Let me try posting pieces by pieces... this thread really deserves the special attention.

By the way, I heard "The Dogs in Elk Carcass" thread is quite funny, and I found the site posting it:

http://www.jerrypournelle.com/reports/jerryp/dogsinelk.html

There was a thread gathering all of "favorite threads" in years ago, and it sure seem like those were good too.

A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 2:49
Just disastrous results with my attempts at brewing alfalfa tea...after all the posts about the tea, I had to make it. Someone posted a link which gave instructions on how you could jazz up the tea...anyways, I think I added too much alfalfa cubes which expanded in the water to form a solid mush. I added brown sugar, soy sauce, ripe fruits, one cat fish fillet (I swear, the post said it would add extra minerals) a banana peel and stirred the mix and now it smells absolutely horrendous! It is frothing and has a sickening stench and I am even afraid to go near it. And all this is in one of those huge garbage bins with wheels. I am just afraid to use it on my roses....what if they just wilt and die from this vile stuff...and how do I get rid of it? It gets stinkier every day. Any ideas?
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: melva 7b/8aTX (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 4:02
I would be afraid of that s*** too! Where on earth did you get that recipe? I am pretty sure it won't hurt your roses...but...go ahead and give it to your plants...sounds like you need to add more water to it, if it is semi solid. An alternative thing to do with it, is dig a big hole, pour it in the hole cover it, and RUN! real fast!
Just Alfalfa and water together smells bad enough, once it has fermented, but this stuff! You have my sympathy...I had to deal with some old tea, a couple of years ago, and it smelled BAD! It was probably nothing, compared to what you have. In the future...just use Alfalfa and water, skip all the other stuff.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Brother_Cadfael z5 seWI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 5:30
I wouldn't disagree w/ melva about it not hurting your roses, but what about the effect it may have on you?
That rotting fish you have in there is not the same as adding fish emulsion after the tea is fermented, it's a rotting corpse now!
That stuff makes typhus and cholera look like cotton candy!
I just had my first experience w/ fish emulsion last week, now I don't have a weak stomach, but everytime I went near that rosebed for the next 4 days, I would literally GAG !
My question would be: Do you want this crap to smell up your yard/house for 3-5 days? Would you even be able to work around that smell? The "catfish fillet" alone would have sent me to ANYWHERE up-wind from there.
Did he/she give you and MSDS with that recipe? It sounds like a damn BIO-HAZARD! If they were brewing that stuff on prison farms, they'd be cited for cruel and unusual punishment!
It doesn't sound like a healthy mixture to be around:^(
I can't imagine what the crap you brewed up smells like! What sick son of a b*t*h gave you that recipe? He/she can't have any freakin' sense of smell, or any sense at all.
If they would have strategically dropped 4 barrels of this S*** on Iraq, Hanoi, Afganistan, or any other wartorn part of the world at any time in history, I bet you after only 12 hours there would be white flags as far as the eye could see!
If I were you I would get rid of the crap!... I have a drain valve built into my 32gal tea-can, so it would be easy for me to get rid of it. But if you have to "dip" into it everytime, GOD HELP YOU!!! The best place for that stuff is a sanitary sewer!
You can see I'm not at a loss for words, but I don't know what to tell you to do w/ the crap!!!
Can you build four walls around it and let an advanced, future, civilization deal with it?
You spill that stuff and it's gonna be Chernobyl all over again.
Is it solid alfalfa all the way through? I was thinking maybe you could siphon it out, but that crap is probably so thick you'd need a hose the diameter of a basketball to get anything through it.
You may want to call your local fire dept. and ask about the cost of a HAZ-MAT disposal...
Or a waste disposal company...
It may not sound like it, but I am taking this very seriously!
I don't know what else to say, I'll be here for moral support, should you need it.
GODSPEED!!!
BC:)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: GaelicGardener z6 RI (madbh@aol.com) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 7:52
Just duct tape the cover onto the barrel and leave a note on it for the garbagemen that says "Take it barrel and all!"
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: SueTO z6a TO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 8:12
I had a feeling when I saw the post title that you'd fallen INTO a vat of alfalfa tea. This appears much worse. The brown sugar and fruit have probably started an alcoholic fermentation process to boot. (soy sauce??? what the heck? it has salt in it!)
The fish corpse makes me antsy too, but, if you put on bio-hazard attire (or a close simile thereof) and scooped a bucket of two of the stuff in to another garbage can, then added water to dilute it and then spread it around - would that work? do you have enough real estate to spread the stuff around when it's diluted?
Or, take GaelicGardener's suggestion - probably easiest and safest.
Sue
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: pete41 9ab FL. (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 8:17
Haven'tyou ever heard of honey wagons?Go for it,wearing long rubber gloves.Next time soak some alfalfa in a five gallon bucket for an hour or so,add your epsom salt,fertilizer etc. and put it around.Call it instant tea or whatever you want its as good as the old witches brew.Careful how you read the last sentence.I have to admit though,i picture a lot of ``cackling and stirring "when I see posts about making ``tea".
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: altoraMA 5/6 MA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 9:16
I think the you were probably only supposed
to add the banana peel-the rest of the stuff
is probably a recipie for how to prepare
catfish. >???
I'd really like to see this post! A few years
ago there was a terrible smell in our
neighborhood-so bad the fire dept was called.
