Cuppa compost tea?

Having spoken to my mate Mick Poultney (another NVS chap) about compost tea I decided to give it a go. So it was just for me to go and gather the necessary equipment. Luckily I had a 5 gallon bucket going spare so all I had to buy was a cheap and cheerful fish pump, an airstone and natural molasses (must be unsulphured! Get em from Holland and Barrett for about £1.99 a big jar). I know Mick uses his homemade compost from his bins down the allotment to make his 'brew', I make mine from my own vermicompost from my wormeries at home. Both brews are rich in bacterial and fungal activity and benefit the microorganisms in the soil. The finished brew can be applied neat as a root drench and as a foliar feed. Here's how to do it:-

5 gallon bucket with airstone connected to the fish pump,,, filled with water and let it bubble away for a couple of hours to remove all the chlorine from the water,,,

The cheapest fish pump Wilkos sell- about £8 I think.

To the water I then add a couple of handfuls of my vermicompost in an old pair of tights, several tablespoons of unsulphured molasses, a drop of maxicrop and liquid fish emulsion. Then let the water bubble away,,,

After a few hours you'll see plenty of bubbles start to congregate around the edge of the bucket (A sign of life!)

Depending on temperature, your brew should be ready in 24hrs. Youll know when its ready because it will have a frothy head on it like a good beer! Make sure as soon as you remove the air source the microbes will start to die within 6 hours so use it as soon as its ready.

 

You can use your brew on anything whether it be flowers, fruit, herbs or vegetables. I'm using it this year on my show celery and hative di niort shallots along with mycorrhizal fungi. The microbes in the tea will colonise the plant and help to prevent pest/disease attack and other fungal problems. Used as a root drench it will give the microbial activity in the soil a big boost, therefore improving root growth and yield- Everyone's a winner!
I've been doing a little trial in the greenhouse on my exhibition celery, treating half with compost tea and mycorrhizal fungi and half without. Already I can see a difference- the treated plants have a stronger root system and look greener too.
I would seriously recommend you have a go with both compost tea and mycorrhizal fungi and you will notice a difference. Although Mick uses modern manufactured brewers I have had unlimited success with the methods here at a fraction of the cost...you could too...Go on give it a go...

The National Vegetable Society

 

I have been a member of the NVS for several years now and have travelled as far as the New Forest to attend NVS shows. Now, much to my delight, I have been asked and I have accepted to be Secretary of the new West Midland D.A. Unfortunately I missed our very first meeting as I was still in hospital but our second meeting is coming up 30th May. Our guest speaker is my friend David Metcalfe who will be covering subjects such as growing with straw, growing in pots and caulis. The venue and times for anyone interested:

WEST MIDS D.A

Fairfield Village Hall

Fairfield

Bromsgrove

Worcs

Opens 7pm for an 8pm start.

ALL ARE WELCOME

NVS MEMBERS FREE

GUEST FREE ON FIRST VISIT

We run a good raffle and have things to sell throughout the year. Our chairman is my very good friend Mick Poultney (compost guru). He informs me there was over 70 people there at the first meeting proving how popular the NVS is becoming.

With so many NVS members in one room, you have a fountain of knowledge at your fingertips- all you need to do is turn up!

 

Hope to see you there and I shall be posting some pictures from our next meeting...

I'm back again but i'm half the man i used to be!

Best in show collection

Competing against my very good friend Derek Walker
Unfortunately I haven't been able to get on here for some time as back in February I was rushed into hospital with severe lower abdominal pain. Having gone through several scans it was decided I had something called incerception of the bowel (or summat like that!). I was told it was life threatening and I was rushed down to surgery immediately. The op took 2 hors longer than expected due to different complications. Anyhow I was released after a fortnight with an open wound infected with E coli! I could hardly walk and had lost over 2 stone and had very little appetite. My skin rejected the staples and when removed at home by the district nurse the wound dehisced (completely opened)... you could see the internal stitches and everything!!!!! AAARRRGGGHH! So to cut a long story short im here at home, off work, not able to lift, bend or anything like that. I get so tired quickly but I am moving about more now and the nurses are coming in every other day to redress the wound.
So I apologise to my regular followers who may have thought I had given up on this blog.
Having sat at home with plenty of time to think I have reconsidered my decision to show less and have now got several things growing for the shows this year including celery, onions and shallots. Needless to say my mum is doing the allotment under my supervision (lol) until im fighting fit again which im told is going to be a long while yet.
I will post some pictures of these things soon now I have more time on my hands so please bear with me and hopefully I can build interest back up on this blog... bye for now....
 

I'll be back...

Its been a while i'm afraid. Between this post and the last I have taken the decision to heavily cut back on the amount of showing I do. As it stands I intend only to show my chrysanthemums and perhaps one or two kinds of vegetables. However I will endeavour to pick this blog back up again and focus more on the growing of crops to eat, covering fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs.
The observant ones amongst you will notice I have changed the title of this blog. Obviously we live here at 'Duck Pools' and, more importantly, we garden here. Most of our food production happens several miles away from here where we currently rent the equivalent of three allotments. But, for the sake of this blog and to its readers (and to us for that matter) this ground is as much a part of Duck Pools as are the bricks and mortar that bind it all together.
I sincerely hope my followers will stick with me on this change of direction and simply enjoy reading about fresh produce lovingly tended and eventually arriving at its culinary culmination upon the dinner table.
This coming season holds so much promise; plans have been made, drawn and mulled over. Some of which include a new poultry enclosure, a series of heritage espalier trees and a brand new polytunnel designed to fulfil our ever-growing hunger for more fresh tomatoes, peppers and aubergines...
Stay tuned...

Our own little show...

Had our own local show today at Wollaston and i'm pleased to say, despite the weather, there were plenty of exhibits and a really good turn out. Below are a few pictures i managed to find time to take...

Stourport show...

First show of the season for me today at Stourport. A very good two-day show held under a traditional marquee alongside the River Severn. The weather was ok until dismantling time when the heavens opened putting a stop to the auction which normally follows the show.

There were some very good exhibits and everyone who got something on the bench deserved a medal. The flower exhibits were down on last year but that was obviously down to the persistant rain we seem to have had all summer.

I came away with 9 firsts, 13 seconds and four thirds so i was very pleased to say i wasnt going to show anything this year!

I've put some photos below of my exhibits for you to have a look at...Enjoy!...

Peel back the skin...

Managed to get down the plot today for the first time for a couple of weeks. Bagged some xanths and put the polythene covers on now the buds are showing colour. Today i lifted all the onions; the reds, 8oz and large dressed. All have been peeled down to the first unsplit skin, washed and powdered with talc powder to help them ripen evenly. They are then placed in the greenhouse out of direct sunlight in trays of either sawdust, hay or straw depending on what is on hand at the time!

Had a real good picking fest aswell. Picked plenty of courgettes, runner beans, french beans, garlic, tomatoes, cabbage, kale and peaches. The peaches we decided to have a go at bottling this time round. As opposed to preserving them with a sugary syrup we have used white grape juice. Time will tell if they taste good later on but it was worth a shot!

Well, i havent been to a show yet but my first one will be here soon! The august bank holiday i am showing at Stourport two day annual show. A very good show held in a traditional marquee just as a traditional great british flower show should be. At the moment i have marked to enter 45 classes- good if i can pull it off in a year like this one...

Now i'm off- as you can see Cassy looks how i feel...