Alfalfa tea, how much?

16 years ago

Also posted in the rose forum.

I have 11 rose bushes and enough alfalfa tea brewed and ready to give each rose many gallons. How much should each rose get? I've heard 1-2 gallons per bush. Again, I have enough to give them much more but, is that not a good thing?

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Comments (4)

skoot_cat
16 years ago
No, more is not a good thing. I would stick to 1-2 gallons per rose bush. All your landscape plants and trees will also benefit from a feeding of Alfalfa Tea. As for amounts, use the rose bushes as a guide. (Large plants/trees could use double to triple the amount of tea etc. etc.)

You could also strain the solids from the liquid and put it in a pump sprayer to foliar feed all your plants weekly.

Last, but not least, be sure the soil is moist to wet before applying the Tea. Keep the soil moist for the next few days after the application.
lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
It just seems easier to just throw down alfalfa pellets all over the yard before storm comes. It might look funny with millions of doo doo afterwards though.

Alfalfa tea STINKS. Takes forever to get the smell off my hands...
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I put down a cup or two of alfalfa pellets just after I finish pruning in mid-April. I don't know if earlier or later application would give better results but I do know this works fine with me. Here in mid-Michigan, we tend to get long, cold, but not too cold, spring weather and I almost never see frost damage to new growth. All the winter damage that I'm likely to see has already happened, probably back in early February.
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Not that it wouldn't be a good thing, it's wasteful. A lot would run off into the surrounding soil and might not be available to the roots. One or two gallons applied slowly will stay where it's put. Be advised, the longer it sits, the more foul it gets.
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"To use it in compost baffles me." IMO, there is nothing better than alfalfa meal/pellets for all landscaping needs. As a tea or straight out the bag, one is hard-pressed to find a better amendment for what alfalfa provides. So, in this regard I understand your bafflement as to why some would choose to use alfalfa in a compost pile. Yet, when added to a compost pile that is not responding as expected for whatever reason, again alfalfa cannot be beat. It will get the heat out of that pile with the quickness. I am never less than amazed to see alfalfa working a compost pile. For those new to composting, or those who are just plain tired of waiting for some heat to start working, alfalfa is the meal/pellet for the job. Yes, there are cheaper, even free sources of nitrogen to be had, but if one is short on greens, again alfalfa stands at the ready. And too, remember nothing is loss, all the potential of the alfalfa is still in the compost. IMO, it is for this reason I agree to the use of alfalfa in a compost pile... Blutranes
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I'm hardly very exact or frequent with any fertilizing I do, but my roses mostly get at least one application of alfalfa hay, at about 2 generous handfuls scattered among the mulch for well-established roses. I also use alfalfa hay mixed into the soil for newly planted roses but a smaller amount, and I don't repeat any alfalfa later in the season for them. I use the hay after one disastrous year when alfalfa pellets got wet and matted against the canes and about 30 roses died a rapid and painful death from the resulting acidic soup. Hay doesn't mat down and breaks down more slowly, and for me I can easily scuff it under the mulch I use. I agree that your applications of alfalfa are overdoing it, although it's less problematic than overdoing it with synthetic fertilizers. Feeding the soil is still top priority for rose growing whenever possible. Cynthia
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dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
I'm not even sure what alfalfa tea is. Sounds like a waste of time. Are you just melting the pellets in water and then pouring it on the bushes?

I scatter a heaping handful of alfalfa pellets under each rose bush every month and water to soften the pellets. I guess you could melt a heaping handful of pellets into a gallon of water and water each bush. It might be interesting to see if one method of application got different results than the other.
diane_nj 6b/7a
16 years ago
Kinda like compost tea, people "steep" alfalfa in water for x (where x = 2 to "I forgot how long I've left this mess") number of days which releases some of the triacontanol. Theory is that the "tea" works faster than just allowing the dry pellets or meal to decompose. Tried it once, too much work for me.

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Alfalfa tea, how much?

Comments (4)

skoot_cat

lou_spicewood_tx

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dchall_san_antonio

diane_nj 6b/7a

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