Manure & Weed Teas - Which situations to use them

[Dynamite]

Hi there, I have just made both Manure and Weed Tea. I am interested to know which one is best if you want root growth, leaf growth or fruit growth. I have done some research on NPK values and realise that my own homemade can't be measured accurately but just as a guide, which would you use on Toms for instance when fruiting? Are they high in N, P or K? Or are they a general all round fertiliser?

You can see where I'm going with the questions that I'm asking myself so any advice will be gratefully received.

Kind Regards.........Rob

[Baldy]

What weeds are you using? Its gonna be a mish mash / mash up depending on what goes in. e.g. nettles vs comfrey give different levels of different nutirents, Same is true for different animal plop...

[Dynamite]

What weeds are you using? Its gonna be a mish mash / mash up depending on what goes in. e.g. nettles vs comfrey give different levels of different nutirents, Same is true for different animal plop...

Just a mix of every weed. About 50% are dandelions Baldy.

Manure is Horse.

Rob

[Snadger]

Here's an interesting site:-

https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/n...able-database/

As can be seen Nettles are high in Nitrogen and Comfrey is high in Potassium! Mix the two teas together for a balanced feed methinks!

[ESBkevin]

I'm with snadger on a mixture, accurate analysis of any current batch is almost impossible so I use a bit of nettle and comfry and some urine. I lean more to nettle earlier for tomatoes and more to comfrey once the fruit start to set. A weak 20 to 1 or even weaker about once a week is all mine get and they are doing fine. I make enough to splash it about for other crops but on a less regular basis.

[Snadger]

Here I go Tangetising again. The nutrient rates given are for dried leaves crumbled up into powder and then the NPK is checked of the dried ingredients.
Are we all doing it wrong by adding water to wet leaves and composting in aerobic conditions? What difference does it make to the nutrients released?

Should we be drying the likes of Comfrey and Nettles then adding the powder to the watering can?

[Baldy]

^^^ I think *you* should snadger - let the rest of us know how it goes...

[Dynamite]

Here's an interesting site:-

https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/n...able-database/

As can be seen Nettles are high in Nitrogen and Comfrey is high in Potassium! Mix the two teas together for a balanced feed methinks!

What a great find that site is Snadger. Thanks for sharing.

Regards.......Rob

[Dynamite]

Here I go Tangetising again. The nutrient rates given are for dried leaves crumbled up into powder and then the NPK is checked of the dried ingredients.
Are we all doing it wrong by adding water to wet leaves and composting in aerobic conditions? What difference does it make to the nutrients released?

Should we be drying the likes of Comfrey and Nettles then adding the powder to the watering can?

Good point Snadger. I wonder if that's just the scientific method of testing the values. I.e. When testing calorific values, everything gets burnt. So the theory being that the NP and K is still present in the item.

Rob

[Dynamite]

^^^ I think *you* should snadger - let the rest of us know how it goes...

Ha. Nice one Baldy. Good idea. Let us know Snadger.

Rob

[forgetmenot]

I chuck everything into 1 tub but my neighbour splits each ingredient into seperate tubs
Each to their own i suppose!

[Dynamite]

I chuck everything into 1 tub but my neighbour splits each ingredient into seperate tubs
Each to their own i suppose!

So in theory if both manure and weed are "all round" feeds rather than heavy on one of the NPK's, then do you suppose it simply doesnt matter mixing them? Mine are separate currently and it would be good to know if there is a difference that I could capitalise on.

Regards.....Rob

[1Bee]

I finally happened to have a bucket with a secure lid and had a go with comfrey, nettles, docks, and whatever else got grabbed when weeded some margins. Left it about 3-4 weeks, out of reach of the Imps of Sata... sorry, beloved sons.

I used it this morning.

They are not joking about the smell.

With hindsight, it was not the best decision to do this before heading into work....

[Bren In Pots]

I have two buckets, comfrey that I use on toms, cucs and courgettes the other's has nettles that I feed my brassicas, peas, chard and spinach with.
This way works for me but I like how we all do our own thing.

[Dynamite]

I chuck everything into 1 tub but my neighbour splits each ingredient into seperate tubs
Each to their own i suppose!

Hi forget me not, out of interest what does the nghbour do having split them?

Regards.....Rob