Alfalfa Hay As Mulch? And more Alfalfa
chickencoupe
11 years ago
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Kimmsr
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agodavid52 Zone 6
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
No dig garden - I can't find alfalfa hay! What should I do?
Comments (10)Organic - unless you live in a newly built house where the builders have removed the topsoil you already have 'topsoil' in your garden. It may be clay soil but it is probably absolutely fine as the basis for starting to garden. I have very heavy clay but with compost and muck added it grows good crops. There are not many places in Southern England that do not have soil which will make a reasonable garden. If you really want to be planting stuff out in a couple of weeks you are looking at a large outlay in bagged compost and loam to fill raised beds that fast. I really do believe the cheaper, and in the long run, better option would be to dig the ground you have. It's more work but will give you a good garden. However, if you are set on filling up raised beds about 2/3 potting compost to 1/3 garden soil or John Innes would be about right. Plus you will need some sort of retaining edging unless you are just going to mound the earth up. This is going to be very expensive....See Morealfalfa - tell me more
Comments (16)Cemeteryrose, the chemical is aminopyralid, patented by Dow agrochemicals (brand name Forefront). It was licensed for use in 2007, I think, and the first complaints started in 2008. Farmers use this as a broad leaf herbicide, much like the old 24D. It works as a hormone: the leaves of dicots grow like the clappers, eventually becoming distorted and finally dying. However, horses fed hay which has been treated so, do not break the hormone down in their guts and it passes through the equine system into the manure. Even leaving the manure for over a year to rot has not dispersed the chemical residue with the result being many growers, believing that they were fertilising their crops organically and safely, lost a whole seasons crops. Check the web for results. Even after 2 years in the soil, growers are still reporting distortion and blindness in crops, especially beans, potatoes, tomatoes and brassicas. Courgettes and other curcubits seem less affected. It also affects ornamentals, especially lupins and delphs. Naturally, there has been a lot of buck passing but the herbicide has not been withdrawn leaving us at the mercy of farmers, not reading the instructions (which DOW were forced to emphasise)selling hay which may or may not have been adversely treated. Many horse owners are unable to check the provenance of the hay and rely on the transparency of hay producers. Unfortunately, Forefront is cheap and effective. Unsurprisingly, many of us are looking to green manures and other methods of fertlising our soils. This was the major reason we got chickens on our plot this year. We can give the chickens many of our weeds to supplement their diets and use the poo in the compost heap, thereby closing the circle between crop growing and soil replenishment....See Moretimothy and alfalfa hay
Comments (2)You can use them for mulch, although some people will tell you that you will be introducing large numbners of "weed" seeds into your garden. That does happen but mostly those "weeds" are easily controlled simply by pulling them out of the mulch....See MoreRethinking Feeding Alfalfa to Roses in Southern California
Comments (13)Hi Jeri, Well there are many variables that could influence our results. Such as what is your soil ph in comparison to mine and is your water more or less acid than mine. I know even in my city the soil varies quite a lot (as the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens even mentions their differing soils on their website, and the RSABG is fairly close to me). The combination of soil and water differences may produce varying results with plants fed alfalfa. Also the origin of the alfalfa in your tea (where was *it* grown) as well as how strong the tea is. Are there components to your soil that would mitigate the ph raising effects of alfalfa? Just things to ponder. Also the individual roses that we each grow and their tolerances to ph ranges. I'd be curious how Reine des Violettes in particular did for you. Here is my Reine des Violettes (photo taken July 19, 2011), purchased from Greenmantle in February 2011 and planted in the ground right away (note alfalfa pellets on ground in background under other plants): From Reine des Violettes In fact I bought 3 plants at the same time from Greenmantle--Reine des Violettes (not fed alfalfa), Tipsy Imperial Concubine (given a very small amount of alfalfa), Duchesse de Rohan (given a moderate amount of alfalfa). All planted on the same day, adjacent each other, mulched with shredded redwood bark, watered on the same days by hand, same hose. All were growing nicely looked about equally green. Then I fed the alfalfa. One shut down growing and turned the same sickly color as Jenny Duval. That was Duchesse de Rohan. I haven't removed the alfalfa and her color has not improved. Then I have a species rose of which I have three, R. alabukensis. You might know this rose, Kim. I put one (15 gallon size) in the ground using Edna's Best and mulched with the redwood bark. Foliage a lovely dark green. I put one in a 15 gallon pot with only Edna's Best and mulched with the redwood bark. Number 3 I put in a 15 gallon pot in plain garden soil, and mulched with the redwood bark. Then I fed the plant in the ground with alfalfa pellets, the others I fed nothing. Continued watering all 3 plants on the same day, by hand with a hose. Plant in ground quickly became chlorotic. The other 2 not a trace, both still dark green leaves. I removed the alfalfa from around the plant in the ground. It's leaves are back to being dark green. Another experiment was an accidental one with an old butterfly bush. It was way too big, and I needed the space for all the incoming roses this year. So I chopped it way, way back, hacked out some roots. Added roses + bark mulch. No problem. Butterfly bush starts leafing out in multiple locations (hey, it had spread it was so happy!). Added the alfalfa. All new growth DIED. I am not saying alfalfa should never be fed to roses, but for my growing conditions, it is not advisable. It depends on the conditions in your gardens as to how well it may do for your plants. It is also worth considering the why behind the effects. Perhaps some are seeing reduced performance in roses due to this being fed. On the other hand in the right conditions of soil ph and/or water ph, feeding alfalfa may produce spectacular results. For me that would have been great as I have such easy access to it. Melissa...See Moreluckygal
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agochickencoupe
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoluckygal
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agochickencoupe
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agokenh2010
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agochickencoupe
10 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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