"Quaker Hill Farm Different kind of Tea Party"
A Tea Party just for me? The tomato said to the gourd! The gourd didn't have the heart to tell her it was really coffee! I just feel so energized and pretty after I take a drink of that tea! The gourd laughed to himself, knowing what was really in that pitcher!
My tomatoes just love their tea party. Actually, it is a coffee party, but we won't tell them! I may be the only one in the world who did not realize that diluted coffee is a great booster for veggies and flowers. When we were in Florida last winter, I had been very hopeful I would be able to raise tomatoes in a pot. It just wasn't working. No matter what kind of fertilizer I tried or where I placed the pot the plant just looked awful.
Then one day a neighbor was passing by and I mentioned how I wish I knew what to do with that tomato plant. She suggested a weak solution of coffee, so given the condition of the plant decided it would be worth a try. It was unbelievable to me how it brought that plant back to life.
This tomato is an example of what happens when you have a tea (coffee) party for a tomato. This tomato was a volunteer plant. It came up right in the front flower bed by the garden porch here in good ole Indiana! A sweet little bird must have carried the seed from the garden. I decided I would try the coffee drink every week to just see what happened. This plant is huge! I am 5'1 inches and it is a couple of inches taller than me! It has many green tomatoes and as you can see at the bottom of the plant several red ones. The stems are healthy and green.
The vine in the background is also a volunteer gourd. I imagine our neighbors think it a little strange we have all of these veggies growing around the porch but it is pretty amazing to me how well they have done. I love a cottage garden look, so this seems to fit well, and we DO live on a farm!
Our son made the pitcher for me several years ago. I love that cobalt blue with the deep red tomatoes!
I found a great article which tells about how to dilute coffee for your plants. You can read it here. It is very informative. The author states ..."Coffee grounds(and brewed coffee) are a source of nitrogen for plants, which is the nutrient that produces healthy green growth and strong stems. Coffee also contains calcium and magnesium -- both of which are beneficial to plant health." The article further states the solution should be about 1/4 cup coffee and 3/4 cup water.
As you can see I heartily agree with this article! You might be like me and was a little skeptical about trying it, but for now, I am sold!
A Special Thank You to Stan and Jody for featuring this post! Simple and Sweet Fridays
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