Creating Unique Fertilizers From Scratch

One of the benefits of living on an urban farm is the opportunity for creating unique fertilizers from scratch. At Mezzacello we try to recapture every bit of magic so we can attain our core mission of sustainability. Here is a gallery of a few of the ways we go about doing this.

Liquid Fertilizers

This is the most dynamic source of fertilizer at Mezzacello. We produce seven liquid fertilizers at Mezzacello. Hmmm, and we have seven enclosed ecosystems as well?

All of these fertilizers are created on site from materials produced at Mezzacello. They are contained in reused box wine bags. This makes it easy to fill and deliver – and dispense!

1. Eden’s Ghost
2. Comfrey Tea
3. Soy Emulsion
4. Calcium Emulsion
5. Banana and Banana Leaf Emulsion
6. Rice Water
7. Algae reduction

Instructions For Use

In the case of Mezzacello’s liquid fertilizers, the ratio for optimal delivery is 1:16. That means 1.47 Liters of fertilizers to 75 liters gallons of water (6 ounces of fertilizer to 256 ounces of water). Some of these fertilizers (Like Eden’s Ghost) are extremely potent! Pay attention to this ratio!

• Liters to Liters: .47 : 75 (both liters)
• Ounces to Gallons: 16 : 2 Gallons (256 ounces)

Use this link to calculate volumes

Eden’s Ghost

• Pre-digestive formula that is brewed from compost with water, glucose, beer, and ammonia accelerators.
• Brewed for three weeks and packaged.
• This MUST be diluted or it will sterilize roots and microbiota.
• When used correctly, it is a powerful fertilizer.

Comfrey Tea

• This is both a soil amendment and a fertilizer.
• The roots of comfrey pull the nutrients out of the soil and into the leaves.
• This will remove a lot of the nutrient value of the soil when you grow comfrey.
• The upside is that the roots build better soil and break up clay.
• Removing the plant and then treating the soil with comfrey tea restores the soil and creates life.
• Think about what it can do for your soil.

Soy Emulsion Water

• Soybean Emulsion is high in nitrogen and encourages bright green foliage.
• It also encourages root development and nitrogen uptake.
• The protein in the emulsion also fuels microorganisms.
• The edamame beans can be ground and added to the soil as well!

Calcium Emulsion Water

• Baked egg shells and crushed finely or oyster shells crushed finely.
• The calcium powder is steeped in water for 24 hours.
• This will provide calcium to the root system of plants and build strong healthy stems.
• The molecularized calcium ions are easily absorbed by the plants

Banana and Banana Leaf Emulsion Water

• This fertilizer can be made from banana peels and banana leaves.
• The peels and leaves are shredded and then steeped like a tea.
• The resulting fertilizer is high in phosphorus and magnesium and will help plants maintain vibrant green leaves.

Rice Water

• This is the gentlest of all the fertilizers at Mezzacello.
• It brings nitrogen and sugars that power microorganisms and microrhyzomes in the soil.
• This creates soil that is electrically conducive to plants communicating and sharing nutrients.

Algae Reduction

• Algae is very good source of nitrogen, potassium, and carbon for your garden.
• Pouring algae water on plants will green them up quite quickly!
• The algae at Mezzacello also contains ammonia, fish manure emulsion, and salts that plants need to allow ion transfer in their root systems.
• Lastly, algae improves soil structure a great deal.

Dried Fertilizers

These dried fertilizer amendments are actually liquid fertilizers that have been UV treated or physically dehydrated. They are great amendments because as they are vacuum-sealed, they keep really well. Because they have their liquid removed, they ship really well – even to Mars!

• Dried Algae
• Soybean Meal
• Comfrey Meal
• Freeze-dried Grass

Dried Algae

Algae that has been dehydrated has multiple and significant benefits. First and foremost, it stores the energy of the sun for a long time. It has so many benefits, I’ll list them out below.

• Dehydrated and vacuum-sealed algae can be stored in a cool dark space for two years.
• Adding dried algae to any soil will immediately improve the soil structure.
• The nitrogen locked within the dried algae will slowly release into the soil.
• Algae and its derivatives will attract microbiotic, arthropod, and insect life to your soil.

Soybean Meal

Soybean meal is a terrific soil amendment! It has all all the protein and nitrogen of the soy emulsion and the granular structure and carbon of the bean. I learned early on that chickens, ducks, and quail do NOT like edamame.

Comfrey Meal

After we have brewed the comfrey tea for two months, the leaves and stems remain. I can add them to compost, or I can dehydrate and grind them into a terrific soil amendment. I call this comfrey meal and I use the heat from my biodome to dehydrate the comfrey naturally.

Freeze-dried Grass

This is the most exotic dried fertilizer I have at Mezzacello. It requires a lot of energy, but it is a potent source of ammonia and Carbon Dioxide. Rehydrating it will jump start any compost bin you like!

Manure-Based Fertilizers

This class of manure is as the title infers, manure-based. Each comes in vacuum-sealed packages or in the case of the “Manure Cube” in the shape of a large LEGO block that be stacked to start any garden bed!

Compost Fertilizers

Mezzacello Urban Farm produces 3000L of high quality compost every season. All compost is available as a bagged option or in boxes. Bring your own container and we can make a discount happen!

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This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023

Recycling Boxed Wine Bags

One of the innovations I developed over the summer with the #UrbanAgTech summer camps was recycling boxed wine bags. It’s super easy to do once you understand how they work. The trick is to be prepared.

