Topic: Nettle and other fertiliser teas.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

There may be people here with some experience with this. I just bought a cheap water butt from Wilkinsons (120 litres for £17). It's not very thick walled but as I want to use it to make fertiliser teas rather than store bulk water that doesn't matter. I have plenty of other rainwater storage.
Anyway, I fear that if I stuff it with vegetation and water to ferment into a fertiliser tea, the tap may block with debris easily. Are there tried techniques to prevent this or is this a groundless fear? I can scrunch up a little chicken wire but it would only rust in the liquid and might move around in the butt away from the tap.
Second question: I know of nettles and comfrey though I don't have any comfrey, but are there other effective ingredients? I'd guess any deep rooted weeds. Is there a green manure suitable to make 'tea' with?

[goodlife]

I used to make 'tea' straight into water butt too..but..like you suspect, the tap will get blocked. I did put mesh over to stop slurry resting against it but it only worked now and then...and the emptying the butt from the smelly stuff was hard work.
After couple years and learning it hard way I made myself big fabric 'bag', all the the 'bits and bobs' that make the fertililizer went inside the bag and it was tied with rope that was tied again into piece of wood..didn't fancy 'fishing' the rope out of 'tea'.
As for the 'tea' recipes..it all depends what crops you are going to feed with it.  Good all rounder is  nettle, comfrey and seaweed (using liquid seaweed)..some add some fresh horse or chicken muck. Muck will give higher nitrogen content to the feed and that will be excellent for brassicas. Where as without the muck it will suit tomatoes, cucumbers etc.
Green manures are generally plants that do rot easily in the ground so those sort of plants are better turned into ground.
Dock weed and dandelions are good. If you have access to sheep wool..unwashed sort..it usually have plenty of 'muck' still in it and makes good tea too, it is best soaked first to get 'juices' going and added into your brew as 'dirty water'..wool you can use as mulch underneath plants and it will slowly rot and while doing so acting as slow release fertilizer.

[Digeroo]

It is quite late for nettle tea, make sure you do not put any seeds into the tea, or you will have nettles popping up all over the place.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

Thanks for that. I suppose I was thinking of alfalfa with its deep roots when I mentioned green manures. It looks like the bag system it is then; a bit more fiddly than just forking a pile of stuff in. A mesh bag as wide as the butt might make it easier.
What about bonfire ash going in for potash? It is very water soluble I gather.

[goodlife]

I've never heard ashes used in any 'tea' recipes. Yes, they are very water soluble but I suspect if you try to make you your 'tea' with too many incredients you might risk making some sort of chemical reaction that do more harm than good.  For that reason don't add any wee into the mix neither, unless used straight away..as urine will turn into ammonia in storage and will smell even more foul that 'tea' already does.

I've been going through my books for some 'recipes' and possible incredients. But they all seem to only mention same things that has been now suggested. Oh..one to add to the 'list'...borage..highly nitrogenous..so good for brassicas.

As for using your home made 'tea'...water butt quantity of the stuff is LOT of fertilizer and as you don't really know the consentration of the nutrients in it..it is adviseable to use it VERY diluted consentration..in more of 'little and often' approach rather than conventional 'once a week' fashion.
Dilute it in 'almost not able to see the colour in water' consentration and you are safe to use it everytime you need to water the plants. Plants don't take nutrients from soil 'once a week' but all the time in minute amounts with the moisture they will need to keep them alive.

I don't do my 'tea' in that quantity anymore..it never managed get through the stuff in a season and ended up giving it away by the gallons.. ::) Now just a normal bucket for 'tea' making will do and keep me going the whole summer. I rather 'fertilize' the soil with mulches and greenmanures and it will give me better results on open ground than liquids, that are best used for pot/container plants.
The 'sludge' that I used to 'dig out' every spring was nice stuff...I piled it like a mulch underneath my blackcurrant  bushes and they thrived with it... ;)

[tomatoada]

I find the esiest way is to have a dustbin next to the water butt.  I put the comfrey in the bin and top up with water.  When ready to use I fill the watering can from the butt and use a plastic jug to add the comfrey juice to the water.  Any sludge left in the bin can be tipped onto the compost heap.  I don't use a spray end on the watering can.

[antipodes]

I am unsure what volume that represents but what about stuffing some old pantyhose with the leafy matter and suspending them into the water?
I have never made this type of tea so I don't know but that seems feasible???

[tomatoada]

I read somewhere that the dilution should be 1 part juice to 15 parts water using this method.   So 2 galleon can equals 16 pints.   So add 1 pint of juice and fill up can to the 2 galleons.  I am not saying this is right but it is what i do.  I hope someone comments if this is not right. 

[Digeroo]

Comfrey tea is supposed to be good on potash anyway. 

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

Thanks for the additional comments. I normally sprinkle any bonfire ash on the compost heap. I have tons of borage in the garden so will use that as well as nettles and deep rooted weeds. My neighboring allotment has a whole row of comfrey that the owner spreads in his potato rows. Maybe one day I will be brave or cheeky enough to beg some cuttings from him but I am still a newbie there
. I Have the remnants of an old 'tea' made with rape seed meal that I used for my bonsai. I have been filling up 2litre plastic milk bottles with the stuff and using it diluted on my squashes and strawberries on the allotment.