I've only used them twice (changed over to the meal), but what I did was mix them dry into the top few inches of soil, then watered the soil. Planted the next day, and they were falling apart. I figured that was good enough.

Sue

Thanks for the input! Have you found that the meal is any better/worse than the pellets, or was there a specific reason why you switched over from one to the other?

So great to see others using alfalfa pellets. I have Dave Hall from Texas to thank for teaching me about the ease and benefits of organic gardening and I can't get enough of it ! Last year a lawn service stopped to ask what company I was using ! When I told them I used alfalfa and corn meal they sent the owner out to look at my lawn ~ now THAT is a great endorsement !

When planting (or just side dressing) I take bags of alfalfa pellets, pour into my wheelbarrow and add water. The pellets will absorb the water and form a 'meal' rather quickly. I then stir in compost, blood meal or whatever else my plants seem to be needing. The consistency shouldn't be wet, but if it is, add a bit more alfalfa to soak up the water. I then place 3-4 handsful around the base of each plant or in the case of planting, I mix a bunch into the planting hole with the native soil.

I've also used the pellets whole and after placing some handsful around the base of a plant, I just water it in and it breaks down rather quickly. When broadcasting the pellets over the lawn, I often have to check after watering for clumps, but not a problem. I've used soymeal as well (had my feed store order for me). It's a bit more expensive and I found the smell to be rather unpleasant to work with, but it's supposed to have more protein.

Bottom line, I don't think you can go wrong with how pellets are used ~ they're just an all around safe bet.
Good luck !

Oh, I'm happy to see others are using them too. I still haven't picked up my pellets yet, but I think tomorrow might be the day. I'm excited to see if there's any sort of improvement in any way (soil quality, plant growth, etc.) from the addition of them, and if there's not, well, it's still probably good to get a little organic matter into the soil.

What kind of prices are we talking about? I know alfalfa hay has shot up to ~$300/ton in our area so the pellets, even if 4% nitrogen, are a likely a very expensive amendment.

Price on sale is $10 a 40# bag at the feed store sold for horses.

In summer once it gets wet, but not washed down into the soil it begins to smell strongly if piled up a bit. What I didn't like was that it attracted the neighbor's large dog off-leash who promptly dug around in the garden breaking plants, etc. She said it was my fault because I had smelly stuff in the garden.

I've spread once a year around heavy feeders & topped with mulch. I've noticed a lot of worms, more bloom on rambler roses, & soil was fluffy texture on top.

I heard from Ciscoe Morris' radio show that you shouldn't put alfalfa around acid loving plants because it's very alkaline. Whoops! I won't in the future. I don't think the hydrangea blooms were affected in my acidic soil anyway.