They all thought there was a body somewhere,
but after searching around, found it was a
pile of compost. It was very hot and the smell
was terrible. I don't know what they did with
it but the smell was gone a few days later.
alida
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Brother_Cadfael z5 seWI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 10:02
:) Yeah Pete,
I've heard of honeywagons, (if you mean the old outhouse pit crew), but when they had a"full load", they didn't go knocking door to door to see if you wanted it dumped on your flowerbeds.;)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: pete41 9ab FL. (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 10:07
A couple of years ago I bought some generic milorganite at a very rural feed store.Four bucks a bag.WOW,,no, PHEW.NO doubt that was right off the wagon.LOL-poor neighbors never did know where the stench came from.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 10:09
I'd post this on the compost forum and see what they have to say about it. (It might be just fine to use, just intensely nasty.)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Roseman Z 8A GA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 11:42
Here is the recipe that Howard Walters recommended, and it is the ultimate and the best:
"Add 10 to 12 cups of alfalfa meal or pellets to a 32 gallon plastic garbage can (with lid), add water, stir, steep for four or five days, stirring occasionally. You can also fortify with 2 cups of Epsom salts, 1/2 cup of Sequestrene (chelated iron now sold as Sprint 330) or your favorite trace element elixir. The tea will start to smell in about three days. Keep the lid ON. Use about a gallon of mix on the large bushes, and 1/3 of that on the minis. And keep the water going. One load of meal or pellets will brew up to two barrelfuls, but add more fortifiers. You will see greener growth and stronger stems within a week." REMEMBER, KEEP THE LID ON. Howard recommended using this in the fall only, but spring and fall are better rather then throughout the season.
You will notice there is no mention of making this into garbage international. Just use what is in the recipe. AND ABOVE ALL - KEEP THE LID ON!!!!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: harryshoe z6easternPA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 11:51
If you think the fruit has fermented, I would drink it. Don't worry about the fish. Heck, Bass is my favorite beer.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: txkat Z7BNC (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 11:56
Whoa, that sounds incredibly nasty. When I make intensive care alfalfa tea, I add composting bananas and potato peels in a slurry ( whir them around in the food processor and add water til it's like a milkshake) and Milorganite ( pooh) and I've never had a rose fail to bounce back with it, but HOLY GOD man, what have you done?????
I'd hate to waste it. It'll only smell for a couple of days. Put on your mask for spraying, and mix about 16 oz of whatever that stuff is in a gallon of water per rose.
That's what I'd do....but I'm a little unhinged at times.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Mike_Rivers z5 MI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 12:15
Sounds normal to me. At least cat fish turned out to be catfish and not cat, fish - although, come to think of it....
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: msjean Z6..NS...Canada (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 12:20
Some people use fish in their compost teas, but they let them sit in soil in a airtight container until the fish decomposes and becomes part of the soil.. I don't understand the soy sauce, and usually molasses is used ..not brown sugar... but the rest of the ingredients could work ok.
If it were me, I'd use it...dilute it well and water it well. I bet your roses would love it and the smell would soon be gone in a short time.
You wouldn't mind it too bad after a few minutes because the smell would soon "clog your smeller" and it wouldn't seem too bad. Just before a big rain ...under the cover of darkness would be a good time to spread it..so the neighbours don't know where the smell came from...just in case there is a bad smell. :)
I say go for it. :)
Good luck.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Berndoodle z9 SF Bay Area (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 13:25
Is that recipe for real or a joke? Where's the arugula? I assume the amount of soy sauce was miniscule. Salt is lousy for plants. Twere me, I'd put that stuff on the roses just to get rid of it.
For the application of alfalfa/manure tea, wear rubber boots and rubber gloves and throw away clothes. Whatever you do, don't get it on your sneakers or you will have to throw them out. It stinks, and as far as I'm concerned, it's back-breaking and unpleasant.
If you want my recipe, this is it:
Fill 32 gallon garbage can with water in a location near your roses. Add about 1-2 buckets of alfalfa pellet or cubes, 1-2 cups of fish emulsion (don't have the label on me right now, but make it very dilute), 1 cup of seaweed type fertilizer, a big bucket of compost and a bit of Growmore Organic Chelated Iron (make it very dilulte). Stir with a garden stake. Leave it out in the garden until you notice the smell when you walk by, about 3 days. Stir with a garden stake before and during application. Apply with a bucket by splashing over the top of the rose. Take a shower and don't return to the garden for a couple of days. If you have more roses than one garbage can will feed, I betcha you don't do it twice.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: Oshenar Vancouver (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 13:28
I don't think it would kill the roses to use it. The smell should be gone in a few days. Except for the soy sauce (which is mainly salt), everything else in there seems to be organic/natural-source type of thing so it is probably less likely to burn the plants or anything. You can dilute the mixture and use it a bit at a time if you are feeling "unsafe" about it (this would probably reduce the smell in the garden too). From what you described, the thick soup you made will probably be able to last you a little while (just treat it like a concentrated organic fertilizer of sorts).
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
 Posted by: rosetom 7 Atl (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 13:36
Forget this stuff and buy some MMM. You'll be much happier. It works better than any tea concoction, and you won't have a mess. Or, if you insist on do-it-yourself, you can buy the MMM ingredients in bulk and mix it yourself.
Most any rose society in your area can get deep discounts on MMM.

RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Patricia43 z8 AL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 14:01
I think some legs were pulled to the fullest.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 14:06
Sheesh, what a mess! Temps are high 80's today and the 'thing' is a frothy iridiscent green with a brown film on it (the brown sugar?)It seems to be expanding and has pushed the hinged cover up today morning. The stench seems to have a putrid 'sweet' undertone to it today.
Thank you all for your very entertaining(it really is not funny) suggestions but no, I cant wait until next thursday for the garbage guy to pick it up, cannot dig a hole to bury it, and, drink it? Shame on you Harryshoe :-)
Well, I will approach 'it' today and try to mix it and maybe take some of it out in 5 gallon used paint pails and dilute with water and whatever...before the neighbors call the police. I feel bad for them, very nice people but this is like...
DW cannot believe the stupidity I am capable of, thanks to u all....please stop posting the recipes for alfalfa teas and exploding basal breaks and lush grren roses and a billion buds. No more gushing posts about tea(vile, toxic radioactive sludge is what I call it) and just tell 'em to spread the alfalfa pellets/cubes around the bushes, thank you
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: MichaelG z6B NC Mts (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 15:41
Bottle some of it and use it to season your favorite Thai recipe.
Dilute the rest of it 3:1 and put it on the garden.
Next time, just put a cup of alfalfa pellets under the mulch.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 16:03
I am trying to post the link, but cannot find it! Level 3( I think there were 5 levels) tea jazz-up was buy an aquarium airpump and bubble air through the tea!