Double Wall Design

I honestly never paid much attention to wine bags from boxed wine. They are ingenious in their design though. The have two plastic walls, a smooth inner bag, and a rougher, more durable outer bag. The bags are fused at the bottom and top and at the spigot dispenser.

I discovered their usefulness quite by accident. My renewables camps were exploring synthesizing multiple types of fertilizer and I needed a way to contain the exact amount of fertilizer (which was usually in liquid form). Traditionally I use a vacuum sealer system, but with liquid that was impossible.

I cut the top of the wine bag off. This is when I discovered the double bag structure. And I thoroughly rinsed it out.

Vacuum Sealer 101

In future, I will only cut a small slit in the top as I think the smaller diameter hole will make the bag more stable while refilling. This will also allow me to refill the bags with a funnel. It’s easier to fill a funnel with liquid fertilizer.

Once you have the fertilizer in the bag, all you have to do is seal it. When you balance the liter of fertilizer in the bag you can insert the top of the bag in the vacuum sealer. You must not apply vacuum, though.

The vacuum sealer devices all have heat seal features (I prefer this brand). Balance the bag with the liquid and seal the top of the bag. The beauty of this is that each bag can be used multiple times.

Trust me. You do not want to spill Eden’s Ghost or Composite Minerals everywhere. They smell like death – even though they are an amazing fertilizer.

Friends In Need

So the obvious weakness in this strategy is that I cannot possibly drink enough boxed wine! That is where my friends and community come in. My dear friend Sabra brought me THREE Bags!

I of course shared three bags with her. The other cool aspect of this strategy is that it allows me to share my bio-products with my friends and neighbors. I also get real-time feedback on their efficacy.

So now I wait for my friends to test my fertilizers and give me feedback. So far, I have five neighbors and gardens testing my fertilizers. I will keep you posted!

Pond Update for 2022 Part 1

Spring is here again which means we have to bring the pond back online. This is a pond update for 2022 part 1. This is part 1 because this is just where we clean and swap out of water.

In 2022 we will add a series of ndew and better integrated biofilters. These new filters come with high and low density sponges for better entrapment of algae and a UV algaecide system built in. There will also be a large solids centrifuge for isolating as much algae from the water stream making algae processing and harvesting so much easier.

New Filters and Wetlands

Finally, the entire system will be further filtered through a new wetlands bioremediation pond that will help keep the pathogens and algae at bay naturally. The water passing through this wetaland and back into the main pond will be much cleaner. This will in turn attract even more life to the urban farm.

A new aeration system will be installed to provide maximum oxygenation to the water at all times. In addition to the air stones, this will be plenty of molecular O2 in the water, this gurgling fountain will really oxygenate the water. And all of it will run off wind, water turbine and solar power.

It’s going to be a big year for the pond. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy this video of the old system handling the water flow.

Eden’s Ghost Application

I wanted to provide an update on Eden’s Ghost application. If you are unfamiliar with Eden’s Ghost, see my bioreactor update from summer 2021. Eden’s Ghost is an amazing fertilizer I produce here at Mezzacello.

Fertilizer 101

Eden’s Ghost is a powerful fertilizer. It was developed when I was experimenting with the compost reaction in the bioreactor. The first year, during COVID19 Lockdown. I didn’t drain the liquid from the bioreactor and it collected there.

Test and Test Again

I tested it and in the proper dose, it is amazing. My first few applications it was disastrous. Then I stopped using so much and it was paradise.

Eventually I learned it was 1 cup to 2 gallons of water. That seems to be the magic dose. I can also add 1 liter to to a sprayer that sprays 100 liters of water.

It’s the ratio that matters. That’s why I call it Eden’s Ghost. It brings death or paradise.

Why It Works

The nitrogen and phosphorous are really strong in Eden’s Ghost. It is a synthesis of the compost, the added ammonia, beer, and soda. I also add coffee grounds, eggshells, and banana peels.

All of this is to balance out the soil matrix. The soil at Mezzacello is heavy in clay, and the Eden’s Ghost adds a lot of nutrition and nutrients to the soil. The rich mineral composition also attracts life up from below.

This is essential. If there is no life to support the subterranean ecosystem, the plants will not thrive. If the plants thrive, Eden’s Ghost will keep it sustainable.

Ponds as Spigots and Nutrient Additive Systems

Today I am clearing the parterre garden bed  behind the aquatic ecosystem at Mezzacello a.k.a. the pond. I noticed that the water in the biofilters was looking pretty green. I also noticed that the irises Rick just planted along the fence to North Korea I looking pretty thirsty.

That’s when I remembered I had installed the spigot at the bottom of one of the biofilters. The addition of the spigot wasto make it easy to clean the bio filter out. But I realized in that moment that if I re-frame the bio filter as a wine cask (that’s full of really yucky wine) it is actually a tap for nutrient rich water.

Get To Work

I grabbed a watering can and turn the valve to let the water flow. Super rich Greene Al Joel water comes pouring out. I filled up the water canned five times and watered the irises. When I went back to the bio filter to feel like the fifth time, the Spicket popped out and the water flowed freely.

No big deal! Just grab a 5 gallon bucket!  Sometimes you realize that systems can be reused in unique ways because of necessity. That’s one of my favorite things about Mezzacello. It’s constantly teaching me to be creative and nimble and re-frame how are use my systems and how everything relates to everything else.

Now unless you read this blog I get to pretend like I’m a brilliant systems engineer and I designed it to be used that way. No one’s gonna know any better except for you dear Reader. Please steal my idea. Good ideas are hard to come by.