Tea Time for the Garden

Have you been to the tea room in Bothell yet? Stephanie took me and I'll never forget the lovely cozy feeling we had while enjoying our tea. So make your garden happy and cozy by serving it some tea.

When using Mel's mix you have given your garden just what it needs. Having the five kinds of compost really makes a difference. But I never completely trust the bagged compost and I watch the plants and decide if it's Tea Time. For the May meeting I will cover the care and feeding of growing plants but to get you started this Alfalfa tea is perfect for all those newly started plants.

Here is the recipe for Alfalfa tea

two buckets to move the tea back and forth
1 small coffee can size scoop of rabbit food (straight alfalfa pellets ask for them that way)
to 5 gallons of water
1 tablespoon of molasses if you want to do the three day version

mix and pour it back and forth 3 or 4 times to get it started
Then pour back and forth once or twice a day for three days
Strain and pour over those newly growing plants.

This tea will give your plants some much needed nitrogen. This is such a boast to plants trying to get a start. This tea also adds sulfur, iron, magnesium, manganses and selenium and a growth stimulant, triaconatol. I know it's a bother to strain this so waiting for the heavy material to settle to the bottom will allow you to scoop up some in a jar and water around each plant. If you want to get it on the plant leaves you will need to strain it. Did you know a plant takes in more from it's leaves than it's roots? So consider that. The sludge can be added to your compost pile or an unused garden square or two. Stir it in nicely.

Don't put this tea on your onions, or garlic or tomatoes.

A popular tea is manure tea, but all animal horse and cow etc must be aged for 6 months to a year before making tea out of it. At the May meeting we will talk about when to stop feeding this tea and what a whole bunch of different teas will do for your gardens.

See you then