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eljardindelaalegria2014

Do you give your roses organic fertilizer tea?

Three years ago I decided that I would not use more chemicals in my garden. Pests and diseases try to combat them with products that do not harm nature. I would like to have enough (remnants of pruning, grass, remnants of the kitchen, ash) to be able to make more compost. But I only manage to fill one compost a year. This compost I apply to my roses. The other shrubs have to be satisfied with two contributions a year of well-manure. At the moment I am contributing to the shrubs and trees (not the roses) chemical fertilizer once a year. Maybe over time I can do without it.

The rosales as I say, benefit from the little compost I can do during the year.

I would like to know what fertilization program you apply to your rose bushes and find out if the gardeners who make tea for your roses think it is effective.

In short, I would appreciate your opinions on the fertilization of the roses and how you prepare the tea (if they do).

My fertilization calendar with roses is:

- After pruning in February: Dry organic fertilizer, applied to the soil around the roots (irrigation before and after fertilization).

- In May: A tea of organic fertilizers applied to the soil.

- Start of summer: A foliar fertilizer made homemade.

- Summer: Another application of dry organic fertilizer in the roots.

- November: An application of monopotasium sulfate to help the roses to harden and enter latency when winter arrives.

Thank you very much to all. Have a great weekend.

Comments (39)

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I did yesterday. Compost tea with Neptune Harvest fish fertilizer and unsulphured organic molasses for the soil.

    Then in summer I spray Aerated compost tea on the leaves.

    In fall I put down a layer of shredded leaves for winter protection.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Sorry, I forgot to include the tea recipe.

    As one of you know, I write a gardening blog in which I share my experiences in the care of my garden. (Http://eljardindelaalegriaenmadrid.blogspot.com.es/2017/05/recipe-homemade-tea-fertilizer-organic .html)

    Finally, I must say what logically as I grow 107 roses, I have had to prepare quite a lot of this tea. For convenience, I have put several very large containers in different areas of the garden and there I have prepared the mixture.

    This way when I applied to the rose bushes I have not had to walk the garden so many times.

    I apply it by taking a 1 gallon container taking that amount from the large container. Then I throw it to the ground of the rose.

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    I did some research as to why bagged cow manure WAS HORRIBLE last year: made roses broke out in BS ... also why Encap dry-compost (made from cow-manure & leaves) made La Reine broke out in BS. The additives in cattle-feed are mainly: salt, sugar via molasses, and phosphorus. see link below: http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/livestock/cattle-feed-what-do-those-vitamins-minerals-and-additives-really/article_dcac4f0b-7d08-5a11-bc3a-8a08e16e15ff.html They put chemicals in cattle-feed, such as salt, ammonium sulfate (acidic), ammonium poly-phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, ammonium chloride, iodine, and molasses. I notice that when I used molasses to deepen the color of my pink blooms .. that induced black spots and attract rose slugs. Fungi growth increases when sugar is added. But the main reason why cow-manure promotes fungal growth is: ANTIBIOTICS are fed to cattle, and these antibiotics kill off the friendly bacteria, so the pathogenic fungi take over. Also excess phosphorus is known to make copper and zinc less available. Zinc and copper are strong anti-fungal agents. Gardenville Sea tea has NPK of 2-3-2, high in phosphorus. The ingredients are: Compost Tea, Omega Protein Refined Fish Emulsion, Feed-Grade Molasses, Humic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Nutri Leaf Soluble Fertilizer (Potassium Nitrate, Urea, Ammonium Phosphate, http://www.garden-ville.com/products/18/Sea-Tea-2-3-2-Organic-Fertilizer.htm Below document by Texas A & M extension showed how high phosphorus can hurt plants: Here's an excerpt from below link: "Perennial plants frequently have iron and zinc deficiencies caused by excessive phosphorus. Manure and composts should be applied judiciously. Annual soil testing to monitor soil phosphorus levels is recommended." That's why my basil plant became yellowish & stunt, but with many flowers when planted in the hole previously occupied by a blackspot-fest rose. https://aggieturf.tamu.edu/files-2005/phosphorus_Provin.pdf
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  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    I am very interested in knowing the recipes that you use to make your tea. The amounts they put of each fertilizer and the amount of water.

