How to Make Your Own Fertilizer Tea and Use It

How to Make Your Own Fertilizer Tea and Use It

To have a thriving vegetable or flower garden, most plants require a little boost during the growing season. This is partly due to a lack of nutrients and microbes in the soil and also that many plants are actually heavy feeders, requiring some form of fertilizer to do their best

While there are many synthetic fertilizers on the market that will help your plants produce a robust crop or large flowers, they do nothing to help develop the long term health of the soil. One way to give your plants the nitrogen boost they need and also contribute to the health of your soil is to use a manure tea. Almost any plant in your garden, including container plantings, will benefit from a dose of organic fertilizer tea.

There are a few different ways to make this tea - a popular one uses livestock manure. It is recommended that you not use manure tea on root crops such as carrots, turnips, radishes, beets or potatoes. These crops require more potassium than they do nitrogen. While this would result in really pretty top growth, it will not do much for root growth.

How to make manure tea

There are a number of different types of manure that you can use to make manure tea. These include cow, goat, horse and poultry. It is imperative that you never use manure from carnivores such as dogs and cats as these contain pathogens that may cause sickness. If you live in an area where there are a lot of livestock, it should not be difficult for you to find some fresh manure. You can also purchase manure from your local garden shop if necessary. Two methods are commonly used to make manure tea:
Bucket Method

1.      Fill a 5-gallon bucket two-thirds of the way full with water.

2.      Add enough fresh manure to fill the bucket the rest of the way.

3.      Allow this to steep for two days. Stir twice a day.

4.      After steeping, allow the solid material to settle to the bottom of the bucket - this may take an hour or so. Do not stir.

5.      Pour the liquid into another container for use.

6.      Put the solid manure in your compost pile.

Bag Method

Fill an old feedsack or pillowcase with manure and place it in a 5-gallon bucket. Use the same proportions that are used with the bucket method - 1/3 manure to 2/3 water.
Allow the bag of manure to steep for two days.
When you are ready to use the fertilizer tea, simply lift the bag out of the manure.
Allow all of the liquid to drain off and add the manure to your compost pile.

Using the Manure Tea

It is important to dilute the manure tea before using it - otherwise it will be too strong for most plants. Use your eye as a guide to how much water to add to the tea. Generally, you want it to be the color of very weak tea. You can use this tea once a week, or as needed. Just pour around the base of each plant, directly into the soil.
Worm Castings Tea Another way to make a great fertilizer tea is to use worm castings. This is often referred to as vermicompost tea. Instead of using animal manure to make your fertilizer tea, you use worm castings, or worm poop. This tea will provide a hearty boost of nutrients and microbes for your growing plants.

1.      Cut a pair of panyhose in half. Thsi will be your makeshift tea bag.

2.      Fill the tea bag with worm castings and tie at the top.

3.      Place the bag in water - be sure it is submerged.

4.      Let it steep overnight - it should be light brown. For best results, use the fertilizer tea immediately on home and garden plants.

5.      You can put the tea in a spray bottle and spray the whole plant once a week. This tea is also safe for seedlings and young plants.

6.      Place the worm castings in your compost bin.

Start saving money today by making your own nutrient-dense fertilizer for your plants - they will reward you with vibrancy!

 

HOW TO HARDEN OFF SEEDLINGS

HOW TO HARDEN OFF SEEDLINGS

 

Prevent transplant stress and grow strong, healthy plants from seeds using a technique called hardening to transition them to the garden.

 

Growing plants from seeds is fun and economical, but rushing baby plants into the garden as soon as it's spring is a ticket to failure. Coddled seedlings, kept indoors under steady light and soothing temperatures, suddenly find themselves flailing about in high winds, pounded by relentless sun, and thirsting for a drink after a few hours. Moving seedlings into the garden without acclimating them can stunt their growth or even kill them. The solution is a simple process called hardening or hardening off plants, which helps them adjust their internal resources to deal with the external world they'll face in the garden.

