Killer Compost/Murderous Mulch

[sumi]

i have a neighbor who talks to me about 'cold compost', he got me so riled up that i had to try it. but my space is much smaller than yours. i've been reading about compost tea brewers. it's pretty complicated, but i think i may try this.
has anybody had any experience with these?

We made comfrey tea, which can be used to fertilise the garden. It's very easy, just put a bunch of comfrey leaves in a bucket or some other container with water and let it break down. I can't remember how long the process is and where we lived at the time it was hotter than the gates of hell, which probably accelerated the process, but it didn't take very long. Drain off the leaves and water the plants lightly with the resulting tea when it's ready. You'll see and smell when that is.

NOTE: A word of warning. It smells like… poo. You'll see (smell) what I mean when you get there

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's cool! I don't know if we have comfrey here.... Off to Google!

 

[sumi]

@frustratedearthmother you can use it as animal feed for making ointments for skin issues as well. It has a few health benefits. It's just a fantastic plant all round. If you have some nurture it and if you don't, get some!

 

[chefsdreams]

you guys are incredible! thanks much. or as my dear old granny used to say: 'moo chaz grassy ass' she was a pistol.
this thread just percolated some old memories. my very first exposure to composting. my father's family came from canada and we would visit each year during the summer. i was quite young and visiting my grandmother's sister in a little town of peterborough, ontario (not so little any more). aunt E (her name was elizabeth but everybody called her 'E') was married to a very nice, kind man whose name was gordon. he had a really terrific garden and he loved it when i asked for him to show me. and in the back corner of his yard, he had an area. i asked him what it was and he told me all about compost.
seriously, i'm sitting here and the memories are flooding back. i haven't thought of old gordon in years. wow.
thanks guys!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's great! My intro to gardening was my grandmother. She wasn't the most warm and fuzzy woman, but when she was talking about her garden or showing me things she was totally different woman! That's a pretty good memory too.

 

[Britesea]

DH commented about the "murderous hay"- I don't know if it's true back east, but out here if you want to ride your horse on public land you have to feed it hay that has been treated so their poop won't sprout weeds along the trail. I had forgotten that.

 

[sumi]

@chefsdreams you reminded me of something from my childhood now (I started a thread on childhood memories yesterday btw, I tagged you over there) We had a compost heap in a corner of the backyard, though I don't recall my dad ever using the compost, it was just a place to dump garden waste and a wonderful place to explore and discover things like these…



I can still remember how those worms scared me!

 

[lcertuche]

It's a shame about your garden. I'm pretty sure no one here sprays their hay crops. Why would they? Then again most hay here is just what grasses grow wild in the fields. A few seed alfalfa but not generally. Weeds sprout up heavily in the bales but letting the chickens in around the hay usually will take care of that and they leave a nice fertilizer for free. Oh yeah and eat up them big ole grubs and such to boot.

 

[chefsdreams]

@chefsdreams you reminded me of something from my childhood now (I started a thread on childhood memories yesterday btw, I tagged you over there) We had a compost heap in a corner of the backyard, though I don't recall my dad ever using the compost, it was just a place to dump garden waste and a wonderful place to explore and discover things like these…

View attachment 2127 View attachment 2128

I can still remember how those worms scared me!

i'm on my way to visit your new thread. thanks for the tag. btw, your location shows ireland. may i ask where abouts? my darling wife likes to brag that she is 100% irish: all 8 'grands'.

 

[sumi]

I'm in County Tipperary. One of the friendliest and most beautiful counties I've been in Ireland 19 months now and in Tipps 13 of them.