Good morning Terry. I'm good thank you. Planted all but two roses in the ground yesterday (new rose bed) so that was an adventure but very fun. Feel a little old and sunburned today but pleased. Very much appreciate the feedback on my tea. Yeah! Good I am going to apply it today. Speaking of the stench last night we slept with the windows open as it got up to about 96 here during the day. At around 2 a.m. I woke up and smelled something truly evil. I thought perhaps it was sick animal in the back yard at first when I realized there was just enough breeze to bring the tea aroma into the bedroom. I got up and closed the window. Ha! Have a great day. Kate

As for being ready in 3 days... With the bacteria in horse manure to give it a boost, I totally believe it. Starting without it should take longer. As for the fungus (mold) on top, most common 'fuzzy' molds that we see are obligate aerobes (has to have oxygen to live). ('Water' molds that we associate with root rot belong to another group altogether.) Therefore, the more surface area, the more oxygen and opportunity for fungus to grow. I suspect if one stirs more often, it would reduce mold on top. And, fwiw, the type and quantity of bacteria from the horse poo depends on how fresh. Honestly speaking off the top of my head, I might be inclined to use (a smaller amount of) fresh horse poo for this purpose with the idea that the strict and facultative enteric anaerobes would go to town on the alfalfa and other goodies in the tea. Otoh, if you use composted manure, the strict anaerobes will be dead. [Strict anaerobes can't live around oxygen (we have lots of them in our gut) and facultative bacteria are happy with or without oxygen.] A good example of this are sewage plants that use either anaerobic and/or aerobic digestion in different phases of processing. From Wikipedia: "Anaerobic digestion Main article: Anaerobic digestion Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial process that is carried out in the absence of oxygen. The process can either be thermophilic digestion, in which sludge is fermented in tanks at a temperature of 55C, or mesophilic, at a temperature of around 36°C. Though allowing shorter retention time (and thus smaller tanks), thermophilic digestion is more expensive in terms of energy consumption for heating the sludge. Anaerobic Digestion is the most common (mesophilic) treatment of domestic sewage in septic tanks, which normally retain the sewage, from one day to two days, reducing the B.O.D. by about 35 to 40%. This reduction can be increased with a combination of anaerobic and aerobic treatment by installing 'Aerobic Treatment Units' (ATUs) in the Septic Tank. One major feature of anaerobic digestion is the production of biogas (with the most useful component being methane), which can be used in generators for electricity production and/or in boilers for heating purposes. Aerobic digestion Aerobic digestion is a bacterial process occurring in the presence of oxygen. Under aerobic conditions, bacteria rapidly consume organic matter and convert it into carbon dioxide. The operating costs used to be characteristically much greater for aerobic digestion because of the energy used by the blowers, pumps and motors needed to add oxygen to the process. However, since the advent of stone fibre filter technology which uses natural air currents for oxygenation, this no longer applies. Aerobic digestion can also be achieved by using diffuser systems or jet aerators to oxidize the sludge." For anyone wondering about methane, I wouldn't in the time period and quantity we're looking at. Plus, you're not using a closed system. Otoh, anaerobic digestion will produce more VSCs (Volatile Sulfur Compounds) and we all know what THEY smell like! ;-)

I haven't fertilized any of my clematis yet since it is way to early for the last frost of the season and I don't want to do anything that is going to stimulate too much early growth that might get frosted back. Tonight they are calling for a low of 28 degrees so that does not bode well. Whether you should start feeding your clematis now depends on where you live and the likelihood that you might have bad frosts between now and your last average frost date. For me that is around the middle of April.

After researching, I find that alfalfa meal decomposes fast and gives off quick heat, more so than alfalfa pellets. I cooked a geranium to death by planting in a clay mixed with alfalfa meal. I did the same with 2 rhododendrons in hot and dry summer. Years ago we detached our lawn in late fall and stored bags of grass clippings in the garage .. the entire garage was heat up, despite 40 degrees outside. NPK of alfalfa pellets is 2-1-2 ($17.99 for 50 lbs. bag), NPK of soy bean meal is 7-2-1 ($20 for 50 lbs. bag), and NPK of crack corn is 1.65 / 0.65 / 0.4 ($2.69 for 10 lbs. bag) at feed store. NPK of alfalfa hay is 2.45 - 0.5 - 2.1, sold for $8 per bale at the feed store. Corn is alkaline, has anti-fungal property. Soybean meal is also alkaline. Alfalfa meal is slightly acidic and naturally high in sugar, great for fungal germination. See below discussion "Afalfa Meal Heating Up Soil" in Organic Gardening Forum: â¢Posted by mprevost 7 (My Page) on Sun, Jan 13, 08 Throughout that time I've used only bagged composted chicken manure, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, and various mulches (leaves, grass clippings) to fertilize my soil. I have not seen this heating up occur without significant concentrations of alfalfa meal. Without a lot of alfalfa meal, it does not heat up. But if you put a lot of alfalfa meal under mulch or in a hole, it gets REAL hot in a couple of days. Like as hot as a very hot compost pile. 150 deg F or so. " **** From Straw: I haven't tested soy bean meal, so I won't recommend that. I tested cracked corn (grinded smaller with NutriMill flour grinder) ... awesome result, shiny leaves & many buds. Birds like to eat that stuff. The growth can't compare to alfalfa meal, but I'm aiming for buds and health in hot summer, and not top growth. Alfalfa hay is $8 per bale, best to mix that in with dirt, since the hay is hard to decompose, plus matting-up, blocking water. Some info. from the lawn forum: â¢Posted by lee_in_iowa 4 to 5 on the lin (My Page) on Thu, Apr 14, 11 at 11:35 Boy, I can't recommend the soybean meal. Never again! I tilled it into the top 4-6 inches of my raised beds one year and it grew me a bumper crop of cutworms and armyworms. It attracted pests I had never had before. For myself, I like to ask for bales of alfalfa hay." Here is a link that might be useful: Reference link on Organic Fertilizers This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 10:02