Garrett Juice Organic Answers Column September 4, 2024
Garrett Juice – What it is and Why it Works
Garrett Juice is a concept as much as a product. It evolved over a period of years as I explained to readers and callers how to make an effective organic foliar feeding mix. The mix has always had compost tea, molasses and seaweed, but the other ingredients have varied. Through trial and error, we came to the basic mix we use today. The current formula is a well-balanced blend of plant nutrients and food for both beneficial fungi and bacteria. Since the original formula was developed "plus" and "pro" recipes were crafted for specialized purposes.
It all started back in the early 80s when I was learning about organic gardening and it was common to spray compost tea on foliage and some gardeners and farmers would add fish emulsion to get more fertilizer power. Then, primarily because of the research at Clemson University by Dr. T.L. Senn, liquid seaweed became popular as an organic spray. Next, research gardeners like Malcolm Beck found that adding molasses increased the compost tea efficacy.
Garrett Juice used a drench or for foliar feeding.
I learned from an arborist buddy working on oak wilt solutions that lowering the pH of sprays made the ingredients more available to plants. He used a commercial acid product – I thought of vinegar – so tried it and it worked. The addition of this final ingredient is what created the official basic "Garrett Juice."
Vinegar in the mix is the most important ingredient. In my opinion it's the synergist making all the other ingredients work better. Plus, many thousands of gardeners and farmers use the mix with great success. The most common and serious mistake is to omit the vinegar from any liquid organic mixes.
Despite developing the recipe, we don’t own or sell any products called Garrett Juice, but Dirt Doctor, Inc. does own the name. That’s important so the product can be protected from chemical fertilizer companies or others mixing a bunch of toxic stuff together and selling it as Garrett Juice. Currently the Medina company is licensed to make and market it so it is available for commercial growers and organic gardeners that aren’t into making home brews, but the formula is available for anyone to make it for their own use. The formula is in my books and on dirtdoctor.com.
Trombone sprayer for getting foliar feed into trees or over large areas.
Garrett juice is basically compost tea, liquid seaweed, molasses and apple cider vinegar. Into a gallon of water, mix 1 cup of compost tea or liquid humate, 1 oz. liquid seaweed, 1 oz. molasses and 1 oz. apple cider vinegar. Add 1 oz. liquid fish to make "Garrett Juice Plus." Add beneficial fungi and bacteria to make "Garrett Juice Pro." Add 2 oz. of orange oil to give the product a mild but effective insect control. This mixture also works as a soil detox product if you are just starting your organic program and is an excellent soil drench and root stimulator.
To avoid burning plant foliage, the ready-to-use insect control solution should not have more than 2 ounces of orange oil per gallon of spray.
Garrett Juice is bottled for the home gardener (1-gallon) or for agricultural applications (55-gallon)
Humic acid is used instead of compost tea in the commercial products due to more even consistency. Other ingredients that can be added to the Garrett Juice formula include – fine textured rock minerals such as lava sand and Azomite, various microbe products and soil stimulants such as Medina Soil Activator. Mix well and sprinkle from a watering can, swishing it regularly to keep it mixed if you add fine-ground rock minerals.
Garrett Juice Plus is sold in one-gallon, five-gallon, and 55-gallon sizes, but as always, my formulas are available for making the mix at home. The commercial products that we allow are on the market for convenience.
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