Incredible organic gardening tip

A friend of mine has an aunt who lives out in the country.
This woman has a garden which produces green and red bell peppers
that are monstrous! Whatever she grows...it's the best I've ever seen!

I know she is into organic, 100% chemical-free gardening. I asked her the secret. She said make
traditional compost and lots of it with leaves and grass, and then make "tea" for the plants.
The "tea" is her big "secret weapon".

The only thing she does different than the guy in the video, is she hooks up a length of plastic
tubing to a little aquarium pump, with a little air stone bubbler , and sticks the bubbler in the bucket.
(You can buy that stuff at any pet shop that sells aquarium supplies)
The aeration makes the stuff super-rich. It's like plant steroids.
The veggies are also super-nutritious, as they are loaded with minerals they absorb from the tea.

My browser sometimes corrupts YouTube direct links, so here's the url:

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by lw2525


Wow, thanks for the great tip! Star and Flag!
I'm going to try that some time.
Do you have any idea on how long that tea keeps?
Lets say I wanted to make a ton of it and store it for latter use, If I made several five gallon buckets, would I need to keep adding hydrogen peroxcide or is the amount in there enough to keep it from going bad?

-Jimmy

reply to post by jimmyjackblack


I would think the peroxide would keep it from going bad so it will last a while. BUT... As for storing it... probably not a good idea. She did say that for the greatest benefit to the plants, you want to give it to them when the microorganisms are peaking. Appying it within 5-6 days works best. That's when the microorganism cultures are heaviest.
The helpful microorganisms start to die off as the tea sits. Also, you're not
agitating it and aerating it if it's in storage, so it will probably lose it's potency.

Ive never heard of anything like this before.
WOW THANKS!!!
I grow a garden every year.......I am 45 and feel like I know what I am doing in a garden but this is a wonderful influx of fresh information!!!
This has my brain all a bubble with how to start doing this myself.

THANKS!

This year in my ALL ORGANIC garden my vedgies are sad, puny and withered looking and my tomato plants that usually are so prolific are small and straggly I have not had any clue why I am having such a lame harvest year.

reply to post by theRiverGoddess


Our garden is weak this year too. Nowhere near the yield we normally have.
It's mainly due to excessive rainfall.
I'm making the compost tea this week. Anxious to see what it does for my
plants!

Wow! Thanks for the great tip! I've never seen those bags before, but I bet burlap'd do the job. Excellent thread.

The compost tea is a preventative against disease and actually enhances growth of the plants. You can do this when you are planting, and definitely about once a month in your garden.

How to make compost tea

I learned how to make it in my permaculture class this past spring. Essentially you take composted material, put it in a sock, and let is soak in a 5 gallon bucket of water. You need to pump air into the mixture because you want aerobic bacteria breaking down the compost.

If the compost tea turns anaerobic, dump it out. You don't want to use it on your plants.

If you have any other questions, ask away.

Here's a better site than the one above: brewing compost tea

[edit on 7/16/2008 by biggie smalls]

Wow, that is very interesting! It gives me ideas about Marijuana stem tea for watering! :lol!

The part I dont understand is adding the hydrogen peroxide. He specifically mentions beneficial bacteria in the compost, etc, and yet he adds something that is known to kill beneficial bacteria. I am a gardener myself, and as the OP mentioned I also use airstones for aeration. I also use organic additives that add beneficial bacteria for strong, vigorous root growth. The thing is if I add peroxide it kills that good bacteria. I just doesn't make sense to me.

reply to post by Sanitys Last Day


The peroxide is an oxygen stimulator. Small amounts can be extremely
beneficial to plants. Although he used a cup. which seems to be a lot in
this case.

A link on here using peroxide with plants.
www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com...



[edit on 17-7-2008 by lw2525]

[edit on 17-7-2008 by lw2525]

Originally posted by lw2525
reply to post by Sanitys Last Day

 

The peroxide is an oxygen stimulator. Small amounts can be extremely
beneficial to plants. Although he used a cup. which seems to be a lot in
this case.
[edit on 17-7-2008 by lw2525]

I understand that peroxide is an oxygen stimulator, but airstones are MUCH better for this. The type of gardening I do is aeroponics which revolves around oxygenating the water used for the plants. No matter how much you put in it will still kill some of the beneficial bacteria. I would certainly use moderate amounts of peroxide provided that I didnt add the beneficial bacteria. Oh well. To each their own I suppose.

AWESOME Post. My garden yeald is nothing this year. I'm going to get my supplies and make some tea right NOW! I'll post my results. Also, I've been told that Epsom Salt is grrreat for the garden too. I'm going to try that as well.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) is also excellent for plants. A little pinch in a watering can is all you really need.

I have a video and will try to make an excerpt of it, of what they did during Victorian times of gardening at the "big houses" of England. The show is Victorian Kitchen and Garden. It's very informative.

The guy put fresh manure into burlap sack and then submerged it into a big container of water, let it sit for a couple of days and then used the "tea" to water the plants. He had a super idea for a natural fungicide also, which required a copper kettle. I'll have to dig up the video and chop it so everyone can see what he did.

I've also heard of comfrey tea, which can provide ash which some plants need.

Egg shells also good for calcium loving plants like cabbage, broccoli and tomatoes.

Plus you can make your own compost.

Tannic acid and aeration aren't really secrets. You guys crack me up.

Would peeing in the manure-tea-bucket increase the potency of the mix? as urine makes for an excellent liquid fertilizer in its own right, or would it be too much of a concentration and burn the plants?

[edit on 21-7-2008 by citizen smith]

citizen smith,

Pee has too much salt in it. bad idea. The teas work great. Use guano if you can afford it. or use kelp meal and use that in any form. airation is also a good idea.