Sheepish admission: Almost bought an air-pump at Walmart, just did not have the time for it. Can u imagine what bubbling air would have done to the 'tea'? LOL
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 16:29
Next time, keep out the other junk (who in all the world told you to add that rotten stuff anyway - that's a recipe for disaster), and instead use trace elements (e.g. epsom salts and iron) which you can buy cheaply. Adding trace elements actually keeps the smell down a bit, as I found out (in conrast to your recipe). Stirring once a day also helps. Shouldn't be such a big deal. Just throwing alfalfa pellets on the soil doesn't do too much at all in my experience, they just get moldy and keep sitting there if rodents don't get them, but ymmv.
http://www.ars.org/About_Roses/fertilizing_alfalfa.htm
(there are no dead fish and rotten banana peels in this recipe ;-).
Andrea
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: rosetom 7 Atl (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 16:54
Perhaps fermentation was too strong a term, but descriptive for a process that results in the release of alcohol, nonetheless.
I think I agree with Patricia that there's a lot of leg-pulling going on. I just wish the huge messes I've made with the stuff was a joke, too. None of it is very funny when you find yourself with 60 gallons of it.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 17:08
I found the link...this is even more interesting....apple cider, mackerel, rotten fruit, sardines...read on!
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2002082739009975.html
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 17:31
Thank you for posting this..I knew that I read something on this site about it. I've seen this FAQ in the past. Glad that I was busy/lazy and hadn't tried it.
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crossing fingers!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 17:31
Btw, I hope that after all of this crap, you get a result from it.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 17:40
I have to speak up since I was the one that posted the link.
Yes people, this stuff works. Although I have never thrown an entire fish into mine, I did throw in a can of tuna fish once. It stinks to high heaven, it is supposed to. It looks disgusting, it is supposed to.
The recipe is not a joke, although you do have the option of adding as much of the "recommended" ingredients to it as you feel comfortable with. Pappu sounds like he jumped in enthusiastically, nothing wrong with that.
Some just prefer the nicely packaged, tidy, store-bought fertilizer. But don't knock it until you've tried it!
Pappu I personally think it sounds ready.
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RE: Smell doesn't last
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 17:44
I forgot to add that the smell does not last once applied. I water my plants (and roses) with the strained tea, then follow up with a good shower from the hose or sprinkler. I've made several batches of this tea since last year, with nothing but positive effects not only to my plants but to my soil.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: shebear z8 NTex (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 18:50
Nobody ever said growing roses was for the weak of stomach. Dilute it and spread it everywhere. Next time leave out the fish.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Ginni77 z 5 Illinois (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 19:47
Yuck! I just mix alfalfa meal and water. Maybe a bit of Epsom Salts, but not every time. I couldn't even use the fish emulsion...I don't know how you can stand it. Plain old alfalfa tea is bad enough. I can only imagine what that stuff smells like. And I'm beginning to think just putting some alfalfa around the rose under the mulch is a better idea. I'd really be leery of the salt in the soy sauce and the brown sugar might attract all sorts of critters to your garden.
If you use it, let us know how it works.
Ginni (feeling really sorry for you!)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Kernel_SJHRG_Z9B 9B CA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 20:20
Lilaclily,
Is your real name Snuffy Smith?
IMWTK!
Da Kernel who couldn't resist.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: madspinner z7 WA skagit (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 20:47
I've just been tossing handfulls under my plants...
I've thought of brewing the tea, but you may have scared me for life! LOL!
That sounds really awfull!
I might have to try it anyway, but I think I'll leave out the rotting fish.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Jeri_Jennings 23 SoCal (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 21:10
DEFINITELY leave out the rotten fish!
We just make plain old alfalfa tea. YES, it is stinky, but that smell goes away in a few hours. (Our neighbor did once ask what that awful smell was.) Don't plan a garden party the day you pour it out . . . the roses will thank you profusely for the pick-me-up.
But ... FISH?? Soy Sauce? ICK ICK ICK.
Jeri Jennings
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 22:30
Kernel, guess I'm not getting the joke? I'm from Chicago and the only time we use a word that resembles or starts with "snuff" it usually makes the front page of the newspaper the next day. But my real name is Elisabeth, pleased to meet you!
You can laugh and poke fun if ya want to, but I don't need to use any chemicals, nor do I winter protect, my roses are healthy and vigorous and the rest of my many plants ain't too bad either. :) Best of all, I do it for next to nothing.
Compost/alfalfa tea does alot more than just feed your plants, it feeds your SOIL. It improves your soil like no store-bought fertilizer can do. Alfalfa tea by itself works wonders, but compost tea is actually better for your plants and for your soil.
I didn't come up with the recipe so I am not offended if no one wants to use it, and it is definitely not for everyone, that is true. But it is a rare day that you will find a "Help... my rose is doing such and such...." post from me on this forum.... gotta wonder why?
Brother_Cadfael, oh your post was funny, I split my sides laughing, lol, read it to DH too. You're right, it's green, it glows, and it stinks... lol... lethal stuff but wouldn't trade it for the world.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Brother_Cadfael z5 seWI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 23:29
lilaclily,
I apologize if I offended you, I was unsure of the chemistry relating to the rotting fish... it just seemed like very unhealthy thing to be working with. I never expected that recipe to come from someone I respected - thought it was from some insane person:) - (affected by an insanity other than rose obsession)... I always look forward to reading your posts, we have a lot of roses in common, some in my past, but mostly in my present.
Please accept my apology.
BC:)
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RE: Fish Brew!
Posted by: Brother_Cadfael z5 seWI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 05 at 23:38
Hi, my name is Brother Cadfael, I'm a rose-aholic.
Step 1, in the twelve steps back to sanity:
Never having to aplogize to a fellow member because I shared my uneducated opinion
with the world about said members rose fertilizer brewing habits.:)
BC:)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 0:43
Oh my, interesting what people do to keep their roses happy and make everyone else, including themselves, sick even if there are much better common sense solutions. Instead of using soy sauce (that's a bad one) and rotten fish (oh dear), you could just as well fumigate your beds with lots of SO2 and CO2 - this might poison you and your neighbor's dog but BS will disappear your roses will love it. Pump up the volume.
