Since we’ve
been at Phil and Ginnee’s farm for over 2 months now, I thought you might like
to see how the garden under the green house is going. It’s certainly come a
long way from its brown beginnings in July.....
Dowsing the
ant nest with blended citrus peel for about a week, seems to have held the ants
at bay for the time being. It certainly didn’t kill them off, but they at least
got frustrated at having to excavate their thoroughfare each day and have opted
for a different nest opening, the other side of the garden.
We are also
praising the virtues of compost tea, which I’m sure has given the plants a
significant nutritional boost and helped to deter pests as well as bacterial
and fungal infections. For anyone who hasn’t made compost tea (and I hadn’t
before I came here!), you submerge a net sack of fresh compost in a weak
solution of molasses and water. You then aerate it all in a large bin, using a
fish tank pump, for 24-48 hours. This creates an exponential growth of friendly
bacteria as well as releasing soluble nutrients, which you apply to the leaves
and roots of the plants using the good old fashion watering can method. For
anyone interesting in making compost tea, check out an interesting article by a
Faye
Ingram or this YouTube video by the ‘Dirt
Doctor’. I'd love to hear if anyone else tries it out... it could be a great way of keeping UK lawns nice and green as well as boosting greenhouse crops.
It's great being able to see what you guys are up to! It all looks amazing xx
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