Tea Time!

I've been wanting to fertilize my yard & garden for years but wasn't really sure how to go about it. The "traditional" way, of course, is to mix up a funky blue chemical with some water and soak the plants with it. When I moved into my first house the previous owners left a big box of miracle grow in the garage. The color of the stuff freaked me out. It freaked me out so much that I still have the box, brought it all the way from NC. I don't want to throw it out, I don't want to use it. So it sits on a shelf in the garage. I use composted manure and leaf mould in the veg garden every year but I'm looking for something to use in the flower gardens as well as the veg garden.

Along comes the Helpful Gardener Forum and their sticky in the organic section about aerated compost tea. I started reading and googling and a few days later I have made my own compost tea brewer for super cheap. It's happily perculating away and should be done later this afternoon. I plan on having a few "control" plants. Since I have several Arugaman's Eggplants, basil, rosemary and Cheverna chuska peppers, I'll do 2 mixed pots of each and one will get the tea, the other just water and we'll see what happens.

I still have a TON to learn. Biology isn't my thing but I'm reading and making notes. I figure as long as I don't kill my plants with it (they say that's virtually impossible to do) I should be ok.

I also potted up most of the remaining pepper, eggplant and tomato plants. I still have a few to go but the main work is done. I've been hardening off the plants outside during the day. It's still getting down in the low 30's at night so I bring them in in the evening. Things are looking good!

What's blooming now: Forsythia, primrose, daffodils, cherry trees, scilla siberica