Do-It-Yourself Compost Tea

In gardening, supplementing your plants is one of the most essential aspects when you are after a luscious, green garden. Although the soil provides nutrients for the plants you are raising, these are not sufficient enough to help keep them growing to their full potential. For this reason, synthetic and organic fertilizers were developed and their use is being practiced all over the world. A supplemented crop or flower grows much better and yields greater produces as compared to that without a fertilizer product.

Compost tea is a popular organic fertilizer that is extracted from various compost materials that can be taken easily without any difficulty at all. The extraction process can be accomplished by any average individual who makes it among the better choices when it comes to using fertilizer on a garden. Regardless of what type of effective compost you are using, a compost tea will surely give instant nutrients to any plant in your yard. Unlike traditional products, this type of tea instantly produces good effects to your crops after being carefully and slowly poured or sprayed on the ground.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create your own compost tea in the most basic and simplest method. All of the tools required for making a tea are readily available in your house. Just follow these simple guidelines and you will expect a fertilizer with high efficacy and no side effects to both the plant and the person broadcasting the enhancer.

• Compost – anything that contains the proper amount of nutrients is good compost for your tea. Make sure that these do not contain any chemicals at all as they can alter the properties or quantity of nutrients present in your compost.
• Container – for larger quantities, you can use a bigger container in order for you to be able to store more tea. A large container also gives you the liberty to work without any hassle.
• Strainer – if you are after easier work, a larger strainer would work best for you. However, if you are only using small amounts of compost for your tea, a smaller strainer would be better and more comfortable for you to use.
• Water – you will need the right quantity of water for your tea.

Leave the compost on the container without exerting pressure by pressing the material to fill the bottom part. Add water and stir it. Leave the mixed solution for a week in order for the nutrients to settle down at the foot of the container. Avoid putting the bucket on a sunny area or cold area as moss, algae, and other unwanted organisms will tend to propagate and make it their habitat.

After a week or two, you can try getting some compost and strain it to get the liquid which will be your tea for the plants. Add rainwater on the tea in a ration of 1 part of tea is to 10 part of water. Never spray the solution directly on your plants as this will leave a burning effect and will eventually kill or stunt the growth of the plant.

Humane Traps for Rats

If you are bothered with the rat infestation in your house and at the same time hesitant on using pest control chemicals and traps that will seriously injure or kill the rodent, you can always resort to more humane traps. These traps are not meant for disabling or exterminating rats, in fact, they do no damage to the body of the pests whenever they fall for these devices. The only purpose of these is to catch the little creatures which can be freed away far from the community. Although this may seem to be unpractical and expensive especially when you free the mouse in a place where there are no houses, many people resort to this as they would not hurt animals regardless of their actions to humans.

Building these types of traps is quite easy and can be done in a matter of few minutes with basic tools such as a scissor or a sharp, cutting knife. You will be needing materials that can be used as containers where you will keep the rat for the meantime before traveling and setting it free somewhere else. Make sure that these containers are quite deep and do not provide rough surfaces to prevent the creatures from climbing off.

• Inverted Bottle Top Trap – perhaps this would be the most popular among the humane traps built to catch but not to kill rats. This is done by cutting a part of the plastic bottle in such a way you can invert the top half of the bottle. Make sure that you cut the mouth of the bottle to accommodate the size of the rat(s) that you are trying to catch. You can always glue or use tape to connect the two separate bottles with the top bottle inverted into the other half. Use bait to get the attention of rodents into the trap. Chocolates, peanut butter, and grain are common baits that are proven for their efficacy when it comes to enticing pests into traps.
• Jar – one of the most basic traps where rats can’t get out is the jar. All you need is a good sized jar that you can put at a corner or on an area where you frequently see these small creatures running around. Place effective bait on the inside of the jar and make sure that the container is positioned in such a way rats can climb up or access into the jar. Do not cover the jar as it would be impossible for the rodent to get inside. If you are worrying about the rat getting out of the container, you don’t have to as the surface of the jar would not allow even these agile creatures from escaping.
• Screened Box – a box that is covered in sturdy screen material can also be used as a humane trap for rats. Place bait inside and make a device that will close the door as soon as the rat steps on the area where the bait is placed. This will seal any exit and will keep the pest inside for good.

I also write other articles and blogs about hot stone massage, hot stones and how to get a hot stone massage kit.