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Fish meal would be a good source and the fungus in the teas and soil love feasting on fish meal.lovelightpower said:
Cold-process fish emulsion is also a great source of nitrogen.
HTH
CC
nettles have enough N and a ton of other goodies. and you being in england im sure you have nettles available by the boat load over there, plus theres at least 5 different ways to turn nettles into a fert. if you can get comfrey it goes along really well with nettles.
well, ms.swamp and myself have been looking for a source for comfrey bulbs for about an hour. please tell me you have a decent source. i need to get some of that stuff.
it seems there are many more uses for that comfrey. i found this while searching:
Comfrey is a well known herb widely used in Europe for many centuries. Taken orally, it promotes healing of sprains and bone fractures. Its astringent, anti-inflammatory and mucilant properties were also appreciated. However, the chronic exposure leads to hepatic damage. New findings also suggest that Comfrey might have carcinogenic properties due o the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Per os administration of Comfrey is therefore not recommended and its use internally banned in some countries, for example in Canada.
Topical use of Comfrey is considered safe as the toxins do not reach liver in significant level. Comfrey is therefore still advocated for the treatment of wounds, bruises, ulcers and boils for benefits of allantoin, the tissue growth promotant and rosmarinic acid that has inflammatory property.
this information came from a toxic plants publication guess what else was on the list? first on the list?
check it out
it seems there are many more uses for that comfrey. i found this while searching:
Comfrey is a well known herb widely used in Europe for many centuries. Taken orally, it promotes healing of sprains and bone fractures. Its astringent, anti-inflammatory and mucilant properties were also appreciated. However, the chronic exposure leads to hepatic damage. New findings also suggest that Comfrey might have carcinogenic properties due o the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Per os administration of Comfrey is therefore not recommended and its use internally banned in some countries, for example in Canada.
Topical use of Comfrey is considered safe as the toxins do not reach liver in significant level. Comfrey is therefore still advocated for the treatment of wounds, bruises, ulcers and boils for benefits of allantoin, the tissue growth promotant and rosmarinic acid that has inflammatory property.
this information came from a toxic plants publication guess what else was on the list? first on the list?
check it out
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SwampDankswampdank said:
Nichols Garden Nursery up in Albany, Oregon carries the "Comfrey Russian BroadLeaf" variety bulbs/starts.
While you're at their web site you might want to look around and if you like what you see then you can request a free catalog.
They carry a lot of heirloom varieties on a number of herbs, vegetables, berries, etc. Very nice folks who've been here in the valley for over 50 years.
HTH
CC
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hey jaykush thanks for answering.
could you tell me or link me up to the ways or way of making nettle or nettle/comfrey fertiliser you know of.
at the moment i just collect the nettles boil them in water with molasses, then whizz them in the blender, then add to the tea mix.
could you tell me or link me up to the ways or way of making nettle or nettle/comfrey fertiliser you know of.
at the moment i just collect the nettles boil them in water with molasses, then whizz them in the blender, then add to the tea mix.
also, i'm a bit unclear about how much raw material (nettles) to use?
and if my mix is too strong.
and if my mix is too strong.
quadracer
Active member
swampdank said:
http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=1606
That's where I got the Russian variety. I was able to get some regular comfrey from peaceful valley who knew someone locally who had it. Otherwise, it was pretty hard to find. Nobody knew of it or knew where to get it.
Now it is BOOSTING. Some of the regular variety is flowering, and the Russian has some big leaves that I just mixed in a 20 gallon tea with some huge nettle that was growing around here.
It is starting to stink real good, but it still has another month of sitting before it sees any use.
Suby said:
i know it suby. i just knew that mj would be on that list. ha! i think it is a list for pet owners or something.
Coot: thanks bro, thats waht i was looking for. i found a little in the serenity garden at my local hospital. imagine that. i like the heirlooms too. i plan to have nothing but heirlooms in my veggie patch. but thats next year. i got a cover crop right now.
quadracer: good link man. so that russian variety gets pretty big huh? i like it.
SwampDankswampdank said:
You're welcome.
We have a lot of their heirloom seeds in our vegetable gardens every year - raised beds.
Another good source of heirloom vegetable and fruit seeds is Territorial Seeds. You might want to peruse their web site and they also will send you a free catalog. Also very nice folks that are into saving the genetic diversity of plants from around the world. They have some great tomato varieties that you might enjoy and some very sweet heirloom strawberry plant starts.
Take care!
CC
i've found information on steeping nettles in water over months, but nothing on usage in compost tea. anyone got any ideas or recipies?
seems so great i can go and pick my nurients down my local woods!
seems so great i can go and pick my nurients down my local woods!
quadracer
Active member
lovelightpower said:
I like to dilute it 1:10 or 1:5 depending on strengths, then bubble it in a compost or EWC teas. Add some molasses and let it bubble. You don't need much more than that.
