Sun Tea - Of a Different Sort

There are many varieties of compost teas that gardeners use to add healthy nutrients to their garden soil. In keeping with organic principles this year, I decided to try an alpaca poop tea that's nothing more than poop (also called beans), water and assistance from Mother Nature. Don't you want to know my recipe? I thought you might.

First, take two to three generous scoops of alpaca beans and add to your bucket...

Add enough water to fill your bucket...

Then, give everything a good stir with your poop-stirring stick...

Secure the lid on your bucket and set it in a sunny corner of the garden. Let it marinate for at least a couple of weeks. The longer, the better.

Every few days, open the bucket, hold your nose, and give it a good stir. When I am ready to use my alpaca poop tea, I fill about half of my watering can with alpaca tea and half with plain water. I use this mixture on my plants about once a week. If you have a lot of straw or leaves in your tea, you can simply strain the solids from the liquid, but I don't bother. I just let everything sink to the bottom, add more water and let nature do its thing. Simple and organic!

Even though it feels like it's taking forever for my gardens to mature, they are starting to look very promising. Here are a few shots from this morning.

Look! Look! Look! We have tomatoes!!! Click on the photo to enlarge it for a closer view.

and cucumbers...

and summer squash...


and carrots...

In the flower department, we have bee balm...

yarrow...

and Penny, just for you...Colorado wildflowers! No idea what's in this mix, except the red flowers look like poppies and I think the big-leaf green ones to the right are my sunflowers. All of those wildflower seeds were so fine and small that it was pretty impossible to get them buried evenly and neatly. So, they are most definitely looking wild!