One of the easiest and most efficacious ways to fertilize your plants is with manure and/or compost tea. Purchase an inexpensive plastic trash can and fill it with water. Take an old pillowcase and fill it with one shovel full of manure, one shovel full of good-quality compost and a tablespoon or two of Epsom salts. Tie off the open end of the pillowcase, toss it into the water and let it steep for a few days. Once the water has turned a medium brown color, take a sauce pan and pour it all over your plants, leaves and all.
Pouring it on the leaves takes advantage of what’s called foliar feeding, in which plants absorb fertilizer through pores in the leaves. It’s most effective when done first thing in the morning, when a higher percentage of the pores are open.
You’ll get terrfic growth with manure tea because essential nutrients reach all parts of the plant quickly, without going through the roots.