C'mon, just use that plain old alfalfa tea and once a year add some trace elements outta the box/bottle, if needed. It's very very simple and doesn't stink that horribly. Your roses will thank you mightily, and noone will faint.
Happy gardening,
Andrea
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pleasegrow 7a (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 0:50
If you want to add a rotten fish, that your business, but I prefer to use fish emulsion.
This is what I add to my alfalfa tea:
1- 32 gal trash can
Fill with water
Add 12 cups of Alfalfa meal
Stir and cover for 1 week, stirring daily. This alone stinks to high heaven, almost makes me gag, but I am getting used to it.
Just prior to application I add the following:
1 Cup Miricle Grow - Optional if you want all organic
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Fish Emulsion
1 Cup liquid Seaweed Fertiziler
1 Cup Chelated Iron with micro nutrients, (new from Green Light)
2 onces of Super Thirve - (Just started adding it this year, and I have seen a huge increase in basal breaks)
Stir well, apply 1 gallon per bush. Water bushes well be applying, as you may burn plant.
Thanks/John

RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Patricia43 z8 AL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 1:24
Well, I can't argue with success having heard it said that Johnny Becnel admonished listeners to throw a fish head in every hole.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: mjsee Zone 7, NC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 7:50
Altogether now:

Fish heads, Fish heads
Roly poly Fish heads
Fish heads, Fish heads
Eat them up, Yum!
mel
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 8:24
Brother_Cadfael, you didn't offend me, I was serious when I said your post really made me laugh! Especially when you wrote "I can't imagine what the crap you brewed up smells like! What sick son of a b*t*h gave you that recipe? He/she can't have any freakin' sense of smell, or any sense at all.". LOL, 'twas me, me I say!
Frankly, the stuff makes me gag. DH will tell you, the first time I brewed it, I almost hurled. I thought the same thing.... something THIS vile surely can't be good for my plants!
While the recipe called for CANNED fish first, Pappu skipped a step! This is what is says:
Add 1-2 cans of mackerel, sardines, or other canned fish. Supplied extra NPK, fish oil for beneficial fungi, calcium from fish bones. Most commercial fish emulsions contain no fish oils and little to no aerobic bacteria. Fresh fish parts can be used, but because of offensive odors, it should composted separately with browns like sawdust first before adding to the tea brew. NOTE: For those organic gardeners who prefer vegetarian soil amendments, you can skip the fishy ingredients, it's not necessary. There is plenty of NPK in alfalfa meal and other grains that you can use.
To borrow the quote from GW member and composting expert David Hall:
"Chemical fertilizers rely on an assumption that plants only need three elements to survive and thrive. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are those three. This is the equivalent of saying that we need protein, fat, and sugar to live. While this may be mostly true, pure protein, pure fat, and pure sugar do nothing to supply the vitamins, minerals, and diverse supply of bacteria and fungi in our diets.
Here is a list of a dozen things that you can do with organically fed soil that cannot be achieved with conventional chemical feeding.
1. Decompose plant residues and manure to humus.
2. Retain nutrients in the form of stable humus.
3. Combine nitrogen and carbon to prevent nutrient loss.
4. Suppress fungus and bacterial diseases.
5. Produce plant growth regulators.
6. Develop soil structure, tilth, and water penetration/retention.
7. Clean up chemical residues.
8. Shift soil pH to neutral and keep it there.
9. Search out and retrieve nutrients in distant parts of the soil.
10. Decompose thatch and keep it from returning.
11. Control nitrogen supply to the plants according to need.
12. Pull minerals out of inorganic soil components for plants.
Soil microbes need sugar and protein to thrive. When you apply synthetic ferts, none of the things on this list gets done. The microbes normally get sugar from plant roots. Protein in nature comes from dead insects, plants, and animals. The organic gardener applies protein artificially in the form or organic fertilizers. It is usually in the form of a ground up meal made from plants and animals to try to replicate the natural process."
And now, for those of you who haven't READ the recipe, it does list the reasons why they call for certain things in the recipe:
Let's assume a 5 gallon tea recipe for our example:
1. Add 1/2 bucket of finished hot compost. This supplies most of the beneficial aerobic microbes and soluble nutrients. Some people use slightly immature aerobic compost because it has more fresh nitrogen in it, but less microbes than finished hot compost.
2. Use 2-3 tblsp molasses, brown sugar, or corn syrup. This feeds and breeds the aerobic bacteria. Sugar products are mostly carbon which is what the microherd eat quickly. Add about 1-2 more tblsp of molasses for every 3 days of aerobic brewing to make sure the sugar is digested before touching the soil at application time, and to guarantee that the aerobic bacteria population stays strong throughout the brewing process. Molasses also contains sulfur which is a mild natural fungicide. Molasses is also a great natural deodorizer for fishy teas. For a more fungal tea don't add too much simple sugar or molasses to your aerobic teas. Use more complex sugars, starches and carbohydrates like in seaweed, rotten fruit, soy sauce, or other fungal foods.
3. Add 1-2 cans of mackerel, sardines, or other canned fish. I covered this above.
(NOTE: If you use canned fish products, you may want to let it decompose mixed with some finished compost, good garden soil, etc. in a separate closeable container for a few days before using. Since most canned meat products contain preservatives, this will guarantee that the good microbes in the tea will not be killed off or harmed in brew making.)
4. Add 1 pack fresh seaweed. Supplies all extra trace elements. Seaweed can contain about 60 trace elements and lots of plant growth hormones. Seaweed is a beneficial fungal food source for soil microbes. Liquifying the seaweed makes it dissolve even faster.
5. Add 1-2 cups of alfalfa meal, corn meal, cattle feed, horse feed, catfish or pond fish feed. Supplies extra proteins and bacteria. Corn meal is a natural fungicide and supplies food for beneficial fungi in the soil. Notice how alfalfa is NOT the main ingredient here?
