Has anyone here made liquid feeds from plants?
I have ordered some comfrey plants (bocking 14) to grow on the family farm to hopefully produce liquid concentrated feed. I have read alot of things about the plant, ways of making the liquid and its uses in the garden. Sounds like wonderfully good stuff although not to be over used as it is very rich in potassium. It has more nitrogen and potassium than farmyard manure or compost and about the same level of phosphorus
As i cant harvest in the first year it will be 2013 before i can start making any. Cant wait. I will be busy though over winter preparing the site for planting. I have chosen a damp partially shaded position which has had lots of organic matter added over the years so it should do well.
In the meantime i am going to make some liquid fert out of nettles. This should keep me going until the comfrey is ready. There are a number of nettle beds around the farm where bonfires have been over the years and a site where a dozen heston straw bales were dumped and have rotted down. I'm going to harvest these nettles twice next year as any more will weaken the plants and they may die eventually.
We have some didin fluid around that i will have to find out if is compatible with these liquid feeds. That would be a good way of making the feed a slow release product if needed.
Wish me luck, i love this sort of thing.
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I have used comfrey liquid feed some years ago produced by a friend from his allotment. It certainly did the plants no harm but like all feeds and fertilizers it's hard to assess the benefits unless you leave an area or some plants hungry. Applying feed and fertilizer is a bit like chucking money out the window , you know its gone but will anyone else notice.
I hope the production area is away from the house as it don't half pong !
Good luck with the project
i made some nettle tea/feed its sure pong am convinced its good stuff all natural too full of minerals too. i used it in my own garden sadly not able to make enough of it.
Stu
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At some point you need to visit my allotment in Leeds - I've been using nettle tea on it and the difference between veg varied - Nothing on Potatoes and beans, but cabbages, Kale, Lettuce and the Calendula were all 50% bigger - I tested it by treating half each planting patch. Was actually anoyed at myself for not treating the whole lot.
I've been informed by others on my allotments that after 2-3 years the comfrey slows down alot, as it drains all the nitrogen from the ground, and as your taking the leaf matter away for use its not replaced - However dumdum dum - I didnt say this, but peeing on the plants kicks their growth, or so Im told. (I know grass likes pee.... just look at the lush grass on all the footpaths near Bramham park (Leeds fest site).
Thanks everyone. The production site will be quite a distance from the house - it would have been even if there was'nt any smell
David - it would be good to meet some time and i love a good allotment. Its surprising that some veg responds and others dont. You would'nt want too much N on potatoes as you would get too much top growth. Thanks for telling me about the comfrey slowing down. I will make sure that i pee on them regularly - in fact i go in 2 litre pop bottles when at work and take it home to use as a compost accelerator. I'll make sure the comfrey and nettles receive some of this!
Comfrey has very deep roots and so takes a lot of nutrients from the subsoil below most other plants. This is where it gets a lot of its potassium from. I guess that i should also be replenishing this with some source of potash. Wood ash from bonfires and my log burner should do the trick here although it is highly alkaline - use with care i think. Lots of fire ash does'nt do the nettles any harm though as they are thriving where there have been lots of bonfires over the years.
I do wonder if these feeds will be any good on lawns? I will trial some on a small area before going any further.
Thanks, stu
Thanks for the feedback Andrew. Its good to hear that it is worthwhile.
excellent . id like to do the nettle sometime.
im drinking it with lemon for my white-finger (tea bags) and love nettle soup :)
Hi John. I will be using it on my veg and borders but i have the potential to make much more than what they require. Its nothing to do with neat & tidy as my lawns are full of flowers (weeds) which i love. To me its all about improving the soils health.
John www.acegardenservices.co.uk said: