea. If really dark in colour simply dilute with water before spraying or pouring onto the plants. Try to pour onto the leaves as much as possible.
Refill the barrel/container one more time and leave for another 3 weeks. After the sack of ingredients has been used twice tip them out onto the garden and use as mulch especially around the bottom of fruit trees.
Start again this time perhaps with a slightly different variety of ingredients.
You can of course start a barrel or container off each week so you always have liquid fertiliser available.
Like you your garden will love its’ regular cuppa!
Sit back and watch your garden grow.
The Kitchen Garden Gnome.
