I read quite a few articles stating the benefits of using nettle leaves to make a foliar spray, or drenching soil with it. However, after hours of research..i can't find if it's possible to make this foliar spray out of dry nettle leaves (from tea bags). I cant make it the way I keep reading..to ferment fresh leaves in a bin for 2-3 weeks. The smell wouldn't be appealing to my neighbours! Was wondering if there is a quicker or 'cleaner' way to prep it yet still effective. Would be adding the liquid to a banana peel/egg shell/Epsom salt solution and will be using it as a foliar spray until flowering starts.
Dry Nettle leaf as a foliar spray?
- Thread starter comet79
- Start date
-
- Tags
- foliar spray nettle leaf
Howdy Comet, I regularly make nettle feed for all my veg and plants.
first, to answer your question, of course you can make nettle tea from nettle tea bag material,
but it is going to be far less effective, and really its not the way to go.
its true the fresh stuff does stink, but its doesn't stink until you disturb it,
and curiously when it is diluted it has an almost medicinal smell, unlike comfrey tea which stinks all the way.
bite the bullet and make some fresh stuff;
cram a bucket full of freshly pulled nettles (wear gloves) put an old plate or plastic lid on which is slightly smaller than the bucket opening,
and then weigh it down with a rock or a brick; fill with water and leave in a warm place....OUTSIDE! for about 10 days.
best thing to do then is strain off the concentrate carefully by using the weighing down plate to keep the icky mess in the bucket.
strain the drained off concentrate a second time using some net curtain material, so as to prevent your watering can rose from clogging up;
if you are using a sprayer, best strain again with a really fine filter, such as a synthetic tea bag (the silk type)
you can top up the bucket a second time and get a second run which will be weaker but still worth using.
dilute 10-20:1 water: nettle tea (20:1 for spraying).
give it a try.
first, to answer your question, of course you can make nettle tea from nettle tea bag material,
but it is going to be far less effective, and really its not the way to go.
its true the fresh stuff does stink, but its doesn't stink until you disturb it,
and curiously when it is diluted it has an almost medicinal smell, unlike comfrey tea which stinks all the way.
bite the bullet and make some fresh stuff;
cram a bucket full of freshly pulled nettles (wear gloves) put an old plate or plastic lid on which is slightly smaller than the bucket opening,
and then weigh it down with a rock or a brick; fill with water and leave in a warm place....OUTSIDE! for about 10 days.
best thing to do then is strain off the concentrate carefully by using the weighing down plate to keep the icky mess in the bucket.
strain the drained off concentrate a second time using some net curtain material, so as to prevent your watering can rose from clogging up;
if you are using a sprayer, best strain again with a really fine filter, such as a synthetic tea bag (the silk type)
you can top up the bucket a second time and get a second run which will be weaker but still worth using.
dilute 10-20:1 water: nettle tea (20:1 for spraying).
give it a try.
Thanks for the reply...and that's the method I read over and over for 2 hours last night..it's why I asked if tea bags were possible
Every article I read stated that it stinks to high heaven!!! Within 24 hours it smells and as the days go, the smell is out of this world! I will not be chancing that as I cant store it indoors, and outdoors its just a balcony with neighbours around me and everyone's windows/patio doors are open nowPlus I live in the middle of a big city, I don't think ill be hoarding trees home from a park and going through the whole messy process of preparing it I thought there may have been a simpler process to doing it. Will not be using it afterall.
Every article I read stated that it stinks to high heaven!!! Within 24 hours it smells and as the days go, the smell is out of this world! I will not be chancing that as I cant store it indoors, and outdoors its just a balcony with neighbours around me and everyone's windows/patio doors are open nowPlus I live in the middle of a big city, I don't think ill be hoarding trees home from a park and going through the whole messy process of preparing it I thought there may have been a simpler process to doing it. Will not be using it afterall.Thanks for the reply...and that's the method I read over and over for 2 hours last night..it's why I asked if tea bags were possible
I understand your predicament Comet. I should have also mentioned that when I went to a grow shop a couple of years ago, I noticed, along side all the nutes, a bottle of nettle concentrate, labelled with the latin name. sorry I cant give you a brand name, but if its available in my neck of the woods it should be widely available.
another thing you could do is collect a few fresh nettle leaves (no stink!), whizz them up in a blender and then strain. I have done this with comfrey leaves. cant vouch for its efficacy but its sure to have as much if not more of the goodness in dried teabag material. I don't do a whole lot of foliar feeding myself. is there any particular reason why you are so keen to go foliar?
just curious.
Being that I have auto's and the only tiny feeding I gave them of 25-10-10 fert..at quarter strength (1ml/gal), caused a slight claw on one, and I don't think they even needed the fert. So I don't want to add anything in the soil until flowering. I figured it wouldn't hurt though to do a foliar spray as I have done twice with Epsom salt solution. I read a folia recipe somewhere that got good reviews..some dried egg shells, dried banana peels, both ground into a powder a tbs of Epsom salt and apply as a foliar prior to flowering. Its a good source of potassium, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, and the banana peel, as local organic grower also told me, prevents pests, namely aphids as they don't like it...gives the leaves a shiny color as well, and cant burn the plants..so I thought perfect! The nettle leaf I came across along the way and saw it had great benefits as well, and saw its useful as a foliar, but the preparation for me is not possible..so I wanted to use the tea bags instead, but couldn't find if steeping them would release the goodies in it the same way as fermenting it for 2-3 weeks.
The nettle leaf I came across along the way and saw it had great benefits as well, and saw its useful as a foliar, but the preparation for me is not possible..so I wanted to use the tea bags instead, but couldn't find if steeping them would release the goodies in it the same way as fermenting it for 2-3 weeks.banana peel as an aphid repellent?
-good to know!
aphids and I don't get along,
not since the little ****s destroyed my NL5xHaze grow.
I can tell you I used a nettle (fresh/homemade) spray on my broccoli a few years ago;
which had a flea beetle infestation;
next day, not one flea beetle!.
is there a link you could share for that foliar recipe, exact proportions etc.?
party-on my friend.
-good to know!
aphids and I don't get along,
not since the little ****s destroyed my NL5xHaze grow.
I can tell you I used a nettle (fresh/homemade) spray on my broccoli a few years ago;
which had a flea beetle infestation;
next day, not one flea beetle!.
is there a link you could share for that foliar recipe, exact proportions etc.?
party-on my friend.
Yes, nettle leaf is great as a pest repellant too, its why it interested me in addition to the many micro's it has..even though up to now just one red mite and one big spider on the floor, but that was a week ago and nothing since. Here is the link I found yesterday for banana peels. I was hoping to add the nettle leaf concoction to it http://www.littlehouseliving.com/banana-peel-plant-fertilizer-spray.html
http://www.littlehouseliving.com/banana-peel-plant-fertilizer-spray.html
