DRIPPING SPRINGS BABBLE: DRIPPING GARDENS WITH BLOOM: AN INVITATION TO TEA

DRIPPING GARDENS WITH BLOOM: AN INVITATION TO TEA

Bloom is the colorful and charming nursery, owned by Elizabeth McIntosh and her landscaper husband John, located on the grounds of Rolling in Thyme & Dough. Thanks to Bloom, our own gardens did indeed do so, and now Elizabeth has graciously agreed to share her gardening thoughts with us. Today, Elizabeth invites us all to tea in her latest installment of gardening tips relevant to Dripping Springs gardens.

By Elizabeth McIntosh

Now that the heat has officially rolled in for a while, it’s not unusual for plants to begin showing signs of stress (can you blame ‘em?). Diseases start to take hold—especially in the vegetable garden—and the questions commence. What’s wrong with my (insert just about any plant name here)? What are these spots on the leaves? What are these powdery bugs all over my plants? Not to discount the particulars—it’s always important to know what you’re dealing with—but if it’s a bug infestation or disease, it's usually just a case of nature moving in on a weak target. Certainly, do what you can to get rid of the insects and then remove and destroy the infected parts of the plant, but the next most important step (which many times we skip) is to treat the soil. Our brutal heat, and lack of regular rain, can wreak havoc on the health of what little soil we have. And if the soil’s not healthy, the plants won’t be either. Adequate composting before you plant is key to improving your soil’s vitality, but another way to give your garden a lift is with compost tea or compost tea extract. Think of it as a booster shot. With compost tea you are inoculating your soil with billions of beneficial microbes, ready to stand their ground and fight off the disease-causing, fungus-spreading pathogens taking up residence your garden.

Recently, Alan Dyer of sunergie.com paid me a visit (we go way back to when I first started in the nursery business—his nursery to be exact). He pulled up in his pick-up and announced that he had a gift for me—five fresh gallons of compost tea extract laced with fish emulsion. All of which had to be used that day. Some stinky gift! But, truth be told, we are talking liquid gold in the plant world. Good thing I didn’t have anything else better to do that evening. Two smelly, sticky hours later the whole nursery (myself included) was covered in a fine mist of teeming microbial life, and quite frankly, smelled like a fish camp. (Luckily for the bakery customers the smell had mostly abated by the next morning!) Two days later, those squash plants I thought were near death are now green and pumping out bigger and better squash. The powdery mildew looks to be losing ground, and maybe it’s my imagination, but everything seems a tad bit healthier. So, now that he made a believer out of me, I now have his product for sale. The extract is sold in one gallon jugs and each comes with an activator pack, all for only $6.00. Most compost tea on the market only has a one day shelf-life, but Alan and his team of scientists have designed their product to last 7-10 days. The microbes are dormant until you activate them, but once activated must be used that day for the best results. His website has loads of information and instructions on using compost tea. Have a look, then come take a $6.00 gamble and become a believer like me! Shameless promotions aside, just remember the health of your soil has everything to do with the health of your plants.