    Do they ferment the tea for 1/3 days?

    I do not know what appears in that picture. Is it a device that helps distribute the tea? Or is it a mechanism to remove tea and provide oxygen?

    Here in Spain I have never seen for sale that ever.

    Thank you very much for your comment, Samuel. I do not include molasses in tea because I'm afraid it will attract ants. In my garden there are many ants. Does molasses attract them?


  • teka2rjleffel
    6 years ago

    I give mine alfalfa tea a couple of times a year. In a 5 gal paint pail I put in a knee high (a stocking) 1 cup of alfalfa pellets that I find at the feed store (horse food), fill the pail with water and wait a week. Before distributing I add weak liquid fish fertilizer, (3 caps per pail.) After I use that batch I make a second batch by filling with more water but use the same alfalfa stocking. It is weaker but still has an impact. My roses love this.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked teka2rjleffel
  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    How much tea does each rose? Or what you explain is only for a rose bush? Sorry you do not understand everything. It is that I am forced to use the translator and not always do it well

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago

    I use a tablespoon of the molasses and a half cup of fish for food for the microbes in the compost with the aeration to increase the number of bacteria and Fungi in the tea. I learned that from Elaine Ingham and Bob Cannard.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Samuel, are these quantities for a single rose garden?

    And another question: Molasses does not attract ants. I have not incorporated molasses into my tea for fear the ants will come.

    Hahahaha A third question. How much water does the fertilizer dilute?

    Excuse me for asking so much. But I am very interested in knowing the different mixtures of fertilizers that you do. Also in knowing at what times of the year they apply the tea.

    Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago


    I Aerated the compost tea for 24 hours. The molasses is consumed by the microbes. I use fish bait bubbler. There's no molasses left when I apply to the soil to increase life in soil.

    When I spray with compost tea in the summer I don't include the molasses and fish. I live in a rainy area with disease pressure. Very different than Spain. One can never get too much compost. I learned this from Dr Elaine Ingham Ideas of soil food web. Aerated compost tea. Doesn't Elaine Ingham go to Spain to teach classes. Soil food web? Aerated compost tea is used by many countries many people all over the world. I live in the Adirondack mountains. I get one (uno) meter of snow. I watch the Elaine Ingham soil food web on YouTube. It is very different from Spain for times of year and amount of water. We sell our water to the rest of the USA. We have the best water and lots of it. We never have shortage of water. I have only 20 roses. I am not a rose expert. I live in a cold area where there are not to many roses. My rose growing conditions are very different from Spain. Bob Cannard is on YouTube. I use aerated compost tea like Bob Cannard and Elaine Ingham and Eric T Fleisher.

    The book Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels is in Spanish and There are people at the University of Arizona that use the Aerated compost tea which is closer to the climate in Spain.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
  • Buford_NE_GA_7A
    6 years ago

    I don't do the tea anymore. I get alfalfa meal and I put that down. I also use a lot of seaweed emulsion and fish emulsion, both foliar feeding and in the ground. I have seen a big difference in my roses.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Buford_NE_GA_7A
  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Thank you, Buford. Could you explain in more detail how you make your leaf fertilizer? When do you apply it? Leaves the leaves of their rose bushes stained? Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

    Samuel, I'll look for those videos that you comment on. Very kind of giving me the information.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thank you for the good post about organic Rose tea. I am just starting my rose season. I found a picture of the Alfalfa tea I made last year. I let it sit for four days.

