Page 13 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2022

Liquid manure
Crimson Clover
Compost bins 2
Leaf mould heap
preventing leaching and help to reduce soil erosion.
Earlier in the article I mentioned compost and members should try to compost everything they can, and if they have the opportunity obtain material from
Field Beans green manure
often be a reasonable cost if collected. Another option is to make your own
liquid feeds using various materials, some of which are free; I should warn you some smell pretty vile and don’t get them on your clothing! Some of the concoctions include comfrey tea, nettle tea or beer, mares tail tea, sheep manure, soot water and there are more. Making the teas is very simple and is just a case of filling a bucket, drum or similar container with the leaves from the plant and compact down a couple of times then top up with water (rainwater if possible) then leave for a couple of weeks. The result is a liquid that looks a bit like dark Coca Cola (smells different though!), this should be diluted to the colour of weak tea (hence the names above) and used as a plant or foliar feed.
Mare’s tail or Equisetum tea is made slightly differently, dry the plant and crumble it up and put into a container and add boiling water, allow to cool then it can be used as a foliar feed by diluting 1 part tea to 5 parts water. It is high in silica, and this is thought to give plants
can do) you do not know what the material contains, but this should not stop you using it, any organic matter is better than nothing and is likely to improve your crops even if not a high nutrient level. Adding organic matter will not only add some nutrients but will also help to hold onto
neighbours, relatives and friends if they can get it;
you could swop it for some surplus vegetables. If you live near the coast or visit during the year, try to get some seaweed as this is well worth while and is a very good plant food (see the Jersey article on growing potatoes). Check it is O.K to collect it and only pick up the loose material that has
some existing nutrients
in the soil by the cation exchange capacity, reduces the leaching of nutrients, improves the soil structure, and feeds the wide range of soil fauna and flora which helps feed the plants. If you have a free or cheap source of bulky organic matter, make full use of it.
Another option is to make your own liquid feeds using various materials
I have mentioned the
growing of green manures in the magazine on a number of occasions so will not repeat myself here other than to say they are well worth growing especially the legumes which will add nitrogen to the soil. All green manures add organic matter to the soil, recycle existing nutrients in the soil
been washed ashore by the tide.
Look around the area where you live are
there any stables, brewery’s, mushroom farms, or other companies that have surplus organic matter they wish to dispose of, does the local council sell the composted green waste, if so, this can
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