6. Add rotten fruit for extra fungal foods. Add green weeds to supply extra bacterial foods to the tea.
7. Good ole garden soil is an excellent free biostimulant. Garden soil is full of beneficial aerobic bacteria, fungi, and other great microbes. Some people make a great microbial tea just out of soil. Forest soil is usually higher in beneficial fungi than rich garden soil.
8. Fill the rest of the container with rainwater, compost tea, or plain de-chlorinated water to almost the top of bucket. You can make good "rain water" from tap water by adding a little Tang (citrus acid) to the water mix before brewing. Urine water is also an excellent organic nitrogen source for teas (up to 45% N).
9. Some people like to add 1-2 tblsp of apple cider vinegar to add about 30 extra trace minerals and to add the little acidicity that is present in commercial fish emulsions. Many fish emulsions contain up to 5% sulfuric acid to help it preserve on the shelf and add needed sulfur to the soil. You can add extra magnesium and sulfur by adding 1-2 tblsp of Epsom salt to the tea.
10. Apply the air pump to the tea.
Technically even in un-aerated teas there is still some aerobic action taking place for several days. All fungi is aerobic. Some bacteria are totally aerobic, some bacteria are totally anaerobic, and some bacteria can act both aerobic or anerobic based on the soil or tea environment. Un-aerated teas can continue to keep alive some aerobic or aerobic/anaerobic microbes, for up to 10 days in a watery solution. After 10 days, the whole un-aerated tea will contain only anerobic microbes.
You can expect different microbial population levels in your tea based on weather, climate, temperature, seasons, etc. In the summertime you can expect your teas to brew faster and get to your optimal microbial levels faster than in cooler fall weather. Also tea odors, color, and foaminess on top of the tea, will vary based on temperatures too."
And where oh where does it say to add soy sauce???
Most importantly, Pappu, have you used any yet? It's not gonna smell any prettier, the longer you wait!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: apple20 Z6 IN (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 8:26
As a newbie with rose obsession/addiction, I think ya'll have just scared me straight! Reading these posts is the equivalent of seeing a junkie shoot up in a back alley. I know where I'm headed if I continue down this path of "destruction." Lucky for me I have an acre and a half with close neighbors only on one side and they are pc gamers who rarely venture out into the light of day. If I do decide to brew this mess in the future it will be far, far away from the house.
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It DOES say to use soy sauce!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 8:29
Oh, I see where it says soy sauce, well now, I stand corrected.
"For a more fungal tea don't add too much simple sugar or molasses to your aerobic teas. Use more complex sugars, starches and carbohydrates like in seaweed, rotten fruit, soy sauce, or other fungal foods.
Still sounds like a marinade for the catfish filet to me. See, even I can disagree with the recipe!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 10:20
I think what put me back on my heels was three things. One, the amount of the material, threatening to take over the garage like The Blob. If the lid 'moved', that alone would cause me concern. Less intimidating if the can was only half full...
Two, anerobic activity...my micro in that area is a bit rusty but doesn't fermentation produce alcohol? Not knowing how concentrated it is, concerned me. I was guessing that it can't be that concentrated given the short time of decomposition and the shear volume of the liquid?
Third, the unknown bacteria activity in the liquid. Some bacteria is good, some bacteria is bad. Oftentimes it's dependent upon what is going into the bucket in the first place. But it seems like one large bacterial medium. And it's all guesswork as to what is inside because it isn't being cultured.
Regular composting, especially hot compost, makes sense because it's naturally heated by the bacterial activity and in theory, kills off nasty pathogens that might be inside.
But a bucket full of goo, sitting in a warm temperature garage, seems like the perfect medium for growing cooties. And if you don't know what they are...
I can see myself trying this, but not in an intimidating volume like the OP described to see what the results were. Putting organics into the soil just makes sense. It's like the difference between eating food and taking a multivitamin to me. Plants in their natural state drop organic material and feed the soil. Soil feeds the plants...
But I would also say that if anyone was doing this, disposable gloves would definitely be in order. I would be as concerned with this as I would be with dealing with raw manure..especially if the skin on the person's hands were not intact. A bug that might be good in the dirt might be bad in a person, kwim...As long as bugs stay where they're meant to stay, it's all good.
I know that I might sound like I'm quibbling here, and it's entirely possible that there is nothing to worry about, however, I have a great respect for microorganisms and also know that one Microbiology class has can ruin you for the rest of your life. In human beings, I've seen bugs beaten and I've seen bugs win. I look at them as something to be respected.
Btw, I really wanted to get seriously into composting this for the reasons that lilly described, but unfortunately I have a HOA that requires that I submit a plan for my composter and this might take until the end of time. :p
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: GaelicGardener z6 RI (madbh@aol.com) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 10:39
I live in an urban neighborhood where our houses are REALLY close together -- a car-wide driveway separates the house on either side. And my garden and garage/garden shed are only about 10 feet from my backdoor and bedroom window - so I'm not going to mess with fermenting fish heads! This is Providence -- mafia-central -- someone will call the cops thinking that someone is "sleeping with the fishes" in my backyard!
I bought some stuff on QVC called Spray and Grow, which is supposed to be Vitamins for plants. Did I waste my money and time? Can a spray do any of the things listed above for nutrients?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 11:24
It was not dealt with this weekend because I was really busy at work. I am taking off on Tuesday (did I mention that I have a huge amount to play with?) to deal with this frothy, gassy glob in my backyard. We havent dared to open the patio doors and I can see flies buzzing above it to share the spoils. It is kinda fascinating watching it, through the glass doors, as it froths and moves. Do you think the gasses are affecting my brain?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 12:09
Lilaclily, how do you make 'urine water'? Should I *ee in it? LOL! I am cracking up, this is too funny...no offence meant and apologies for my bad manners, but the thought is just side-burstingly funny. I might just end up doing it, just to see DWs reaction!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Ginni77 z 5 Illinois (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 12:29
smom, you said **doesn't fermentation produce alcohol**
Pappu, does this mean that you're making moonshine???
