What the heck is “manure tea”?? Sounds completely disgusting!
Experienced gardeners know the benefits of consistent fertilizing, it’s the secret of becoming a “green thumb”!
Manure tea is…
* Easy to make
* Super cheap
* Completely effective
* Absorbs quickly
* Regenerates lagging plants and promotes new growth!
How to Make Manure Tea
The first thing you’ll need is manure. Not all manure is created equal, so read on.
We use a combination of donkey, rabbit, goat and chicken because that’s what we have around. If you don’t have your own manure source, call your friends with critters and ask them for some. Cow, horse, goat, rabbit and chicken manures are generally safe to use to make “tea”.
Knowing what the animals are fed and any medications that are administered would be of concern as well. Here again, obtaining manure from your own animals is preferred.
NEVER use human, cat or dog manure!
Ratios of about 1 part manure to 1 part water works well for me. During hot summer months, I reduce the manure to 1 part and increase the water to 2 parts. The heat makes the “tea” brew faster.
The point of the tea is to allow it to “steep” until the water turns to a nice brown, which depending upon the weather could take a couple of days to a week.
The temperatures in Ohio now are in the 60′s and 70′s during the day, so I’m letting mine sit for a week. When the days hold 80-90 degree days, an afternoon or two is plenty.
When your “brew” is complete, you’ll need to strain your tea to separate the manure. I use a rake and/or a pitchfork to hold back the manure while I strain the tea into a large bucket or two.
How to Use Manure Tea
Use manure tea on plants that are well established, not new seedlings.
Pour manure tea and the base of the plant, not the leaves.
It’s September and I just picked another round of red tomatoes from our plants. There are still a number of green tomatoes left to ripen. NOW is the time of year when I regenerate the tomato plants with manure tea.
Last year when I did this, within a week or so, my tomato plants grew over a dozen new blooms….each! If the weather holds, I would have tomatoes until December! If it gets cold and the tomatoes don’t ripen in time, the green tomatoes can be wrapped in newspaper until they do ripen.
Manure tea can….
* Produce MORE food for your family!
* Extend the food production season!
* Make you look like an expert gardener!
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About kmorris
Do you use manure that is fresh or has it been cured?
Jenny,
I use whatever I have, but frankly I prefer to use the fresher manure and to save the cured to apply directly to the soil.
Pathogens can be an issue with Green manure, it is always wise to use well aged manure.