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Ga.

Anyone ever chose to make this? If you have,,what did you add and do you put in a shaded area,,or can you leave in sun? Got a concocoction brewing,,need to know if leaving in sun is a no no...Thanks,,,

4/26/2003 2:46:32 PM

Montoursville, PA

Jeff.....I swear I have no special method but I do! Starts with as couple forks full of manure in a burlap tea bag. This gets more or less tossed over the edge of a barrel just like a tea bag in a cup. To this a bit of kelp, a bit of fish and a little of this and that like blood meal, bone meal and meat meal. Yes it will cook and it may smell. This calls for hand fulls of lime. If it gets to wild I get it into the compost pile or garden and start another. Presently I have a second hand fish tank bubbler adding oxygen. The canoe paddle is my stir stick. I can not let it get to wild because of close neighbors. Likewise I can no longer use ground up fresh fish.

I never followed any school on this. It is what the gardeners in my family did. The horrible stench sooner or later to arrive always gets remembered as the day some irate neighbor took someone to task. :)

4/26/2003 3:12:56 PM

North Ga

I leave mine in the Sun too J. only I just put it in 5 gal. buckets (fish, chicken poop etc.) and when I need some I strain it through a 5 gal paint strainer. I've got an old cooler now that has a drain plug so I can draw some out when I need it. Every time you go by just shake the buckets a little to keep it mixed. I have 15 gals going now so I make sure I use the older stuff first. I also am trying some wood ash for use later after I set a few fruit. Best of luck to ya Buddy!

4/26/2003 3:37:12 PM

Glenn Springs S.C.

Jeff keep experimenting but don't use the fresh fish cats will dig up the garden .
Jeff

4/26/2003 3:38:25 PM

Montoursville, PA

Wow.....I had forgotten poultry manures!!! Used modestly they will end Mycorrhizae as well as most purchased product.
It is my belief that a few pounds in a barrel would offer the same benefits.

And another goodie! An ounce of Brer Rabbit molasses will feed and help any batch of tea. So will honey and plain sugar.

4/26/2003 4:00:40 PM

canal winchester ohio

When I make my homemade fertilizer I start off with a bean burrito chased with a couple of beers.

4/26/2003 4:10:05 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Sound like Huff's making anhydrous ammonia gas.

4/26/2003 7:44:32 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Doc when you say the Poultry Manure will end Mycorrhizae, Why is this? Then my next question is why would you want to end it? This fungus helps roots uptake nutrients and water, by expanding the surface area. Curious in Wisconsin. Shannon

4/26/2003 10:45:56 PM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Shannon, sure Doc doesn't want to kill mycorrhizae, that is the pity! Many hard fertilizers -over all the ones rich on phosphorus- even the organic ones can kill those sensible microorganisms.
Don

4/27/2003 1:30:26 AM

Montoursville, PA

Oh my...I think I have gravely misunderstood something. Monday I shall make a few phone calls. I won't hide behind my hearing aids on this either. Where and how I heard this I thought I was on positive ground all around. One thing for sure the bucket of chicken poop will not hurt anything.

4/27/2003 1:46:59 AM

North Ga

doc, how long do you steep your tea before you first use it plus what is the tea/water ratio. I use only the water that comes with my pond scum and what the fish turns into after rotting. In other words mine is real concentrated and smells like hell itself! LOL. I've been using the same ratio it calls for on the Neptunes Havest label. Bye the way the maggot population is incredible!!! LOL!!!

4/27/2003 11:39:55 AM

Montoursville, PA

Brian....Compost and tea to me are mentally about the same in food value. Depending on the mix in either will make the product slightly different. To me this is a no-brainer in that I do not run a test tube compost or tea. As to you tea question a couple of days to a week of warm weather will cause things to work and ferment. I do not think most of us would have a tea that would be to hot to use right from the barrel anytime it looks like tea and smells of some fermentation. In all instances I use compost from partly made to finished as a soil additive. When I burry the vines I see compost as a part of the mix placed on or pulled up over the vine. I see the tea much the same applied by sprinkler can in the nusery as well as along the burried vines. I consider both nothing more than excellent support to the natural and good slow feeding of finished or partly finished product. To me it is like putting on the whipped cream, nuts and cherry to a hot fudge sunday.Without it the hot fudge is pretty good! Add the trimmings and it yum yum.
It sounds to me that you have a pretty good handle on a common sense applicaton per your tea. Maybe experiment with a little bit of lime or wood ashes to ammend the odors. Maybe try adding a tbs. full of molasses or raw honey.

4/27/2003 7:05:10 PM

Montoursville, PA

Mycorrhizae Question or confused statement on my part. Sorry guys. I spoke with Larry Checkon and Tony Ciliberto to get straighened out. Certainly no one wants to "end" Mycorrhizae. As I understand it now and really did in the first place the things we do to the patch harm Mycorrhizae.
These are of both good fungi and bad that are in some unknown balance in our patches. We know that excessive tilling and chemical fungicides and insecticides definately hurt Mycorrhizae both good and bad. The product name is such that it caused my confusion. The product:Plant Success super Endo Mycorrhizae 100K is an absolute support and additive to increase the known good fungi in our patches. Since most of us do not know our specific condition in this matter it may make sense to use it as a preventive maintenance application. You may talk to the sellers near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 866-776-9951. It comes in both liquid and granular form. On a yearly use basis it is not expensive.

4/27/2003 7:25:01 PM