 

Why Harden Off Plants?

Plants grown from seed develop under constant, regulated, and perfect environmental conditions. Whether plants are grown on a sunny windowsill or under artificial lights, they never face the same conditions as they do outdoors. They develop fewer chloroplasts, the specialized cells that convert light into food; they are weaker than their outdoor cousins. In order to reduce transplant shock and help coddled seedlings transition into the outdoor garden, a process called hardening gradually exposes them to the natural environment, where fluctuating temperature, wind, and light stress even the hardiest plants.

 

How to Harden Seedlings

Hardening plants isn't difficult. Consistency and patience are the keys to proper hardening of plants.

 

Start the hardening off process at least two weeks before you intend to plant the seedlings in the garden. In most areas, this is on or about the 'frost free' date for your gardening zone. This is the annual date of the last frost for your part of the world, but it may not be the exact frost-free date for a given year. Use this date to approximate the dates for starting, hardening and transplanting your seedlings.

 

Seedlings should have at least two sets of leaves before hardening off. Choose a spot outdoors that's partially shaded; a deck, patio or spot near the driveway or walkway are perfect. Move the flats of seedlings outdoors during the day, and bring them indoors at night. Begin by moving them into a shady location and gradually move them into brighter and brighter light each day if you can. Don't let the seedlings dry out completely, but reduce the frequency of watering while hardening off plants.

 

A cold frame is perfect for hardening off many types of seedlings. Be sure you prop open the glass lid of a cold frame during the day to prevent accidently "cooking" your seedlings. Cold frames in the spring can get very hot inside on warm days.

 

Do not harden plants for more than two weeks. The process slows growth, but if continued to an extreme, it can stop growth entirely and weaken plants.

 

When to Transplant Seedlings

Seedlings should be ready to transplant directly into the garden after the hardening process is done. Transplant them on a shady day, in the early morning or late afternoon to prevent transplant stress. Use a spoon to dig tiny plants out of seed starting trays. If you accidently grew a clump of plants in one tiny cell of the tray, dig out the clump with your spoon and allow the seedlings to fall apart on their own once they're out of the tray. Grasp them gently and avoid damaging the roots. Plant each in its own container or spot in the garden.

After transplanting, water your new seedlings well, and make sure they are well-watered until you see new growth. Avoid fertilizing them immediately after transplanting, as too much fertilizer can actually damage young, tender plants.

 

Cleaning Seed Trays

Before putting away your seed starting trays for the season, take a few minutes to clean and sterilize them so they're ready for next year's garden. Rinse them outdoors, using a clean scrub brush to clear away dirt and debris. Soak empty trays in a solution of 1/4 cup of household bleach to 1 gallon of water for ten minutes, then remove and rinse thoroughly before storing them.

 

Successful Transplanting

In a few days or weeks after transplanting seedlings, you should notice a change in the young plants. The stems grow stronger. The leaves darken, taking on the green hue common among plants started outdoors. Soon, new sets of leaves emerge, and you're well on your way to a successful garden.

Gardening with Bearded Iris

Gardening with Bearded Iris: Spring Clean up, Fertilizing Irises, and Iris Borer Control

 

You look out at your iris bed this week and see – not much! My bearded irises are looking pretty dormant. The bed’s main feature is the collection of zinc markers rising up like little headstones in a cemetery. You wouldn’t think the iris garden needs any attention this month. But now is the perfect time to get your irises set for a season of gorgeous blooms and healthy plants!

 

Early spring is the time for three important tasks in the iris garden: cleanup, fertilizing, and borer control. Clear away any winter mulch, old leaves, and miscellaneous debris from your bearded irises. Test the soil, and apply a granular fertilizer for better blooms and more vigorous growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take steps to control the dreaded iris borer (Macronoctua onusta), if present in your area, at its most vulnerable time of the year.

 

Clean up: when, what, and why?

