Eco-Symposium On Sunday

Will Be Awash With Green

By Kendra Bobowick

What makes a good cup of tea? Manure and grass clippings submerged in water and stirred with streams of air.

The specific contents may change, but these and other ingredients add up to a particularly potent blend of compost tea that Holmes Fine Gardens Manager Carolyn Oggeri has been brewing recently. One gallon, five gallons, or more than 300 gallons, the aerated microorganisms in the steeped tea enliven plants where the mixture is applied.

Compost tea, environmentally safe household supplies, and a closer look at Newtown’s water quality are some of the highlights slated for this weekend’s Holmes Fine Gardens Second Annual Eco-Symposium and Fall Festival. The event will take place on Sunday, September 16, from 10 am to 3 pm, at the garden center at 144 Mt Pleasant Road. Guests can receive a crash course on composting, learn to become a “greener” consumer, and enjoy crafters, music, kettle corn, organic-living tips, and more.

The Science Of            Compost Tea

A living, breathing quality within the tea sparks reactions in the plants, explained nursery owner Dan Holmes. Active compost is percolated in a water mixture, spurring the growth of microorganisms. In turn, the plants take in food and nutrients. Available in tea-bag size portions, guests can try the tea on their own, one watering can at a time, or learn the process of “percolating” tea in five-gallon, and more than 300-gallon portions. The nursery currently has examples of both. If interests begin with the watering can, the process is simple.

“Drop the tea into the watering can and water,” said Mr Holmes. After 15 minutes, water a window box or planter, he said. Try the watering weekly.

With their own brew in use at the nursery, both Mr Holmes and Ms Oggeri are surprised at the results. Mr Holmes said, “The plants have taken on a new sheen.” Better than an immediate fix for infestation, disease, or routine feeding, the compost tea results are long-term. “You’re enriching the soil, and there is so much bioactivity. The plant takes up nutrients so much more.”

Although referred to as compost tea, Mr Holmes said, “There is an incredible amount of science behind it.” The concept is an old one, however. “Farmers have been doing this for years, but now it’s catching on.”

Ms Oggerri walked through the nursery this week and pointed out the plants that had responded well to a soaking in the tea.

“The results are incredible,” she said, reaching toward the pedals of one plant and adding, “This was near death, now look at the blooms, and the roses, look at the growth.”

She also pointed out potted daisies, saying, “I wanted to save those, and look, they’re beautiful.”

Enjoying the composting and tea process, she said, “It’s not as scary as it seems.” Through her own trial and error process she has been working with the five-gallon and 300-gallon tanks to produce tea batches, which are aerated with a pump and hoses into the porous wrapper containing compost submerged in the water. Noting that the most expensive part is the pump, the batch can be brewed for 12 to 24 hours, and must be used within four hours after it is prepared.

“You could do this in your own back yard,” she said. Referring to the compost materials, she explained, “It’s natural. It’s what’s in your back yard. Put your grass clippings and last year’s raked leaves to use, and brew some tea. If you’ve got the composting down pat, now you’re using it.”

 

Watching Out                 For Water Quality

Pootatuck Watershed Association (PWA) intern Alicia Messier will represent the PWA, which overall promotes water quality protection. Association President James Belden is most recently focused on stormwater. Sediment and temperature spikes are carried in the swell of sudden rainwater during summer storms, for example, and rush into the streams.

But where do all Newtown’s pipes go? “The first step is to find where the problems are,” Mr Belden said.

Ms Messier has spent part of her internship helping catalog and identify stormwater outlets and associated catch basins.

“The town will know where the pipes go and where they come out,” Mr Belden said. Striving for a smarter stormwater system in Newtown, understanding the outlets and catch basin locations, can also help during an oil spill, he said.

Like this and other water quality projects, Mr Belden believes in taking notes. “We have a lot of projects going on. We’re trying to save what we do have and improve on the future, but we need the data to do it.”

 

Greener Grass                  In Sandy Hook

Our Green House owner Pam Davis’s favorite color is an eco-friendly shade of green.

“A lot could be solved with eco-products,” she said. Start at home with everyday health issues, she suggested. Reduce the amount of aerosol products.

“If you switch to natural products, there are no health hazards to the environment,” she said. Cleaning solvents, for one, are washed down the sink after they are wiped or sprayed on surfaces. Clean air and water are two concerns, but she also worries about asthma. “Over time, breathing hazardous materials can affect the lungs.” She promoted natural products instead.

“Any time you can reduce your exposure, the less your body has to deal with,” Ms Davis said. “If you can take certain small steps to reduce some exposure, you’re better off.” She will be displaying cleaning solutions and other “green” environmentally conscious products Sunday.

The Second Annual Eco-Symposium and Fall Festival is Sunday, September 16, from 10 am to 3 pm, at Holmes Fine Gardens at 144 Mt Pleasant Road. Admission is free. Call 270-3331 for additional information.