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For years now I have heard many Daves Gardeners speak of how great spent beer grain is for gardens and how it is a great ingredient for lasagna gardening. I've always been intrigued and thought that it would make a fine addition to the large organic quantities of horse manure and leaf mold I already use to feed my soil.
My first attempt to locate spent beer grain failed after a local large scale Atlanta brewery wanted to set up a formal interview to speak to me about taking their spent grain and I passed. Most recently, my supply of leaf mold had ended for the season and I renewed my spent beer grain search.
I called a friend of a relative who is very involved in the local farming movement and asked her where I might score some spent beer grain. I called and was welcomed to come and get it this morning. After a 30 minute wait for the person, I started to leave as I didn't know how much longer he was to be in his meeting... oh, sometimes our angels speak to us and we just don't listen and this was one of those times!! ... I should have ran!! He stopped me outside and told me where to back up my truck and I did so.
For those of you that don't know better and have any desire to ever use beer grain in your garden... here is the God's honest truth...
It is the most rancid, vile, gross, vomit inducing pile of flytrap stench sludge I have ever had occasion to smell.
Honestly.
I make it a habit not to roll around in piles of manure after stepping in them, but so long as I've already been up to my knees shoveling out horse manure, I would much rather roll around in a pile of horse hockey that have to shovel out this stuff from the tuck. I had to roll up the windows and put the air on recycle as I drove home. I watched the contorting faces of those poor unsuspecting drivers that had only wanted to enjoy the fresh air and nice weather with their windows rolled down. As I pulled up to red lights I saw them search the for the source of the bio-hazard toxic waste smell.
After parking the truck.. all I could manage to do was pull the tarp off the top in hopes that the sun will miraculously sterilize the stench before I go out and have to shovel it out. I have not had my stomach turn quite as much since a terrible bout with food poisoning.
I have ripped off my shirt and pants, but the smell is attached to the fibers of my lungs and I just can't get it out of my system.
I called my husband at work to tell him of my delima and he suggested that I might want to hire someone to spread it.. That would be cruel and unusual punishment. It would be like asking someone to shovel cooked vomit from my truck. He jokingly said not to use the truck and take my minivan next time and I told him it would have to be crushed and turned to scrap metal afterwards...
I don't care how good this stuff is supposed to be for my garden.. I'll stick to manure and leaf mold. I am dreading the spreading of this wet rotting grain and I just needed to make sure that not a single one of you thinks this is a good idea. Ever... Unless of course you have no sense of smell.
Susan
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