Well this weather is just aweful...about the only plant in the garden that likes the wet and humidity is the banana's which are growing new leaves every couple of days! (usually 7-10 days). So in the interest of keeping the garden healthy and disease free i made up a batch of worm tea. Here is the recipe
18L water (non chlorinated or leave tap water sitting in a bucket for 24 hours
1/3 cup vegetable oil (when you spray the tea on plants this helps it stick)
1/3 cup molasses (sold at coles in the health food aisle)
1 cup of worm castings
Mix the water, oil and molasses in a big bucket until the molasses is dissolved. Place the cup of worm castings in a stocking and let it hang into the liqued (just like a teabag). Place the tube part of a fish water pump into the mixture with an airstone attatched to the bottom. Let the tea aerate for 24 hours. Then spray all over your plants. There is no such thing as too much worm tea.
Now you probably thinking what the heck is this going to do....well basically when the liqued is aerated micro organisms and beneficial bacteria start to grow (they feed on the molasses). When you spray these organisms and bacteria on your plants they help to prevent disease, make the plant healthier and thus produce bigger and more produce, it also improves water retention in the soil and many many other good things :) so with this humidity the worm tea will give my plants the extra lift they need.
I was down at my parents holiday house today and noticed that they have a compost pile that has been there since the previous owners (at least 3.5 years) and as i was in need of some more compost for my raised bed i grabbed a couple of bagfuls :) free compost!!! yay!
Hoping everyone stays safe during these aweful floods
Hey Nat,
ReplyDeleteScott and I have finally started our own little veggie garden after wanted to do it for ages. I have been reading all your posts for tips and this one caught my eye. I would love to make this worm tea. Can I buy worm castings somewhere? I hope you, Adam and Hayley are well. Love Julie. xx
Hey!
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to buy worm casting at a garden centre :-/ but i havnt seen any before....by far the easiest way is to get your own worm farm! They are not too expensive (some councils give rebates for worm farms and compost heaps). :) then you can make you own worm tea whenever you need! and they eat your fruit and vegie scraps to!