Compost Tea, 3 months later

Compost Tea

Lets be fair to plants. After creating healthy environment for them to grow with fluffed soil, compost, mulch, food and water, we can always expect better things to come. Pest even though is problematic, is always dependent on the health level of the plants. healthier plants seem to gather enough strength to ward them off. On the other hand caterpillars, grasshoppers hunt only the best leaves. Aphids suck nutrient from weaker plants until they succumb to death.. As plants get weaker, pests come like an army to share the bounty... I think we are concerned with the younger plants, to ensure they survive to maturity, and having seeds to continue its legacy. So compost tea is an attempt to safeguard them.

Now, lets see how my first attempt at compost tea comes out.[old post under label compost] . Seven 1000ml bottles altogether. Each bottle has its own composting material which includes banana peels, papaya peels, roselles residue, banana leaves and stems, tapioca leaves, dragon fruit peels, and spinach old leaves. Each bottle received brown sugar as brewing media. Yesterday was the due date, 16th Mac 2009 after 3 months fermentation.

I plan to do a controlled fertilizing. Each bottle is meant for a specific plant and I probably hold on using the usual fertilizer for a month just to see the difference... huh!

 

3 months +

 

7 bottles of compost tea.

Lets do composting
~bangchik and kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA

BIOFERTILIZER we bought reluctantly

We bought something during the last MAHA 2008 held in Serdang which is close by. A gallon sized container of Organic Fertilizer and Bio Immunizer of Nutri products. A bit expensive, but we somehow decided to buy them. We were given 500ml Nutri spray for free.

Too add to the collection of fertilizer, we bought 40 Kg bag of processsed poultry manure at RM 45 on a recent trip to Sungai Buloh, the haven for plant lovers. That will last for quite sometime.

What is MAHA?
MAHA 2008: Malaysia, Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition 2008 (MAHA 2008). Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry and organised by Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), MAHA 2008 was the biggest event of the year serving the Agro-Based Industry. Being awarded by The Malaysian Book of Records as the Largest Exhibition in Malaysia, MAHA 2008 was undoubtedly the largest industry gathering in the South East Asia region. MAHA 2008 was regarded as a 'must attend' for the industry to be updated with the latest innovations and solutions and to do business. Over 950 local and international exhibitors had showcase their latest solutions to the industry.

So, our plants has been sprayed with the two products on weekly basis. For the moment, 500 ml is enough for the spray. We mix the two, fertilizer and immunizer for the weekly spray. The plants look healthy. We have reduced the use of NPK 15:15:15 chemical fertilizer ever since. Now, the stock of NPK fertilizer bought in Perak sometime early last year is finished. It was much cheaper then, now is rocket high!

I find this article, a country report by Khairuddin Abdul Rahim, Malaysian Institute for Nuclear technology Research, very interesting and helpful: click> ~ Country Report of Malaysia
which explains the perception, demand and promotion of Biofertilisers in Malaysian Agriculture. Another article by fao click> ~ Fertilizer use by crop in Malaysia is enlightening too.