    Here's a picture of my Alfalfa tea in last summer. Each rose gets one gallon. I also put the compost and organic fertilizer in there. The smaller bucket is the one for spraying on the leaves. It is Aerated compost tea. I only bubble this one day. I use the fish bubbler in both of them. I posted it in the Organic Rose forum where there is a good post on tea.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
  • Buford_NE_GA_7A
    6 years ago

    Hi El, when I do my fungicide spray, I add some to it. I use a few different things, One is something called Nature's Magic. It includes Humic Acid and Kelp Extract. It also contains some blackstrap molasses. I usually do this every other week. I don't find that it stains the leaves, since I am also applying fungicide at the same time, it's hard to tell, sometimes there is a slight dullness of the leaves for a few days until it rains. A few times a year, maybe once every 6 weeks, I do some granulated organic fertilizer, and I also add some fish or more seaweed emulsion. this I usually mix with water and pour around the roses, but sometimes, if it's been dry, I will connect to a hose end sprayer and mix that in. Neptune's Harvest is the brand I use. I've put links to both products. I am not sure you can get them in Spain, but I am sure there is something similar there.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Buford_NE_GA_7A
  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    The use of organic fertilizers in my country is not as widespread as in the US. Since there is so much demand, nurseries do not offer a very wide range of products of this type.

    In fact, fish meal in large size, and powdered seaweed, I am forced to buy them through web pages. With the extra cost that results, since I must pay the shipping costs.

    If you look at my recipe I use these two products that together can have an effect similar to the product you indicate, Buford.

    As data to see how difficult it is sometimes treat our roses in an ecological way when the market makes it difficult to buy the products, I can say that it is rare for a nursery to sell bone meal and if it finds it is in such a small size that it is very Expensive for those who grow more than one hundred rose bushes.

    What to apply tea to the roses, my readers of my blog, in Spain are astonished the use of this type of fertilizers. It is not usual. Generally gardeners apply fertilizer and perhaps sometimes, cured manure.

    Organic fertilizer recipe to make tea for roses · More Info

    I hope that the change of mentality and the fact that it is increasingly valued not to damage nature, change the Spanish market to have more demand for natural products by the gardeners fans of roses.

    One question, Samuel, what is inside the white bowl? And the cables? What are they for? (I do not know how translate "cable" the translator. I mean that thin blue cord in the white cube and the other cord that seems to get into the black cube.

    I guess it will take them effort to get to understand my messages. Surely it is very rare this translated English jajajajaa I'm sorry !! I thank you for the effort to understand my bad writing.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Blue is quarter inch air hose with air stone in the bucket. The black one is my shoe string tied to a brick to hold it down. To submerge it because the brick is tie to the air hose and air stone to submerge it. There is one blue air hose and one shoe string going to each bucket. I tied a brick and a air stone to the end of each airhose which is coming from the electric fish bubbler. I learned this from the Jeff Lowenfels book and Elaine Ingham soil food web.

    Using tea is a useful tool in the tool box. I used tea to put life in the soil. Tea can be helpful to put the life in the soil if chemicals were used.

    Also I use it to spray to protect from diseases. Tea is also a good fertilizer delivery method.

    The rain makes a tea with the soil and top mulch layer.

    There many different tools in gardening and we still have a lot to learn. Many conditions and soil types.

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
  • totoro z7b Md
    6 years ago

    Jardin, can you get well rotted chicken manure in Spain? That is pretty cheap here. So is gypsum or lime for calcium and sulfate of potash for potassium and Epsom salt for magnesium. I also use azomite for trace minerals and that is kind of pricey. I have also read from StrawChicago that cracked corn is very good for roses too. You should read her profile for more information on organic fertilizers.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The white bucket is compost tea using a paint strain bag. I have my own compost. The big bucket is a Alfalfa compost tea. With garden waste and shredded leaves and spent coffee grounds. I make two compost bins. They are one meter tall and wide. I couldn't work the garden blog. I clicked to see the garden blog but I couldn't see it . It said it was gone.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Totoro, I think the problems of communication are originated by the translator. Perhaps I am giving the impression of being a very novice gardener and asking for information on how to make tea. Although I am not an expert, I have been taking care of roses for many years and I have some knowledge about the benefits of organic fertilizers. More than asking for information on how to make tea or the benefits of organic fertilizers, I opened this thread because I found it interesting to know how to share information, to know what other ways you make tea, I wanted to know if you appreciated in your roses the benefits of Apply organic fertilizers or if there were many gardeners using chemical fertilizers. What substances they put into the tea. How often they applied it .... as you can see, I'm curious LOL

    Yes, here is for sale guano, I think it comes to be decomposed bird manure. What I can not find anywhere is alfalfa. I substitute alfalfa with manure pellets.

