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Just so you know,lol...

Liquid Manure

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Liquid manures are used extensively in cropping and fruit production, particularly to supply nutrients during the transition period when changing to an organic management system.


A large number of different liquid manures can be made on the farm out of locally available plant materials, also cow dung, which are fermented with BD preps 502-507. Most liquid manures take from 8 to 12 weeks to be ready.


Prepare liquid manures 2 days before Full Moon.


Benefits of liquid manures are:


an easy and quick way to get BD preps into the soil


helps provide trace elements to the soil and plants


aids in the formation of humus


acts as a plant tonic


good for insect control





For Nitrogen


Tree foilage such as gliricidia, erythrynia, subabul, susbania


Legume green crops, such as sunhemp, cowpea, horse gram, crotaleria or alfafa


Oil cakes such as cotton seed, neem, or coconut


Animal dung such as cow dung or chicken dung or fish wastes.


For Phosphorous


Animal dung such as cow dung or chicken dung


For Trace Elements


Sea weed


For Insect Repellent


The foilage of neem, calitropis, African marigold flowers, stinging nettle or dathura


For Fungus


Casurina





Method


A large earthen pot or, more commonly, a 200 litre food grade plastic drum can be used for all the liquid manures.


Plant materials such as nettles, gliricidia leaves, erythrinia leaves, seaweed (meal), neem, casurina or any green crop that is growing, including various weeds, are some of the options. Weeds in the field show up as a deficiency in the soil, if placed back into the soil they help balance the deficiency to an extent. However, ensure the weeds are from an organic area, as in this process of liquid manures there is no heat produced and therefore synthetic material cannot be broken down.


Fill the drum 3/4 full with the plant material and cover with water. Introduce the BD preparations 502-506 by placing 1 gram (1 teaspoonful) of each of the preps separately in a small handful of straw or coconut fibre pressed into the shape of a birds' nest. The prep is placed inside the nest and squeezed closed. It is then placed just below the surface of the liquid beneath the foilage. The BD 507 is stirred in a small amount of water and poured into the drum.

Glyricidia leaves





Fill drum 3/4 full with plant material





Cover plant material with water





Introduce the Preps 502-507...





...by placing 1 gm (1 teaspoon) of each prep in a small nest of straw...





...and placing them just below the surface of the liquid under the leaves





The BD507 is stirred in a small amount of water....





...and poured into the drum

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Place 3 bricks on the surface of the foilage to keep the leaves below the water level. Cover with a gunny sack to stop evaporation. Check the water level each week as high temperatures can evaporate the water. Stir after 2 weeks and then daily to encourage a good aerobic fermentation.. Ready to use in about 2 months. The plant material may become very frothy and fizzy after a few days, with the use of BD preps 502-507. Every type of liquid manure will have its own particular aroma by which after a time the farmer can assess the quality of the liquid manure.


It is a good idea to have all your liquid manures in a shade house, along with the CPP. This will help avoid evaporation.


Cow dung slurry also makes a wonderful liquid manure. Use 1/3 drum of dung, to a full drum of water, adding the preps BD 502-507 as above. It matures in 2-3 months and should sit until it smells good. It will last up to six months.


When making liquid manure from oil cake, the cake first needs to be broken up into small pieces. Use 12.5 kgs of cake to a 200 litre drum of water. Mix well. Then add the BD preps.


Application


Apply 2 days before the Full Moon, in the evening. The usual rate of application for all the liquid manures is 1:10. That is 4 litres of liquid manure to 40 litres of water, stirred for 10 minutes, per acre. Or 10 litres in 100 litres per hectare. Spray the foilage of crops every 2 weeks up to the last two weeks before harvest.


It has been found effective to alternate 2 weeks liquid manure with 2 weeks CPP.


Various Liquid Manures





Soil Nutrients NeededMaterials NeededRequirement for 200 litresMaturing PeriodBest Dilution RatioCalcium (Ca)


Nitrogen (N)Cow dung


Legumes, foliage65 kg


2/3 barrel3 months


2 months1:9


1:9Potassium (K)Wood Ash


Yarrow plant25 kg


2/3 barrel3 months


3 months1:9


1:9Phosphorous(P)Rock Phosphate


Digitalis10 kg


2/3 barrel3 months


3 months1:9


1:9Micro-nutrientsFish meals


Seaweed12.5 kg


1/2 barrel6 months


4 months1:30


1:20Iron (Fe)Stinging Nettle2/3 barrel2 months1:9InsecticideNeem Cake


Datura


Neem Leaf20 kg


20 kg


1/3 barrel3 months


3 months


3 months1:4


1:4


1:4FungicideCasurania2/3 barrel4 months1:10


Manure Tea


Natures' Liquid Plant Food

Manure Tea is the colored water that manure has been steeped in. The nutrients from the manure dissolve into the water, making a concentrated Liquid Garden Fertilizer.


You may find Rabbit Manure to be much less aromatic than most other manures, and the Tea likewise.


Use it to dip every new plant before you transplant them. Dip only the root ball, until bubbles quit coming to the surface of the Tea container.


Also use Tea to wet furrows before planting, and fill holes with it before you plant trees or shrubs. Wait until it dissipates before you plant, to allow the nutrients to permeate the nearby soil. Also submerge root balls of trees and shrubs into it until the bubbles stop rising, before planting them. We're betting your Gardening success will improve.


To make the Tea, put five quarts of manure on a 3' X 3' square of burlap or other porous cloth that will act as a strainer to separate the solids from the liquid.


Tie the four corners of the burlap together to form a bag. Put the bag in a 5-gallon bucket and add three gallons of warm water. Allow it to steep in the warm sunshine for a week. Remove the bag and suspend it above the bucket until it stops dripping.


You can speed up the process by putting manure directly into the water for 3 days, stirring daily. Then put the burlap over a second bucket and pour the mixture from the first bucket onto the burlap to remove the solids. Suspend these solids as above.

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The solids will not have released all their nutrients to the Tea,


and they will still be beneficial as a soil


Amendment.


To use the Tea, dilute it until it is about the color of Kitchen Tea. This should be about one cup of concentrate to one gallon of water. Use it to water your plants at soil level.


It is not recommended for wetting the leaves because the evaporation may increase whatever aroma is present in the Tea.


Experience will indicate how much Concentrate to use, depending on the strength of your particular batches.


Plants in Containers may require more Tea than those in the Garden, since the garden soil will minimize Leaching.


Keep a lid or garbage bag on the bucket to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Store the Concentrate in a cool dark place, where It will remain effective for many seasons.

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