Page 30 - Bringing out the Potential In Our Children - Gardeners - Food Producers

2. Place some stones in the bottom of the bottle. Turn the top upside
down and tape it to the bottle.
3. Use a ruler and marker pen to make a scale on the bottle.
4. Pour water into the bottle until it reaches the bottom strip on the
scale.
5. Put your rain gauge outside where it can collect the rain. After a rain
check to see how far up the scale the water has risen.

Now you’ve given them water what about food for your plants. Well feed
plants will grow up big and strong just like kids.

 If you have done a good job of improving your soil feeding it
with decomposed leaves, compost or maybe you added some well-
rotted manure then you will not have to fertilize too much.

 Your plants will tell you if they are lacking something with
stunted growth, pale leaves and low yields.

 The best time to feed them is when they are at their most active
stages of growth and when they are starting to bloom and fruit.
 If you didn’t get time to add compost in when you were
preparing your garden you can always make some compost tea to

give to your plants. Kids love making concoctions and they can watch
their plants come alive and thrive with a good feeding.

 Compost and other plant teas are usually fed to the roots of
your plants, simply water into the soil. Foliar feeding can also be done
and the helpful microbes and bacteria in the tea aid in combating
viruses, fungi, pests and diseases.

 For foliar feeding, grab an old shirt, curtain or piece of muslin to
strain the tea before filling up your sprayer or watering can, then add

a small squirt (approximately ½ teaspoon of detergent or vegetable
oil per watering can (4 litres/1 gal)) to help the liquid stick to the
leaves.

Compost tea from compost
Use a large waterproof 4-5 litre (1 gal) bucket or container with a lid. For

ease of making a finer compost tea, put a sack in your container to put the
compost in. Fill your container (or sack in your container) half full of