does ANYTHING in alfalfa attract wildlife?

16 years ago

Hi guys...this may sound like a dumb question but does alfalfa attract any kind of animals? I just used bone meal in some new plantings and it was a disaster! Something...I think maybe a racoon? dug EVERY bulb completely up and uprooted several roses. Do any of you have problems with animals digging? Just wanted to find out in advance about the alfalfa before I use it. You all have been SOOOO helpful in other areas! Thanks so much. April

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Comments (14)

ceterum
16 years ago
Alfalfa meal is used as rabbit food so I guess it would attract rabbits. I haven't used it yet but I already have rabbit damage :-(.
donnaz5
16 years ago
You can always make the tea and use it as a drench..that's what i'm going to do..between the rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and who knows what else I have, I'm just not going to chance it! OH...and bonemeal...I only had to use that once to find out it drew all of the usual culprits, plus cats...Donna
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No problem. My pellets are about 3/16" diameter by about 3/4" length. This is the first time that I have purchased them. They are reputed to make the soil organisms thrive and are to contain hormones conducive to plant growth. Last year I attended a VABF conference highlighted by Elaine Ingham and she mentioned this as one of the ingredients in making super compost to recharge the soil or from which to brew compost tea. I heard some people say that they soak the pellets along with some molasses for several days and then apply it. Dr. Ingham also mentioned the benefits of adding some fish material to the brew. They said that this could be fish emulsion or she recommended getting fish heads and guts from a fisherman or fishmonger, blended with water, to add to the brew. They stressed the need for a certain temperature as well as aeration to get the super tea and I'm certain that you could source the specifics. I'm presently digging a new veggie garden and amending the soil to about one foot with three year-old horse manure and bedding. As soon as I finish I will add a three or four inch layer of shredded municipal leaves from last fall with about 5 pounds of alfalfa pellets per 100 square feet and till that into the top few inches of the garden. I am also in zone 7 and think that with some moisture this will break down in several weeks and be ready for late spring planting. I saw another thread about using rabbit feed and today I bought an additional 50# bag of rabbit food with a crude protein level of 18% or about 3% nitrogen. It contains a number of trace minerals and some other interesting things like lactobacillus acidophilus, the active yogurt culture. May my microbes be regular!!! This is virgin territory for me as in the past I only used soybean meal or the mixture suggested by Steve Solomon in his book Gardening When it Counts; Growing Food in Hard Times. There have been a number of references to the fertilizer recipe in this forum. It's interesting to see how these experiments work although it is hardly scientific in that there are no different treatments or controls.
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Jeri made me laugh, that was funny! Humor is badly need in this forum. Dry air is made of 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, and the rest of argon and carbon dioxide. That explains why poor drainage wet clay soil can turn roses yellow ... the roots can't breathe. My Eglantyne rose was yellowish, until I fixed the drainage. MiracleGro potting soil comes with enough nitrogen for 3 months. I had one geranium in MiracleGro and was annoyed that the leaves are so dark green with few flowers (I don't fertilize that pot). There's one pot that I ran out of MiracleGro and put 1/2 garden dirt in ... I actually like that geranium better: it was shorter, more blooms, and lighter green leaves ....easier on the eyes. A friend asked me about phosphorus, so I'll post the info. here: The NPK value of oak leaves is 0.8 /0.35/ 0.15 Maple leaves is similar to that, so it's twice higher in nitrogen than phosphorus. Once decomposed, the value of phosphorus rises. Most decomposed organic matter is high in phophorus, such as sewage sludge at NPK of 2/ 1.9 / 0.3. Animal tankage (manure without the fat and gelatin) with NPK of 8 / 20 / 0. Other high sources of phosporus are rock phosphate and bone meal with NPK of 4 / 21 / 0.2. Drawback of rock phosphate and bone meal: they can only be utilized at pH at or below 7, according to University of Colorado Extension. Since I'm lazy in pruning I would rather sacrifice top growth for more root and flowering, or less nitrogen and more phosphorus. Leaves and stem store plenty of nitrogen, and unless the plant is completely yellow, there's no need for nitrogen. Even then, fixing the drainage and fluff up the soil with organic matter helped my roses to green up without the need for chemical nitrogen (also highest in salt). Adding air to the soil by making it fluffy is the cheapest way to give nitrogen to roots, considering that dry air is made of 78.09% nitrogen. Composting scraps from kitchen is another cheap source of nutrients, considering Cantaloupe rinds has NPK value of 0 / 9.77 /12.0 ... high in phosphorus and potassium. Potato skin has NPK value of 0 / 5.18 / 27.5 ... also high P and K. Nothing beats banana peels in potassium, with NPK value of 0 / 3.25 / 41.76. Potassium is need to counteract the salt in manure, and to fight diseases. This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 11:48
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thonotorose
16 years ago
Usually when I place a newly potted rose in a new area, I find that the raccoons will explore the thing for a day or two and then leave it alone. I think they are just curious.

