To prevent blight and other pathogens from destroying plants many home gardeners have had great success using homemade manure tea. Soak the area around plants and use as a foliage spray.
Manure or Compost tea is not recommended for use on seedlings as it may encourage damping-off disease.
To make your own, fill a 30 gallon trash can with water. Let sit for 24 hours to evaporate the additives (use rain water if you can). Add about 4 shovels worth of manure to this and cover. Let it sit for 2-3 weeks, stirring once a day. Strain and apply as needed.
Various manures supply nutrients as follows: be aware that ALL manure must be aged as fresh manure will burn plants terribly due to the high amounts of ammonia.
Chicken manure: nitrogen rich: use for heavy feeders such as corn, tomatoes and squash.
Cow Manure: potash: use for root crops.
Rabbit manure: promotes strong leaves and stems.
Horse manure: leaf development.
Compost Tea: Make and use just the same as you would the manure tea. This is another terrific
reason to compost all those prunings, grass clipping and kitchen wastes.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / grimplet