    I make tea in the usual way for my roses and I practice gardening as much organic as I can and I believe that the use of natural fertilizers brings life to the soil, increases microorganisms, as well as providing the soil with a good structure. Chemical fertilizers only feed the rose, not the soil.

    Although in Spain, as I say, it is difficult to buy some products that you can buy easily in the nurseries of your country, finally I can do with fishmeal, seaweed powder, pellet manure ... yes, I have to pay the Shipping costs.

    Samuel, I do not know if I understand correctly, says he could not see my blog? I'll put the link again.

    http://eljardindelaalegriaenmadrid.blogspot.com.es/

    On the right there is a button to translate to your language.

    What a horrible feeling never to be sure if I am fully understanding what you are telling me. I also suffer for not knowing if I make myself understood jajajajaa If I were younger I would learn languages !! But I have so much work with roses that I do not have time for more !!

    By the way, Samuel, I also have two compost in the garden. My composting machines have the same dimensions as yours. Unfortunately I can only get compost from one of them. I do not have so many organic remains to make two composters. We are only two at home, my kitchen does not generate many leftovers that can be used to make compost. What I do is ask for coffee grounds in a cafeteria in my town, I take dry leaves from the field that surrounds my garden, I ask the neighbors for their ashes (the ones left over from heating the house burning wood at home) .. Always I'm like a real dump lol hahaha bringing rare things home. Neighbors must think I'm crazy.

    María.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thank you for this good post. I like to see different ways of making tea for the roses. Oh I can see the blog now. Very good. I also get the spent coffee grounds.

    When you begin to understand all we have to learn about the soil beneath our feet , you are not the crazy person.

    The Soil is only 50% solid. The other 50% is what we are managing. The spaces. I use lots of shredded leaves like a lasagna style on top. I have lots of earthworms to do the work for feeding the plants. I also have lots of other plants around my roses. The worms and the plant roots make the 50% empty spaces. That is where we feed the life in the soil food web. My shredded leaves compost make a tea.

    EVERYONE IN THE ROSES FORUM HAS USED TEA. TEA IS GOOD. THIS IS A VERY GOOD POST. When one puts anything on the earth it makes a tea with the rain. It is the same as making tea in a container.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    6 years ago

    I used to be a big advocate of actively aerated compost tea. It general idea of this type of tea is to extract the compost microbes into water, feed them with real food (molasses, oat flakes, etc.), let them multiply in the aerated water for 24 hours, and then spray that tea over the foliage. I followed Dr Ingham on the compost tea Yahoo forum for awhile, and then it hit me. She got into an argument from a Phoenix based professor over the effectiveness of making tea. The final word on that was that the Phoenix based professor could never make true aerated compost tea because her water temperatures were higher than 85 degrees F. At temperatures higher than 75 degrees F the amount of oxygen available in water decreases rapidly until no aerobic microbes can live at all. Since I live in south Texas it seemed that my teas were doomed to a similar fate. I would go on to add that most people living in warm climates are wasting their time trying to multiply the microbial population by making aerated tea. This is not to say that plunging compost in and out of water and spraying that water around is not a good thing, but I do believe going to any more trouble than that is a waste of time. Fill a bag with compost, put it in a bucket of water, squeeze the bag until you think you got enough washed out into the water, and spray.

