Re: compost tea

In a message dated 1/17/03 9:47:35 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
corgilover@wi.rr.com writes:


> When I was a kid (35+ years ago) I talked my dad into
> vegetable gardening organically (*let's indulge the cute little blonde 
> kid*, I guess).  He made his own compost tea simply by soaking a bag 
> of compost in water for a few days.  Nothing fancy for him; and his 
> motto was always *Make due with what you have* so it was a five gallon 
> bucket, well water, and mom's flours sack towels sewn into a bag 
> shape.  His veggies (and finally her flowers after my mom saw how well 
> the veggies did) were far and away the biggest and best around.
> 
> Simplicity is best, I guess.

I am surprised the tea users have not found the directions for manure tea.  
That is in lots of older books and must be the chore of a dedicated gardener. 
Then there is oak leaf tea which is intended to acidify soils for ericaceous 
plants.  Finally there is lime water made with a variety of recipes including 
the use of hard wood ashes.

When all of these things began to arrive in bottles and sacks in stores, the 
chores were supposed to lighten up.  I guess what goes around, comes around.  
Compost for me is the easy-do sort.  If you wait long enough any debris 
becomes compost.  It is the proverbial can of worms, I know, but the assay of 
bagged or bottled elements is the same as those produced by your labor.  The 
arguing point being that one is kinder to the planet than the other.  Age 
encroaching, the viewpoint becomes less circumspect.

Claire Peplowski
NYS 4 

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