compost tea
n.— «Applications of a manure or compost “tea” every week or so, once the stems have begun to bulb out, helps a lot. Put a couple of shovelfuls of manure or compost in a burlap bag and let is soak in several gallons of water for about three days. Draw off the muddy liquid and add more water until it has the appearance of light tea. Then feed it to the young plants.» —“Sturdy Kohlrabi finds its way to table in many ways” by Peter Tonge in Weymouth Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts) July 11, 1980. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...