    So what about roses? Back in 2002 it was suggested to me that I could get rid of the black spot and the powdery mildew on my roses by scattering ordinary corn meal under the roses. It worked. I had to pick off the black spot affected leaves, but I never got black spot or powdery mildew again. The roses seemed to come back from the dead as if they had been fertilized. So I continued with a heaping handful of corn meal under each rose plant on a monthly basis. That's all I do. I have since moved from that house in town to a house in the country where the deer eat roses like candy, so we can't have nice things anymore. :-(

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Here is an Article from 2004 Elaine Ingham was welcome and Demonstrating compost tea at the University of Arizona in Tuscon.

    https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/composttea.html

    One application at the beginning of the growing season will get your garden off to a good start. You can apply as often as you like (three or four times during the season will probably be adequate). Lindsay Schram, Verde Valley organic gardener (and Master Gardener), uses compost tea at her farm and frequently promotes its benefits. She has attended courses taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham (compost tea expert/scholar) and will be demonstrating compost tea preparation at the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference October 18 and 19 at Cliff Castle Conference Center. Happy brewing!

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago

    Elaine Ingham using Aerated compost tea at the George W Bush library near Dallas Texas.

    https://youtu.be/l3EObE2rWFg

    http://www.earthfriendlyhomeowner.com/episode-8-all-about-aerated-compost-tea-aerated-worm-tea/

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago
  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Science documents using Aerated compost tea on black spot on roses in India.

    http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4609045/activated-compost-tea-and-blackspot?n=4 

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Dchall_san_antonio: I imagine that if a good oxygenation occurs and the mixture reaches the necessary temperature so that a multitude of microfauna reproduce in it, the tea would be even more beneficial to the garden floor.

    I do not have aerators or any system that allows me to introduce oxygen. I simply stir it frequently during the days I have brewing tea.

    My opinion is that for the simple fact of providing these organic fertilizers, we are giving the soil a good nutrition. Another reason to provide this food to the rose bushes at this time of the season is because dissolved in the water, is a way for foods to be ready for roots in less time.

    Hoovb: On the ground surrounding the rose bushes I usually have a good layer of padding formed by crushed bark. With this layer the soil is protected from the cold in winter and from the high temperatures in summer. With what I save watering but also, it also helps me to fight against weeds.

    For me, having to remove this layer of cushioning, put organic fertilizers directly, dry the soil a little and re-cover with the padding would be more work than giving the roses a tea.

    That is what I do at the beginning of the season, in March, to apply a dose of undiluted organic fertilizers and the work that takes me the removal of the quilts seems overwhelming.

  • totoro z7b Md
    6 years ago

    Sorry Jardin, I did not mean to imply I thought you were a novice gardener (as I am), I was just pointing out that Straw has posted a great deal of information on this topic.

    I agree that pulling back the mulch is a pain so I just put fertilizers on top of the mulch. I know it slows the penetration into the soil, but I do get a lot of rain.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Toroto. Do not suffer! Everything we say here is with very good intentions. This type of nuance occurs when the two people do not speak the same language. It is inevitable, if I spoke English there would be no problem. In my language I speak like a parrot !!! Hahahaha and I explain myself quite well but of course, in another language ...

    But quiet, Toroto. You do not have to apologize for anything at all. Thank you so much for your kindness. (I.e.

    I also thought about putting the fertilizers on the mulching but my padding is of rather large and rough lumps so I tried on a couple of rose bushes. The fertilizers were adhered to the pieces of wood with moisture and only managed to dissolve those "balls" of mixed fertilizers, when I applied the maguera with a lot of pressure. This pressure moved the padding. In short, a disaster !! Hahahaha Finally I decided to remove the mulching a little, to water, apply fertilizers and re-cover with mulching.


  • Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I love this post, folks. I've never made tea and just rely on my compost, of which I have a lot. It's really helped my roses this year. I'm going to try the cornmeal tip and report back at season's end as BS was my bane last year on even supposedly BS-resistant roses. It's cheap enough around here and doesn't take much time to apply.

    Alegria, one can buy aerators in the fish tank dept of your local pet store, if you have one nearby. That's their main use.I also think you might enjoy the Organic Roses forum, although things can get a bit heated at times. : ) There's a lot of discussion over what roses do best without noxious chemistry.

    Sam, you may " only" have twenty roses, but they are so healthy and gorgeous. I bought Quietness this year based on your photos and positive reports, although I know our conditions are somewhat different.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thanks VV.

    I can't wait to see pictures of your new Quietness and Viking Queen.