I have placed alfalfa pellets and tea around several of my in-ground and potted roses and have yet to see evidence of varmits showing up. I do see rabbits eating the new spring grasses.
triple_b
16 years ago
I can see alfalfa attracting horses...deer maybe?
My friend lives a few minutes out of town. When she uses bonemeal all the neighborhood dogs start barking and howling and when she uses bloodmeal the neighborhood feral cats come a-diggin. Can't win for losing.
jerijen
16 years ago
Probably any sort of rodent. Here, we would probably get squirrels or rats, but I'm sure bunnies would be overjoyed.
Well, for that matter, my Dalmatians would eat the stuff, if it was out there.
They sure will eat blood and bone meal! (You don't wanna know.)
That's why we stick to alfalfa TEA.

Jeri
len511
16 years ago
That's what rabbit pellets are is alfalfa, but it shouldn't attract anything like the bonemeal. Possums will dig your plants up and lick the bonemeal, you'll usually see a few tiny scratch marks.
barb_r
16 years ago
Hi Jerjen, My Dal will pretty much eat whatever he can find (If it looks good) He's become rather selective. He is getting old and is now having trouble with his heart and hips. He's on lots of meds and supplements.
veilchen
16 years ago
Bone meal will attract the carnivores and scavengers; they are looking for a carcass. I have heard a lot of people complain of animals digging when they have used bone meal.

I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with animals after using alfalfa. The alfalfa meal I buy is almost a powder form. It's never been a problem in my garden and I have woodchucks and squirrels.
rosyone
16 years ago
Alfalfa has never been a problem in my garden either, and we have a lot of squirrels and rabbits. The only evidence of digging I've seen has been done by armadillos rooting out grubs, not the alfalfa.

When I first began using alfalfa I was warned to always buy horse feed, never rabbit feed. Rabbit feed contains sugar, which attracts all sorts of critters.
jerijen
16 years ago
Hi Jerjen, My Dal will pretty much eat whatever he can find (If it looks good)

*** You got that right!
We once bought several bags of Mills Magic Rose Mix.
MMRM + Dalmatians = Not-A-Pretty-Picture.

-- vbg --

Jeri
reg_pnw7
16 years ago
Alfalfa will attract herbivores - voles, mice, rabbits, etc. It's a high-value forage plant after all, tasty and nutritious. That's why people make good money growing the stuff, because it's good feed for livestock and rabbits. Hunters use it too to attract deer and elk. Lots of things like alfalfa.

Bone and blood and feather meal attract carnivores and scavengers.

I did have one out of three dogs that ate the alfalfa pellets. I also had lots of vole damage when I've tried using alfalfa pellets. I stick to alfalfa tea now.
triple_b
16 years ago
Cats and rats and elephants but as sure as you're born,
It ain't going to attract no un-i-corn.

(Everybody sing!)
cindyabs
16 years ago
My dog went nuts last year trying to slurp up the tea from around the roses.
patricianat
16 years ago
Anything organic is going to attract a critter of some kind. My animals seem to have a seventh sense about chemicals and plants that are toxic to them, including poinsettias, azaleas, etc. I think they might have been blessed with more brain than the average gardener (excepting Garden Webbers who are not average).

does ANYTHING in alfalfa attract wildlife?

Comments (14)

ceterum

donnaz5

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