If you've put Christmas tree branches, straw, or anything else on your bearded irises to prevent heaving during freeze-thaw cycles, clear it away. Any kind of mulch around the rhizomes during spring rains may lead to rot. Floppy leaves and debris can also harbor leaf-munching slugs. Some gardeners trim their iris foliage after the first hard fall freeze. Others leave old green leaves in place to provide a little winter protection and continue feeding the rhizome on mild days. Cleanup is also important for borer control.

 

When temperatures warm to 21°C in spring, borer eggs hatch. Larvae burrow into the leaves. In midsummer, they migrate down to the rhizome. That's when the real trouble begins. Tiny borer larvae become fat grubs that can badly damage entire stands of irises before pupating and emerging as egg-laying moths in fall. Never compost iris leaves. Throw them away as you would any potentially diseased plant material.

 

Some suggest removing only dead or dying foliage to eliminate most of the iris borer eggs that may be present.  When gardening within the borer's range (regardless of whether or not borers have been identified in your particular garden), any foliage which was not removed in fall should be removed all the way down to the rhizome before active growth begins in the spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you clean up around your bearded irises, you may notice that some of the rhizomes have heaved right up out of the ground during winter freeze-thaw cycles. There's no need for alarm. Give the rhizome a squeeze to see if it still feels firm and healthy, then just shove it back into place.

 

Occasionally, you may find a rhizome that has developed smelly soft rot over the winter. If some part of the rhizome remains firm, you can try to salvage it. Either cut off the soft portion, dip the rhizome in a bleach solution, and replant it Or, treat it in place by scraping off all soft areas until only potato-like firm rhizome remains, then sprinkle copper or antibacterial powder or a cleanser. Widespread rot can be an indication of borer damage.

 

To fertilize, or not to fertilize?

Many gardeners fertilize their bearded irises in early spring for a fabulous show of summer blooms, using a "bloom booster" product with a high middle number in its N-P-K ratio. However, the only thing irises may resent more than underfeeding is overfeeding. "First, do no harm!" Before applying any fertilizer to your garden, do a soil test to discover what your plants actually need.

 

Your soil test may also reveal a need to correct pH or add trace minerals, so you'll be checking for more than just the need to boost phosphate levels. If you do decide your irises need to be fertilized, granular fertilizers should be applied about six weeks before bloom time.

 

What else can I do to control borers?

If you live in an area where iris borers are a problem, you may wish to practice prevention beyond spring cleanup. Just as irises are breaking winter dormancy, you could apply a granular grub control product containing imidacloprid , also known as Merit. This same systemic insecticide is used in Advantage flea and tick control products. Bayer Advanced Lawn Season-Long Grub Control, and Scotts Grub-X are brands containing imidacloprid. Check the labels to make sure the product contains at least 0.2% imidacloprid.

 

 

 

 

 

It's important to get the product down before warm weather arrives, as imidacloprid is only effective against newly hatched borers. The granular form can be applied directly around each clump (1/2 to 1 teaspoon per clump) and watered in. Imidacloprid is also available as a wettable powder for spray application.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use one form or the other, not both, as double dosing could damage your plants. Follow directions and precautions on the product label.

 

Broad spectrum pesticides may be useful to kill borers present in iris foliage in early to mid summer. Spectracide Triacizide 6 weeks after applying imidacloprid to her irises. She says it also helps against wireworms, Japanese beetles, and other pests.

 

Organic alternatives may also be effective and are becoming more important as concerns are raised about potential groundwater contamination and about the possible effects of pesticides on dwindling honeybee populations. There have been promising studies of treatment with beneficial nematodes. Iris borer larvae can even be eliminated effectively, if tediously, from the foliage during the summer months. Flattening each leaf carefully between your fingers should squash any borer larvae within.

 

Is it time for summer blooms yet?

It's more fun to work among your bearded irises when they're blooming madly. But the time you spend now cleaning up, fertilizing, and taking steps to prevent and control iris borers will pay off tenfold in just a few weeks.