Smoothies for plants?

B

Bence

I'm gonna do my next fish hydro with my Blendtec to cut short the total fermentation time. But this got me thinking: what if the plants would use the phytonutrients made available by high-speed blending?
 
From grass clippings in rainwater (simple green smoothie) to more advanced concoctions; using banana peel, meat juices, organic fert pellets, lactos, etc...
 
What do you think? Are there good instant "drinks" for our plants or these smoothies would be good as starters for fermentation?
 
When grass clippings are blown into ponds here in Florida, algae will bloom within 24 hours on sunny days. A blend sounds like an excellent idea, though you have to be careful that you know exactly what has been sprayed/spread in the grass before using it.
 
Fresh, uncomposted nutrients will need oxygen to break down. The nitrogen-containing compounds will turn to ammonia and raise the pH quickly (an "ammonia spike"), after the existing oxygen in the soil is gone.

This could lead to "burning" of the roots and other problems if too much of this 'smoothie' is added at one time.

That's about the only flaw i can think of... it's actually a pretty cool idea. I've done something similar to supplement compost that has stopped fermenting due to lack of nitrogen, using a lawn-mower, not a blender.
 
mikeg said:
Fresh, uncomposted nutrients will need oxygen to break down. The nitrogen-containing compounds will turn to ammonia and raise the pH quickly (an "ammonia spike"), after the existing oxygen in the soil is gone.
This could lead to "burning" of the roots and other problems if too much of this 'smoothie' is added at one time.
That's about the only flaw i can think of... it's actually a pretty cool idea. I've done something similar to supplement compost that has stopped fermenting due to lack of nitrogen, using a lawn-mower, not a blender.
Click to expand...
Would a well-aerated soil with lots of air pockets ensure enough oxygen to do the job?
 
This works really good. Mom's been doing it for a few years. It seems to really speed up the process of breaking down compost scraps. Mom waters it into her garden and potted plants as well as uses it as a top dressing within the first few inches of soil.
 
Neil
 
suchen said:
Would a well-aerated soil with lots of air pockets ensure enough oxygen to do the job?
Click to expand...
I'm not well-enough informed to give a meaningful answer... it would depend on how concentrated the 'smoothie' is, the carbon:nitrogen ratio, the soil's composition (for example, ammonia spikes can be minimized by the humic acids found in many soils)... and other variables i haven't thought of.

I'm hoping someone else has some input on this.
 
It's getting interesting! Yep, I was thinking about a top dressing kinda stuff. A high speed blender opens up the cells really well, so for human consumption, over 95% of the total chlorophyll content becomes available.
 
Of course, I didn't mean thick, smoothie-like concoctions, but the basic things which are good for the soil web, for the plants... Putting in Chlorella or Spirulina... My mum dumps the juice of a thawing chicken onto her potted flowers - they like it. I'm pushing little lyophilized fishes into the soil of my pots, Guru dumps trub on his monsters, so let's keep the ideas flowin'!
 
I guess I should qualify this and say that mom only uses compatible items like fruit and veggies. She's never used fish or animal bits in her compost.

Neil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top