Gardeners World

[womble]

So, did you see this weeks episode where they talked about compost tea.

Oh good I thought, a nice down to earth fertiliser we can all make. Nope, apparently you can buy the kit for £680, yes that's not a typo, £680.
And it's not a fertiliser we were told, but we don't know how it works and the people using it, don't know what goes into it.

Well thanks for that useful bit of info

[Two_Sheds]

Oh good I thought, a nice down to earth fertiliser we can all make.

It already exists - comfrey and/or nettle tea. Cost = zero pence

Lol at the £680 stuff though

[ginger ninger]

I nearly choked on mi Stella when Monty said how much it was, he even got the Yorkshire woman's war cry...

..."HOW MUCH" ...

I'll stick to comfrey tea...Thank ya very much Monty.

[Hilary B]

Isn't 'compost tea' the stuff that ungoos sticky clay soils? If it's the stuff I am thinking of, it somehow 'cures' the way a clay soil gets after being messed up with loads of 'bag' fertilizer and no humus for years.
Great in its way, but not really applicable to any half-way decently kept garden.

[Kristen]

It already exists - comfrey and/or nettle tea. Cost = zero pence

Lol at the £680 stuff though

Although not the same type of beast ... Compost Tea is a microbial symbiotic concoction, rather than a "fertilizer".

They gave no indication how many plants the 600-quid would provide for, just that the only kit you can buy costs 600-quid and that some garden centres are buying them to then sell Compost Tea - "Draught" I presume.

[TonyF]

I saw that and thought that's interesting and I didn't get Monty's other point that we don't know how manure works - thought we knew about that years since - but do get his point about the magic spark, that nano-second when the effect of the manure means the seed thinks it's time to start germinating. Bit esoteric I know but just been away for a yoga weekend !

But the price is daft, perhaps it will be like using insects to clear pests in the green house, it's something that starts commercial/expensive but then becomes available to us mere mortals who don't have our sheds decorated by Felco?

But, there's a load of nettles growing on the bank on the other side of our place so let's see, £600 plus or a short walk and a net in the water butt?

[rana]

I've seen cheaper alternatives where you can make this microbial tea using an aquarium aerator pump to bubble air through a mixture of horse muck, syrup or molasses and water for some days. Still seems like a lot of faff for something that has no scientific grounding. Probably another fad.

[Florence Fennel]

I gave the same response as Ginge - HOW MUCH???

[Mikey]

If the wise bods in Wisley are completely none the wiser as to how it works, WHY!!! are they still spending that much on it, or perhaps they have shares in it.

I think I'll stick with my own tea to be honest. I wonder how much a pint at Wyevale will cost.I can't see many garden centres brewing it, if it smells as awful as they say, it will put off the weekend clean clothed browsers.

[ginger ninger]

I gave the same response as Ginge - HOW MUCH???

Well Flo...you are a Yorkshire lass after all, what do they expect ?

[Florence Fennel]

Thou't reight Ginge! Price of veg'll go up if they use that.

[Pies]

Im not from yorkshire but i nearly choked,especially when they couldnt actually say it does this better or that better

[FoxHillGardener]

I think Wisley know that it does work they just don't know how. I can see how it would make sense having the kit for a big scale public garden or perhaps an allotment association, if they have enough members. Not the kind of thing you'd have in your back garden, though!

[Ouya Mellsa]

I'm still not enjoying the new GW. I don't see the point in Carol's visits. Boring.

[TonyF]

I really thought that Monty and the new team would make a difference. Saw the last episode after a superb evening whilst we were away at the weekend with a couple of other gardeners who live here and one of them fell asleep and I started to loose the will to live. Think I'll be looking round for a decent French gardening programme soon.