He Makes His Own Liquid Plant Food

He Makes His Own Liquid Plant Food CROPS New Techniques Eugene Hauzie has a fast method for brewing a nutrient-rich drink for his garden plants It’s a simple process that keeps Hauzie’s garden in good health “I grow vegetables in my hoop house garden beds and containers raising enough to take to the farmers market from July to October ” says Hauzie “Between yard-waste compost I get from the city composted manure and my liquid plant food I haven’t bought fertilizer from the store for years ” Hauzie is less concerned about the material he uses than the process He has used composted manure leaf and grass compost from the city compost site as well as fish parts All of them start with a square bucket sized to fit inside a 5-gal pail with a brass spigot “The square bucket has 1/4-in holes in the bottom ” explains Hauzie “I put a shovel full or less of compost in the square bucket set it in the 5-gal bucket fill it with water and let it sit for a few days ” He follows the same process with fish he has caught However he admits he sets the fermentation buckets farther from his house “I clean them over a bucket catching every bit of the fins and scales as well as the head and guts ” he says “I put them in the square bucket and let it sit for 2 to 3 days stirring it up occasionally ” Once fermentation has slowed he lifts the square bucket out letting the water drain back into the 5-gal bucket It’s raised on concrete blocks so he can drain the liquid fertilizer into sprinkling cans He removes the sprinkling head from the cans to prevent sediment from blocking them Hauzie’s water comes from a 55-gal rain barrel with a valve near the bottom The barrel also sits on concrete blocks raised enough for the water to gravity flow into the bucket “I can pour the water directly over the leaves foliar feeding the plant ” says Hauzie “In the case of the fish parts you can buy liquid fish from the store for $19 95 This is free ” He repeats the process with the same material four or five times At that point he pours the compost or fish remains onto his compost pile to capture any remaining nutrients Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Eugene Hauzie 316 County Park Rd Evansburg Penn 15931 ph 814-254-2469

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