Hiya All,
I have had some nettles soaking in half a bucket of water in the garage for a week now... it stinks to high heaven, esspecially when I stir it and it froths up! :P
The liquid is a nice dark colour now, but I was just wondering how long you should leave them to soak before straining them of and mixing it in your watering can?
Cheers
er they do that here in France, and in general they leave it for about 3 weeks I think!! It smells absolutely foul, at least that it what I have heard! I think you're supposed to put a lid on it...
A couple of weeks I think; probably once it starts smelling horrible it's ready. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that Bob Flowerdew, no less, suggests pouring a thin layer of cooking oil on top to act as a barrier for the smell.
just read an article about it, two weeks, strain, pop the remains on the compost heap, water to weak tea colour and that's it ;D
I usually just leave mine in (same with comfrey) until it rots away to nothing.
I do mine for three week and then take the nettles out and put them on the compost. The stuff I left over winter stopped stinking. Just wish I had enough bins to make so much I could leave it all that long. :-\
I did a nettle and comfrey mix a few weeks back.......boy it don't half pong!
Louise
Do you dilute this ? Rohaise :-\
I use a four pint milk container full of nettle stink and share that equally (approx 1 litre each) between two 7 litre watering cans. Seems to work for me. I also dress in an old waterproof jacket and where chemical resistant gloves as once it get on you, the stink does not wash off for days. I get very sweaty on hot days but at least that smell can be bathed off. :)
Do you really keep it in the garage? We keep ours outside and it still stinks to high heaven!
We work on the principle that when it really begins to pong - 3 or 4 weeks normally, depending on the weather - we filter it off (lovely job that - wear gloves & have a shower afterwards!) and store it in a gallon plastic container. Use it as a feed with about a pint per 2-gallon watering can.
We use comfrey rather than nettle. But we've got plenty of comfrey.
I recycled the bucket that some chicken manure pellets came in - it has a lid so keeps the pong in! Saint Bobs says to add some "personal liquid" - as he so gently calls it - (which my young son did yesterday!!!!!!)
I have already used some diuted and watered in - i'll be interested to see the results!
Louise
I'm pretty sure that I read somwhere the nettle fertiliser is used as a foliar feed and comfrey as a root feed. Is that correct or did I dream it?? ;D ;D
we use the nettle as a general feed and the comfrey for hungry crops, toms, cukes, etc :)
I ordered five comfrey plants from the organic gardening catalogue and 10 arrived last week. They were stumpy little things, looked dead, but now are all growing like triffids.
Wait till they dig themselves out and come looking for you!
I use nettles on leafy type plants and intend to use the comfrey under spuds etc from next year.
I have been sticking wilted comfrey leaves in the holes that I am about to put my squash, tomatoes and peppers in.