A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 TeaTime

Planning ahead makes for a good garden.Yes, I am a organic gardener, and Weezie, we could talk forever about the contaminates in that municipal compost,About the chicken doodle, really hot stuff, compost it,or, do as I do. Take a large plastic barrel, a burlap bag and make yourself some tea

Good Morning, Phil and Laura
What a great post! I think a bunch of us will use that one.
Here's another "tea" for the garden that I use for controlling the gnats that can live in the soil of our succulents:

1 Cup of cheap pipe tobacco (purchased by the can)
4 Cups of very hot water

Let it steep for about three hours (or more, if you want to just leave it overnight).

Strain into a spray bottle after it cools & then go gnat-hunting. Throughly soak the soil around the plant with this stuff and the gnats will disappear. During the "season," you'll have to do it two or three times for total control.

This concoction CANNOT be used on ANY of the nightshade family (did I find out the hard way that nasturtiums were a family member? Yup. 'maters, too).

Nice addition Jillie, and it does work!! Tobacco mosaic is the culprit on the fallen ones
Another concoction in the tea machine is: stinging nettle, eqisedum and plain ol' grass, just make sure none of the co,ponents have gone to seed!!! :rolleyes:

I used an alfalfa tea last year on my roses...it made them very happy! I will definitely use the 'teas' again this year.

compost tumbler tea

Here's the link I was telling you about for the compost teas.....
I had so much fun with it last year...

Weezie

Also something Nikkal posted too about it, some good info, I never realized.... Nikkal\'s post on compost tea.