[snooziebunny]

I keep seeing that you guys give your plants tea.... I'm guessing its not pg tips 
So what is it? Is there a recipe? And which plants is it for? Thanks x

[Beetroot Queen]

Comfrey, nettle, weed, manure I have heard them all referred too as tea

[Yorkie]

As BQ says, you can make a liquid fertiliser from various leaves.

Each is applied diluted, to the colour of weak tea.

Hence the nickname 

[solway cropper]

And they all have a revolting stink that is most unlike PG tips!

[snooziebunny]

Thanks guys, are there brewing instructions anywhere and which leaves for which plant? x

[New shoot]

You can make any of them with just a bucket of leaves.  Cover with water and leave to steep.  It is very smelly though, so some people use containers with lids, or hang up a container stuffed with leaves and drain off the liquid as needed.

Nettle is a good nitrogen feed, comfrey is good on most things and weed tea is another general fertiliser 

[Madame Cholet]

I heard Bob Flowerdew talking about this on GQT BBC  radio 4 either last week or the week before have a look on bbci.

He mentioned nettles, comfrey and borage.

[ptarmigan]

I heard Bob Flowerdew too. If you can find it on IPlayer then it will be worth a listen.

He said Comfrey tea is very good for stuff where you need a high potash feed - tomatoes, potatoes etc. But if used on its own as a general purpose feed for other things can lead to a bit of nutrient imbalance (things start to get yellow leaves).  But if you stew together Borage and Comfrey (and Nettle as well if you have some) then that makes a better balanced feed.  Or mix together separate brews of the above.  He was quite enthusiastic about borage tea as a general all rounder - and said it was very easy to make - just stick a load of borage in a bucket with some water, put a lid on it and it could be ready in a week.

I made nettle and Borage tea and it doesn't have the awful stink of comfrey.  Been using it round the plot and nothing has keeled over yet.

[WhiteWolf]

Hi Everybody

I ave a question.

I know you have to dilute the teas, but to what ratio please?

WW

[Madame Cholet]

Bob said 10 water to 1 feed

[WhiteWolf]

Bob said 10 water to 1 feed

Cheers Madame Cholet

and say thanks to Bob too 

WW 

[Yorkie]

The dilution rate will depend on the strength of the initial brew.

You are aiming for weak tea in colour.

[Baldy]

I made nettle and Borage tea and it doesn't have the awful stink of comfrey

My nettle tea stinks to high heaven. I gave a liberal dose around my plot last weekend and the smell was something else. Seemed like all of North Devon's flies descended on my plot to check out the s***. I had to go for a brew at the communal hut on the other side of the site. After 30 minutes or so they realised it wasn't the treat they'd expected (and the smell started to diminish).
If comfrey tea smells worse then I'm glad I'm trying a comfrey pipe instead (supposed to not smell so bad)

Cheers,
Balders

[Madame Cholet]

I'm brewing at the bottom end of the plot to deter intruders

[cadalot]

I've never heard of comfrey making plants yellow before