LMBO here!!!
Sorry, but I couldn't resist!
I can't wait to hear how you deal with this mess.
Ginni
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Subrosa PNW8(7)BCCanada (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 12:34
I'm still curious about the soy sauce - perhaps it should read "soy meal".
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: roseleaf 7SE (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 12:50
I believe the concoction (minus the soy sauce) youve made is excellent for lots of plants, but obviously not many (include you) can handle it, even if you live in the middle of 100 acre farm.
For the tea, I do similar to what many have said earlier, to be specific: alfalfa + Epsom salt (if needed) + kelp meal. I also spread dry fishmeal around the base of the bushes, and take the roses to tea afterward. And were all very happy.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 12:55
Pappu, not to be overly gross, but some years ago, DH would pick on a plant or rose that I happened to be in love with and threaten to let the dog pee on it. Well, once I read up that pee is actually good for plants (in small doses of course), I said, "go ahead honey, let the dog go", he couldn't use that threat any more. Now he just waggles the pruners threateningly.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Cactus_joe 7b (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 13:05
To stop the intense ferment, add a whole bunch of undiluted bleach to it. Or better still, if you can get whole of those pucks of chlorine, throw some of those in it. What you do after that ......................well, I don't know!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: jenswrens z6 NJ & z4 MN (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 13:39
Just curious...Is the odor of all of these different teas offensive enough to keep the deer away from your plants for a few days after you spread it?

RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: spongelingo z7OKC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 13:42
Pappu, I totally understand your situation and I know exactly how you feel now. I made a mistake once and I learned from there. Last year, 1st time dealing with the tea thing, I soaked 25bl of Alfalfa pellets in a 55gal barrel of water (just water, nothing else.) I planned to apply the tea to the roses on the 4th day. But the rain started flooding my whole garden day and night for almost 5 days. By the time I was ready to apply the tea, it was the 14th day, and OMG, it was a serious, serious odor filling the air and I was so frustrated trying to figure out what to do with the whole stinking thing and I finally decided to feed all the tea to my roses and delute the left over stuff in the barrel with more water hoping that the smell would be gone so I could spread them on my lawn. After spreading out the left over stuff, the smell was unbelievably stick. I was so scared that my neighbors were going to call the cops over. I was praying all day long for the smell to be gone quicker and it lasted for 3days.
From there on, I swear to myself that I will never brew any Alfalfa tea for more than 4 days regardless to what outside conditions are. Even there are tornado here in Oklahoma, I will have to get rid of the tea within 4 days time frame.
So, if decide to spread them out, be prepare to deal with your neighbors and the cops (hopefully not that bad)phisically and mentally.
good luck to you and never do it again ok.:))
SPO
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 14:20
Quote "It is kinda fascinating watching it, through the glass doors, as it froths and moves."
How on earth can you sleep at night? I'm so sorry but you do you have the ability to post a picture of this...thing?
If this thread has done nothing else at all for me, it's cemented a commitment in my brain to never, ever use anything bigger than a five gallon bucket with a lid and do it in HALF batches in case that it...grows.
But if the damn stuff makes one false move, it's getting flushed.
*eyes buggin* and lmao
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Patricia43 z8 AL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 14:33
I once made great home-made cakes, but I quit a few years ago when I realized the ladies from Chilton make them as well as I did and sell them cheaper than I can make them. I then quit making them and started buying them, after leaving the eggs out of the cake one day and wondering why just because I had 20 people in my house I might have omitted one small step.
Did you ever go through that step in the fish where it said "decompose in sawdust" before using? Or did you just skip that part and go right for the gusto? It is important to follow each step very, very carefully and keep focused, the reason I no longer make home-made cakes.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 14:59
Patricia43, I admit to skipping the 'decompose in sawdust' step. But, it's kinda strange that you can add canned fish directly but need to decompost fresh fish. Canned meat usually has preservatives and would'nt you think that it would be difficult for the bacteria to break these down? Maybe, the whole point is to have chunks of tuna floating around? Whatever, I am so done with fish and alfalfa tea...
spongelingo, you give me no hope...
lilaclily, how exactly does one make 'Urine water'? LOL!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: harryshoe z6easternPA (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 15:06
I was only kidding when I suggested you drink it. However, after reading this thread, I suspect that maybe more than one of you may have been nippin'.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: WkendWarrior z6/7LI-NY (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 15:09
i am fascinated by this thread.
i can't wait to read tomorrow's installment, if the Brew From Hell lets you live thru the night.
og, you're brave. If I had a breathing barrel of ferment going on like that, I think I would just quietly move away...maybe to Ireland.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 17:13
I hope that he has a respirator!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: spongelingo z7OKC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 17:36
pappu, I forgot to give you my advice on the last follow up. If I were you, I would use duct tape like someone already mentioned and shield the stinking thing off real good and haul the stinking thing to an open field and dump it there. You might get in trouble if the dump truck spill the sinking thing all over the neighborhood.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: chescobob z6b SEPA (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 18:11
Remember the original Godzilla movie and then Swamp Thing? I'm wondering. Do you think the fish will come back as Fishzilla with immense teeth, fins, etc.?
Maybe that is why the brew is moving.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: txkat Z7BNC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 18:56
I have no idea why, but this entire thread makes laugh so hard I could pee....maybe I should squat near my ailing Remember Me. hmm....
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 19:07
txkat, don't waste your pee...add it to the tea!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 19:10
I'm sure they will. Followed by a bunch of kittie and doggie zombies. I can't believe that this, forgive me, total tea disaster garbage, is still defended here, with way too many words anyway, and scaring everyone away who hasn't tried it. That's actually a bit sad. Well, and then again it's pretty funny (as long as I don't have to deal with that garbage, haha).
Btw, John/Pleasegrow gave a good recommendation re. the use of additives. Pappu, see if you can borrow a gas mask for whatever you're trying to do with this horrific mess, and don't let your pets or anyone else near it if you have any. And before you're tempted by anymore wacky black magic advice, please use your commonsense and check back with the forum here, ok?
