Picture Update

Just thought I'd share some highlights from the garden this week. 

Late cucumbers are better than none at all.

Jalapenos ripening up

Strawberries on the way.

Heads have appeared!

Chile peppers

Tassels

Catnip

Compost Tea: A Gardener's Best Friend

I just thought I'd share a good compost tea recipe for those of you who might be interested in putting the information to good use. It's easy to make, its easy to apply (you can even dilute your initial batch heavily since you won't microbial life instead of liquid nutrients), and it works wonders on plants. It can applied as a foliar spray, a soil drench, or it can be strained and used in a pump sprayer. If applied as a foliar spray, one should wait until the sun is down and the plants are in shade, as the microbial life cannot withstand direct sunlight and high temperatures.

Here's a simple recipe and "how to" for a 5 gallon batch. Everything that is not listed as optional is an absolute must.

• 5 gallon water: • reverse osmosis (RO) water, rain
water, distilled, etc
• 5 teaspoon unsulfured black strap molasses:        
Be sure to use only the unsulfured
variety. This is because sulfur kills microlife, especially
fungus (unless it's elemental sulfur in very
small ratios).
·5 teaspoon liquid fish fertilizer (2-3-1) (optional):
Fungus and bacteria both love fish ferts and go nuts
reproducing when it's included.
• 5 cup earthworm castings (vermicompost) or
good outdoor compost: Vermicompost provides
humates, enzymes, protozoa, nematodes, bacteria, fungus,
trace elements, secondary and primary nutrients.
• 5 teaspoon kelp meal (optional)

This recipe should suffice for most vegetable gardeners as it will foster high bacteria populations. Most, if not all, vegetables prefer a bacterially dominated soil and will always respond kindly to a helping of compost tea.

Step 1:

Worm castings and compost not shown.

Gather materials-- bucket, air pump (a 10+ gallon aquarium pump will do), tubing, air stone, worm castings or compost, and any other amendments you may want to add.


Step 2:
Add everything and give it a good stir.

Step 3:
Aerate for 24 to 48 hours stirring every once in a while.
 
 

Rain!

Rain is a relatively simple phenomenon that many people take for granted. However, I'd be willing to bet every gardener/farmer in the area does a rain dance every morning in an attempt to better their odds . Yes, rain showers in Illinois have been few and far between lately, and that's why it's imperative to cash in on these occasions. Collected rain affords the organic gardener a plentiful supply of chlorine-free* water that can be used for making compost teas and normal waterings. I'm happy that I finally got a rain barrel hooked up so I could reap the benefits of the momentous occasion.

I'll post some compost tea recipes and perhaps a little "how to" in the near future. For now, I rest.

*Chlorine kills the microbes present in compost (and soil) and inhibits them from multiplying.

50 gallons of overflowing goodness