Tea Party for Plants

Chicken-Manure Tea

Ingredients/Materials:

1 qt. chicken manure
old pillowcase, burlap or cheesecloth
bucket
2 gallons water

Steps:

1. Pour about a quart of chicken manure into an old pillowcase or bundle it into a large piece of burlap or cheesecloth and tie it closed.

2. Put the bag in a bucket with about two gallons of water, cover, and allow to steep overnight. The water should be the color of strong coffee.

3. To use, dilute the tea by about half until it is the color of weak tea, then water your plants with it and/or spray it on the foliage. (Karam recommends doing both and spraying daily.)

Notes

• The rule with manure tea is to make it strong and use it fresh. After about a week, the tea turns acidic and can harm plants.

• Other manures can be used, but chicken manure has the lowest salt content. Too much salt can damage roots and singe the leaves.

• Compost is a great substitute for the manure.

Spray this on your plants to get rid of sucking insects such as aphids and white flies.

Ingredients:

1 head garlic
9 hot chilies (canned)
2 cups of water
1/2 tsp. liquid nondetergent soap

Preparation:

Puree garlic, chilies and water in a blender. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth and pour into a spray bottle. Add the nondetergent soap and top off with some water. This insecticide will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Notes

• Canned chilies are fine, or you can substitute citrus peels or gingerroot for the chilies.

• If you can't find nondetergent soap at your health-food store, a good alternative is shampoo that is formulated for colored hair.

Garlic Chili Fungicide

This fungicide coats plants' leaves so that airborne spores can't stick to them.

Ingredients:

2 cups garlic chili insecticide
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup baking soda or nonfat dry milk

Preparation:

Mix thoroughly, then spray on plants as needed.