Andrea
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 20:05
Andrea, Lilaclily, I apologise, but my intention is not to run down any organic methods. The tea composting link actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. totally my mess up, added way too much alfalfa, brown sugar, raw fish and did not follow the instructions...as many forumers pointed out, some alfalfa in water for 4 days will about do it and I hope I am not discouraging anyone from making tea. I am not planning to waste my tea and will use it tomorrow (I took a day off, so I can spread it around when the neighbors are all at work!)and my apologies for the poor taste *ee posts!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Patricia43 z8 AL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 20:31
I think because I am so intrigued by all this I will make the recipe the Captain Compost guy from Alabama has recommended. I might need a week off from work just to recuperate, but I am from Missouri (no, not, I am hard-headed). I am going to try it. Let me get the ingredients together, put it all in and delegate the lid opening to my husband.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: BriansMama z5 central MA (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 20:52
It's been fun to read through this and wonder just which posts are serious and which are somewhat tongue in cheek.
Just now I apparently laughed out loud - DH said "you're chuckling", so I had to explain why. Not that he really gets it. 8*)
Like WkendWarrior, I can't wait to read the next installment - perhaps the denoument.
-Amy.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Rilie Z5a NB, Can (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 20:59
Good luck tomorrow Pappu. May the force be with you, and the weather on your side.... I'm not sure what to say, there's no advice left to be given. LOL Make sure you let us know how you make out asap.... you have a whole forum on pins and needles.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: altoraMA 5/6 MA (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 21:13
whatever you do, don't add bleach AND urine.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 21:47
All this compost tea talk made me start a batch today.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 23:36
Hey Pappu, no reason for you to apologize! Next time, follow the simple ARS recipe and you and your neighbors will be safe.
Good luck with the bio hazmat removal!
Andrea
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Cactus_joe 7b (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 1:59
I would prefer to skip the brewing part and put the alfalfa straight into the soil, where it belongs. In a neighbourhood where the "stink" from my Fritillaria imperialis caused some no-so-nice comments from passers-by, the last thing I need is a stinking, fermenting mess.
Hey, I have got an idea - we could experiment coming up with new life forms with the famous "Pappu's Brew"!
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: veilchen 5b s. Maine (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 7:44
hoo boy. I would throw down my garden gloves and declare a surrender. Then call a HAZMAT team to come save me and my yard. Offer to reimburse them for their trouble, like how sometimes the rangers charge unprepared lost hikers for the helicopter rescue fees.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: altoraMA 5/6 MA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 8:58
anyone know if pappu is still alive?
I wish I lived in IL so I could
wait for breaking news....If we don't
hear by 11:00 someone should go there
and see if everything is ok..
alida
growing more worried by the minute...
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Brother_Cadfael z5 seWI (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 9:30
altorMA,
Just look to the southwest, if you see a green cloud, you'll know there's trouble!:)
BC:)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Carla17 z7b NC (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 9:36
Pappu, I only read your post so far and I am laughing. Thank you so much for the laugh. They don't come often these days.
Carla
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: bojo96 z5 IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 9:50
I live in Illinois and there's not a chance in hades you are going to get me to go check on him. If this stuff has gotten him (and probably everyone else in a 50 mile radius) why sacrifice myself? LOL
Normally, I'm a pretty tough person and not much scares me (OK OK spiders do) but when u have gallons and gallons of moving, boiling, stinking fluid that your just not quite sure of..I have a problem. LOL
I will send the rescue squad...won't tell em what's going on, but will make sure they put on biohazard suits.
Sorry Pappu...that's the best I can do for u.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 10:19
Call from a payphone and they won't even know that it's you.
Viya con Dios, pappu.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: altoraMA 5/6 MA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 10:24
i'm just curious, i wonder which roses
he has growing?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: bojo96 z5 IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 10:32
OMG...for some reason just had a picture of a GIANT fish head reaching out of the vat and snatching pappu..all that was seen was his legs kicking as he was drug into the boiling mess.
smom...great idea..payphone...cept I would have to drive about 15 miles to get to one and don't know which way pappu is from me. Don't want to take the chance I've gotten 15 miles closer to this stuff. :)
j/k pappu..hope this stuff gives you the best roses ever.

RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: WkendWarrior z6/7LI-NY (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 11:05
i'm getting worried... now i see the big fish head grabbing pappu, too.
pleeze check in when you can!
ww
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: lilaclily z5IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 12:23
Didn't see a mushroom cloud this morning as I faced south, so Pappu must be ok.
Pappu!! Are ya dealing with it now as we type?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: dragonden 6a ON CAN (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 16:13
Lol I made pretty much the same recipe as Pappu did in Late April, except I used canned Tuna (I did let it rot/compost seperately for a few days before adding it to the mix). Our weather was very cool here for most of May so it took about a week and a half before I started seeing froth on the top of the mix.
Pappu doesn't mention whether he/she aerated the mix or stirred it daily ... I stirred mine at least twice a day, and I added a little extra molasses (every three to five days) to help with fermentation and to keep the stink down.
My witches brew didn't stink too bad. yeah it was unpleasant ... kind of a vomit smell but only faintly ... it really wasn't that bad. Mind you- I AM a nurse so I can take pretty stinky smells. LOL
I diluted the mix with water when I used it and soil drenched the garden with it. Then I watered the garden. The garden smelled when I put the mix down but after watering the smell really decreased and was gone the next day.
I added more water to that first batch and let it brew again and used it about two weeks later. Since then I've added more alfalfa to the batch (6 cups), espsom salts (1 cup), iron green (4 capful) and have kept it going- stirring daily, diluting it with water and dosing my plants approx every two weeks. Everything is growing wonderfully. Roses have lots of basal breaks, covered with buds (aphids and little flies with wings too!) and the perennials are growing well too. I'm very happy with the results.
Oh, I also experimented with using yeast (regular cooking yeast) in the recipe. I've seen mention of people using superthrive and I think one of the main ingredients of superthrive is vitamin B1 (thiamine) which is also found in regular yeast. So ... I made a cup of yeast mixture- 1 cup warm water, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp yeast and let it froth, then added it to the tea. Seems to have worked. Any thoughts on using yeast instead of superthrive?