Also, it works as a great foliar at 1:10-1:15. The herbal tea will definately perk up your plants and protect against pests and diseases.
As for heirloom seeds, check out seedsavers.org It's a non-profit dedicated to preserving heirlooms. They have over 4000 tomatoes!
very nice, look for only the healthiest nettles, and try to avoid flowering plants.
takes some leaves, fresh as possible. chop them up into pieces. id say a 1/4 cup is good ( i dont measure but thats a guess) get a handfull of castings, molasses and brew together in a gallon. when increasing hte water volume dont over do the nettles. too strong of nettles will hurt ur plants. less strength more often is better than full strength all at once. if you dilute this it works good as a foliar.
oh yea if you have that nettles sitting in a bucket. which provides better product. you can dilute and foliar or soil drench. its gooood stuff. if you have nettles might want to learn about other beneficial plants in your mountains.
thanks a lot guys, thats a big help!
i sometimes find i get more of a foamy head on mine when i use less castings, say a heaped tablespoon per gallon, rather than a handfull. but then the mix would have a lower N amount.
anyone know why it foams more with less casting, maybe not as much molasses to go feed all the bacteria and fungi?
i sometimes find i get more of a foamy head on mine when i use less castings, say a heaped tablespoon per gallon, rather than a handfull. but then the mix would have a lower N amount.
anyone know why it foams more with less casting, maybe not as much molasses to go feed all the bacteria and fungi?
C
CT Guy
Foaming is not an indicator of a good or bad tea...
CT Guy said:
Hello all,
I have an interesting experiement going on..rather a lets try it and see.
I make my teas in 1 gallon milk jugs...after a while when the shit builds up on the bottom I just pour our what I can into my garden and toss.
Well I had a jug that has been capped for about 4 months now that I have been meaning to get rid of but been lazy or stoned or bith.
Well, I know its way anarobic because its been sealed and second the odour told me so when I opened it. I filled it will water and a good dose of dry molasses and set it to bubble.
I wish to see if I can bring back the arobic life and I wanted to use this in my outdoor grow. I still have 3 weeks or so till I can plant and I am sure that any harmful pathogens that may have evolevd in the jug will be nutralized by the dominate arobic life.
Anyway, we will see.
minds_I
I have an interesting experiement going on..rather a lets try it and see.
I make my teas in 1 gallon milk jugs...after a while when the shit builds up on the bottom I just pour our what I can into my garden and toss.
Well I had a jug that has been capped for about 4 months now that I have been meaning to get rid of but been lazy or stoned or bith.
Well, I know its way anarobic because its been sealed and second the odour told me so when I opened it. I filled it will water and a good dose of dry molasses and set it to bubble.
I wish to see if I can bring back the arobic life and I wanted to use this in my outdoor grow. I still have 3 weeks or so till I can plant and I am sure that any harmful pathogens that may have evolevd in the jug will be nutralized by the dominate arobic life.
Anyway, we will see.
minds_I
Alaska Humus
Alaska Humus
CT Guy
I was placing an order with Earth Fortifications Supply Company for their Alaska humus and I looked at some of their other products.
They have a fish emulsion that they sell. I don't know anything about this particular brand but I'm sure that if they're selling it then it's a great product.
I've been using Hi-Crop for everything around here and have been pleased. Do you think this product is close enough to the other product?
And on the subject of Alaska humus, one of the benefits from what I understand is the volcanic ash aside from the microbe activity level.
So setting aside the microbe benefit, if one were using a product like Gaia Green Glacial Rock Dust which, according to their web site, is a natural mineral product which is produced over many thousands of years by glacial action.
Is the difference between minerals formed by 'volcanic action' vs. 'glacial action' a huge one? If I am adding Alaska humus to our raised beds, is the level of minerals sufficient enough to preclude the need for additional mineral amendments?
And if using Alaska humus, would adding a product like Live Earth Humate Soil Conditioner be redundant?
Thanks!
CC
Alaska Humus
CT Guy
I was placing an order with Earth Fortifications Supply Company for their Alaska humus and I looked at some of their other products.
They have a fish emulsion that they sell. I don't know anything about this particular brand but I'm sure that if they're selling it then it's a great product.
I've been using Hi-Crop for everything around here and have been pleased. Do you think this product is close enough to the other product?
And on the subject of Alaska humus, one of the benefits from what I understand is the volcanic ash aside from the microbe activity level.
So setting aside the microbe benefit, if one were using a product like Gaia Green Glacial Rock Dust which, according to their web site, is a natural mineral product which is produced over many thousands of years by glacial action.
Is the difference between minerals formed by 'volcanic action' vs. 'glacial action' a huge one? If I am adding Alaska humus to our raised beds, is the level of minerals sufficient enough to preclude the need for additional mineral amendments?
And if using Alaska humus, would adding a product like Live Earth Humate Soil Conditioner be redundant?
Thanks!
CC
