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Sun, Feb 5, 12 at 12:52
| Well, spring has come early to Middle Tennessee-- or more accurately, winter never has really arrived. I have daffs blooming and my star magnolia in flower, both about a month early. There will doubtlessly be hard freezes and probably snow still, but since it's so mild outside now, I wondered if it makes sense to start some compost tea and the alfalfa tea for my cottage garden? These teas take time to be absorbed by the plants, don't they, so they wouldn't push tender new growth so much as replenish the soil they've been growing in? Or would they be likely to spur new growth--which will then get whacked by subsequent freezes?
Thanks for your collected wisdom. :-) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| My inclination would be to wait. It might in fact be beneficial to make the tea now, but given the likelihood of more cold to come, and the fact that you already have new growth which is likely to be at risk, encouraging more new growth is a gamble. Hopefully there will be some more experienced posts, but this far ahead of the last frost date is goes against the grain of my conservative nature. My sense is that it's not an early spring, but a very late winter, and though a lot of plants and gardeners are getting fooled, we're still due for some cold and snow. |
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| Theoretically the nutrients in Activated Compost Tea are very readily available to plants so it should not take some time for them to become available to the plants ACT is applied to. However, that also depends on many other factors such as the growth rate of the plants which is affected by the soil temperture which affects the activity of the Soil Food Web. Another thing to consider, would spraying plants with ACT stimulate new growth that might be harmed if temperatures drop to normal for this time of year? |
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| Hi Billme and Kimmsr--thanks for your answers. I pour the tea on the root zone more to replenish the soil than to push growth on the plants. I think you're both right in not trusting the weather this early. There's probably an equivalent proverb to "One swallow does not a summer make" concerning spring! |
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| I usually wait until around May, when making a simple Compost Tea. Partly because there is not much to spray it on, and partly because the outside temp is around 70ish, a decent number. This year a bit of blackstrap molasses will be the only item added to the compost. Anyone care to list their recipe? |
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Tue, Feb 7, 12 at 14:26
| robertz6 Anyone care to list their recipe? ==================================== I don't get carried away. I do use an aquarium pump and a 5 gallon bucket. About the only thing I add is a little white sugar (I've used molasses, but the wife scolded me for swiping her molasses). |
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| LOL! This year I'm going to try the aquarium pump thing for the first time. Thanks Robert, tn_gardening. :-) |
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