I also found a way to get around the neighbours with the smell. Most of my neighbours are older and retired, so they are home all day and unless I pour the brew on my garden late at night (have done that) I can't get away with out someone smelling the mix and wondering what the heck I'm up to. My neighbours all have gardens. They have seen how well my garden has been doing since spring began (literally since the end of March my garden has been green and growing better than ever) so i offered to pour some of my special mix on their gardens and they love it too and there are no complaints about the smell. :)
This is my first year making alfalfa (plus plus plus) tea. In past years I've just added some pellets around the roses and I got good results with that but the tea is much better.
My husband says I'm give the roses steroids and I think he's right. :)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Twinkle 7 GA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 16:52
Pappu, please tell how you are getting rid of that mess! I have some alfalfa tea that I sorta forgot about. It is several weeks old right now, and I am afraid to open the lid. Very afraid.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Bean_counter_z4 Zone 4, Rkfd,IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 16:58
Everyone waiting for the latest installment of pappu's exciting saga. This could go any one of three ways, as I see it. 1. Pappu reports back and says the roses have developed super-botanical powers and have given him a list of thier demands. 2. There is a smoking hole somewhere in IL where the stuff ate thru the bottom of the trash can. 3. The roses are now dead along with the grass and trees, and all the paint is gone of one side of pappu's house.
Actually, there was a thread similar to this a year or so ago. Someone described the tea as smelling like a wino with a fish in his pocket that crawled into a hole and died. Who would have thought fertilizer could be so funny?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 17:16
Anyone willing to call the local ER's?
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: chescobob z6b SEPA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 17:42
Here is something to think about.
In about a week, what if pappu reports that the roses have grown very well, there are new basals everywhere, and the new blooms are all 8 inches across with the most incredibly good fragrance? There could be a run on catfish filets.
I have not heard of any reports on CNN about Fishzilla heading for Chicago. Geez, I can picture a rubbery looking Fishzilla walking in from Lake Michagan, crossing Lakeshore Drive, and strutting down Michigan Avenue.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: altoraMA 5/6 MA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 19:22
Hmm. 7:20 pm and still no word? I'm dying
to know what happened! and a little worried!
alida
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: smom40 5MO (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 19:46
I've been waiting all day for this...
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Rilie Z5a NB, Can (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 20:43
If the tea didn't get him, maybe the neighbors did......
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: AndreaGeorgia z7 NC (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 20:55
Or he's making the big bucks now by selling this potent drug to the local rose junkies. Let's hope that they or their roses won't OD.
Andrea
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: rokkis_mom z7 Atlanta (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 21:11
Will this thread disappear when it hits 100 posts? That will be so sad. I think Pappu better post on a new thread to let us know he's ok. Giant, lurking fishheads be darned... if he accidentally spilled the stuff and now has beautiful, huge, lush roses... we're all gonna wish we had cut and pasted the recipe somewhere.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: MoRoseAz z9/Phoenix (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 21:16
Pappu? Did Tommy TeaMix get up and walk out on his own? Can this stuff cause groundwater contamination? Love Canal? Did the recipe call for any ol' canned tuna in oil or water or did it have to be solid white albacore?
Maybe Tommy TeaMix is responsible for that other post "What's under Maggie?".
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RE: A big stinking mess! Revisited
Posted by: rokkis_mom z7 Atlanta (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 21:25
Oh, my gosh! Do you think maybe it's migrating? Like the Japanese Beetles? How long do you think we have? I've never seen this one in my disaster preparedness handbook.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: bojo96 z5 IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 22:16
Just came in from doing a yard stroll with DH. As we near the front of the yard to check out the first Fragrant Plum bloom....an ambulance goes by..lights on, no siren heading back towards the hospital 20 min. away. Nahhhhhhhhhhhh couldn't be pappu...could it?
pappu!!!!!!!!! tell us how it went....your making us nervous and as rose growers we have enought to freak about! LOL
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: Ginni77 z 5 Illinois (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 22:30
Gee, I thought I'd sign in here and see how Naveed got rid of the BIG MESS! And no post from him.
Pappu, are you there???
We're really anxious to hear what happened!
Ginni
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: pappu z5 IL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 22:32
Gosh! That's a lot of moral support !
It's dealt with, it's gone, it's back to the ground it came from. It took all day and I am pooped to even type, but I will post my report...it seems that it is now a matter of national security..
I had latex gloves on, a mask and I almost puked in the first 5 minutes, but strangely, I could not smell it after about 10 min, the stench probably burned all the nasal neurons. this is what I did with it....a big mug of the 'mother' tea (more like sludge) in a 5 gallon bucket, fill the bucket with water and empty it around a rose bush....After it was down to half, I filled it with water and directly spread it around the bushes. I have about 100 roses now (started May 04 with 1, and now thanks to y'all I have no social life and a neurotic wreck, staring at planted bareroots everyday, willing them to sprout leaves). Every plant in the garden got this stuff, including the petunias. I am philosophical about this, either everything dies or I have the 'honey I shrunk the kids' kinda yard. It was 90's today and by late afternoon, I was dizzy and felt sick, but it was finally done, the bottom scraped and everything washed and at 5 p.m, I am in the house, all doors and windows locked to keep the smell out and waiting for the police to knock anytime now.
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: decobug Z6a Idaho SW (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 22:50
I'm proud of you! You are one step closer to being a 'rosarian'... :)
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RE: A big stinking mess! Help!
Posted by: debrazone9socal z9losangeles (My Page) on Tue, Jun 7, 05 at 23:27
Pappu, you are da bomb!!!

Oh, I remember this thread! I also remember waiting to hear how the spreading had gone and how the silence from Pappu set everyone's imaginations running wild. Priceless!

I missed it completely, thanks for the redoux. Anybody remember if pappu got good results???

As I recall....he had tremendous results! He posted pictures of drop dead gorgeous roses!