July 22, 2009

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!

5 comments:

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

Your garden is coming along nicely. You'll be eating fresh veggies before you know it. The flowers are looking good too. Must be that nourishing alpaca poop tea.

Anonymous said...

YUM!!
except for the alpaca poo tea... not so yum there but your plants seem to like it :)

Lilla said...

SVB, I can't wait to eat some fresh veggies from my gardens! I look at produce in the grocery store and resist buying it b/c I hope to have an overabundance of my own, homegrown veggies...one day!

Daune, it's a stinky job, but I'm hoping it will be oh so worth it soon!

basicliving@backtobasicliving.com said...

Oh! Thank you for the Colorado wildflower pics!! They are beautiful. I do have some white ones popping up now. I hope they come back next year. I wish I could have planted them outside.

Your veggies are looking great! They must love them some Alpaca Poop Tea. I make mine the same way - only with chicken poop. And in the exact same type of container - Yay cats! We recycle the heck out of those kitty litter buckets.

frugalmom said...

Look at your garden grow! Dont you just love that feeling when you see everything beginning to take off? It wont be long now. You just wait....especially since you are using such great fertilizer!

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