    Maria

    You blog entry and the pictures are great of night owl with the hydrangeas. Thanks for your good work. I like to see the pictures of roses. Wow those hailstorm was great too. My smart phone translate the language for me.

    I really appreciate your professional advice on the using tea. You are a great rose grower. I think stirring the tea is good too. This is a great post.

    I like your chart of ingredients of the tea. It's very hard work to share those nice comments and pictures of your garden and roses. What does the vinegar do? Do you only put a little bit.? Also the algae powder is a new to me ;Must have lots of good nutrients from the sea. I don't know what fish flour is. I use Neptune Harvest fish hydrolysate.

    I have a good mix of different plants. Here's a picture of my ground cover plants mostly lupines and Strawberries.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    My brother feeds the deer corn where he lives. There is no way he can ever have a Garden. That's a good point about tea. Another benefit of using tea. Leaving the corn around the roses attracted the deer.

    Elaine Ingham mentions using tea with the tricoderma mixed in. This is used against the disease causing microbes. This is a good biological control for bs and powdery mildew fungi. The corn meal also produces the tricoderma. Putting the corn around is a lot cheaper then to purchase the tricoderma. The corn unfortunately can attract deer and other critters.

    The tricoderma affects the disease causing fungus but it also affects the good Mycorrhizae too which is important for the plant growth. So , right after using the corn or the tricoderma it is important to use the Aerated compost tea to get back the good Microbes working again for helping plant growth.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    VAPORVAC, you gave me a great idea. An aerator of a fish tank !! My problem is maybe it's a lot of tea I have to prepare. Are several containers ... what would require me to buy several fish tank aerators?

    Vaporvac, I do not care if you call me Joy because the word I like. But actually my name is Maria. The Garden of Joy is the name of my garden and is also the name I use on Facebook. When you say the conversation warms up, do you mean that you argue passionately? If so, I do not care. I am Spanish and if something characterizes us to the Spaniards is that we are very, very, passionate people. We are vehement and we live things very intensely. So I will heed your advice and I will also visit the ancient roses forum. Although I do not know if they will make the effort you make in understanding me. It must be difficult to understand my English. It is not true? Jajjajaja Surely say barbarities. I am sorry.

    SAMUEL, many thanks for your kind words.

    The vinegar is put in small quantity. I have enough roses in the range of violets, purples, magenta .... I have verified that if I acidify a little (just a little) the ground, the colors of those same roses produce roses in tones that pull more blue than red. Let's say the colors are a bit colder, more violet than purple. I do not know if I can explain. I tell you, the vinegar is to acidify the soil a bit.

    Fishmeal is fish which is dried, dehydrated and then ground, pulverized. It has many nutrients. But it smells very bad, very bad, very bad !!

    What beautiful lupines !! It strikes me that he cultivates the strawberries next to the vivacious ones. In my case would be impossible because the strawberries become very large forests, I think they invade the vivacious. I envy their lupins because I tried twice to grow them and they came to flourish but they always became ill and ended up dying. And I gave up !!

    SAMUEL I think my tea would be of better quality if I managed to aerate it. This would help increase the amount of microorganisms present in the tea that I bring to my roses.

    In forest areas near my garden there are also deer, but these animals never approach the gardens. I live in an urbanization. I do not know how to say it in English A space of land with individual houses and that has streets with asphalt. Very quiet area without much vehicle but urbanized enough that the deer do not approach.

    There is also some difference in how we understand the Spanish gardens. I explain. Here for most gardeners, it would be unthinkable not to hedge your property. It is not frequent to see open gardens. Almost all the gardens have a wall, hedge, fence ... that makes limit and prevents the penetration of animals.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thanks Maria. I agree with you about the fence. Also I agree with VV. I like this post. Maria's pictures of the roses on the blog say her tea is working good. I don't think I need the vinegar where I live to make my roses more blue. I might try that maybe keep it in mind.

    That is what I have ; a fish bubbler.

    I also have a paint strain compost tea bag for the compost too.

