Manure Tea-Organic Gardening

It took me several years of gardening to fully appreciate just how important healthy soil is. But when I began growing food for my family, I embraced organic methods. Why go through all the effort to grow your own food if you are just going to spray it with the same chemicals the commercial farmers use? And why expose yourself to those chemicals while you’re supposed to be out enjoying nature?

When I began organic gardening, I really did not expect to harvest the same yields that I would obtain from using chemicals. Boy, was I wrong! It took awhile to learn about organic gardening methods, and I’m still learning, but once I began to regularly amend my soil with natural, healthy matter such as compost, worm castings, and aged manures, the garden responded with generosity. I rarely have problems with disease or fungus. My plants tolerate heat better, and my yields feed my family and friends very well! Most nights after work, we throw something on the grill, stroll out to the garden and pick our dinner!

In addition to amending my soil, I regularly feed my plants and with natural teas made from compost, worm castings, or fish emulsions. This season, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out Haven Brand Moo Poo Teas.  Annie Haven and I are Twitter friends (follow her on @GreenSoil and me on @CowlickCottage–we’ll introduce you to tons of Twitter gardeners!), and she comes from a family of ranchers that raise grass-fed beef. I think it’s brilliant that they use the Moo Poo to create fabulous organic fertilizers. When Annie sent me a trio of teas, I was delighted with its neat, environmentally friendly and very pretty packaging.  The reusable fabric tea bags make it a breeze to make a big, 5 gallon bucket of garden goodness. A couple of weeks ago, I used the alfalfa tea on my roses, and the Moo Poo tea on my vegetables and container plants. Here’s a peak at the results from the first tea party of the season! read more...http://www.cowlickcottagefarm.com