    I don't make tea all the time. I use it for specific biological compost tea reasons instead of harsh chemicals. The tea I made this spring was used for the beneficial nematodes to add to.

    Today I am making tea with the compost , fish and teaspoon of molasses for the lawn. I saw that used in the parks in New York City and at Harvard University on the lawn. This will be the first time I try tea on the grass.

  • Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
    6 years ago

    This has been a wonderful thread to read!! I've enjoyed it very much.

    i have a compost bin made from a garbage can. The compost is finally ready so I'll be putting it in my garden this week. I also bought some fish fertilizer and bloom booster but I need to use a watering can so that's going to take some time. Finally I think my pile of horse manure should be ready as well and if not it's going in the empty composter until it is ready. This is my first year really trying to feed my roses.

    I did make compost tea the way you describe one year in my old garden. The results were fantastic but stinky! :)

    It is so wonderful to meet and learn from someone across the world. I appreciate you taking the time to translate for us! :)

    El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid thanked Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I agree with Lily. Thank you Maria. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat reading your blog. So awesome. You have fans cheering in the USA. What a great treat. In case anyone missed it. Here's the link for anyone who is interested in seeing pictures of Maria's Garden of Joy in Spain. http://eljardindelaalegriaenmadrid.blogspot.com.es/?m=1

    The pictures of Purple skyliner and A Shropshire Lad is so great. The purple roses are the best and they make the other ones stand out more.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Samuel, it is an honor for me to read your words. Thank you very much for your comments towards my blog and of course for offering the link of the link. I am excited about your comments.

    Lilyfinch, that's right !! What a disgusting smell !!

    I would like to ask you about another matter about tea: how do you distribute it? I explain. I make tea in several very large containers that I place in different places in the garden so that I do not have to make so many trips. Many rose bushes are planted scattered throughout the garden. I make about 107 gallons. Obviously I do not have such a large container. So I make tea in several containers.

    Once the tea is made I fill a container that has a capacity of 1 gallon and I pour tea to each rose. It's heavy and slow work and it forces me to walk from every rose bush to the tea container.

    I remember that somewhere I saw that there was a more comfortable system with a hose but now my memory fails me and I do not remember what the system that allowed the distribution of the tea to the rose bushes without having to move.

    Do you know any system? It may be with a motor. If so, it is already too complicated for me.


  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    One more thing, if someone wants to add me as friendship on their facebook I offer my link, is this:

    Https://www.facebook.com/eljardin.delaalegria.3

    I will be happy to accept your friendship. Thank you!!

  • totoro z7b Md
    6 years ago

    Sam, thanks for explaining how the cornmeal works. Do you think that after treating with cornmeal that watering with something like soluble Plant Success would help to reestablish the micorhyzae?

    Maria, no offense taken either. Regarding my practice of putting fertilizers on top of my mulch, I should add that I use a very thin layer of mulch because I am lazy and cheap.

    Also this year I am experimenting with putting my spent petals on my rose beds (because Kahlid on the organic rose forum said it was rich in nutrients for his compost) as a kind of mulch. I am a little worried that it will form an impenetrable barrier to to the rain getting through to the soil. I'll have to see how long it takes the petals to decompose.

    I am also putting vegetable and fruit waste in my rose beds because I don't have space for a true compost heap. Unfortunately decaying fruit attracts flies so I am not going to do that to the rose bush in a container right next to my back door.

  • El Jardín de la Alegría en Madrid
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    TOTORO, I fear that the petals that fall to the ground when the roses wither, being wet from the watering, are a perfect place to nest insects that can become pests. In addition, I would say that they can also favor the development of fungi.

    I usually sweep all the ground around my rose bushes and I wipe away any remaining fall. I think that's more hygienic.

    However, perhaps you give a good idea to use the petals. Tossed to the compost heap and once they have decomposed is a way to provide nutrients.

  • totoro z7b Md
    6 years ago

    Uh oh. What sort of insects would grow in the wet petals? Mosquitoes? Or do you mean bugs that eat the roses?

    Well maybe I will reconsider my rose petal experiment.

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