was the "do some research" supposed to be a link for making alfalfa tea? No it was not. There are no links to making alfalfa tea. That's why I'm asking the question, "Where do you get these ideas?" The link I provided was to a website where compost tea is promoted. Compost tea has something of value in it but only when it is made properly. If you read about compost tea and learn how to make it correctly, you'll likely learn about the problems in your recipe for alfalfa tea. It is scientifically impossible to make anything but slime water using the methods posted in this thread. dchall thats just plain STUPID to say have you tried this and it killed all your plants? I'll leave the intelligence of what I say up to the reader. If that's what you believe, fine. I have not tried it because I have read about the method from scientists that I trust. I never said it would kill all your plants. I am more concerned with it killing people but I don't want to sound sensational about it. The probability of someone dying from alfalfa tea poisoning is pretty remote. This method of getting nitrogen into the soil works fine for me and everybody else When you say it works fine, that probably means everything seemed fine because the plants got greener and became more healthy. That is because alfalfa is a source of protein for the soil microbes. You could have applied dry alfalfa pellets at a rate of 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet and achieved the same result with much less hassle. About every other year I switch from fertilizing with ordinary corn meal to fertilizing with alfalfa pellets. They're great! I'm saying the brewing process being promoted here is not a good one. There is a LOT of flexibility in nature that prevents diseases from taking hold. Going back into history and to the present day, fresh raw sewage is still used to fertilize farms and gardens. You can easily say that nobody you know has ever been harmed by that practice. Even if you lived in China where the farmer's outhouses drain directly into the soil, they probably don't know anyone who has died from the practice. Does that make it healthy or the right thing to do? Not at all. Once the cholera bug enters the picture, everyone associated with the practice dies and there is nobody left to remember them. I'm not saying alfalfa tea leads to cholera; I'm just trying to make an analogy. Any time you put something in water, especially warm water, you are going to have bacteria growing in it. The warmer the water the faster the oxygen becomes depleted. Once the oxygen is gone, the bacteria that were growing in it die and another type of bacteria start to grow. Among these bacteria are those that cause disease. Once that happens, you have no control over the "brew." Fermentation of the mix is the best outcome, but the other end of the spectrum is that you start breeding the more dangerous bacteria that live in your intestines. The Soilfoodweb.com website has changed their format. Here's a slightly better link. Read the e-zines back from the beginning to learn more. Then search the Internet for "actively aerated compost tea" with the quotes. The purpose of this is to expose the problems with the alfalfa tea brewing method y'all are using. If all you were doing was dumping alfalfa into a bucket of cold water and immediately pouring it onto the plants, I'm all for that. Letting it sit and develop pathogenic bacteria is my problem.

It sounds like some kind of bacteria that makes ropy colonies, or it could also be a fungus. I don't know a darn thing about compost tea really, but I brew beer, and one of the problems you can have is a bacteria called 'the ropes'. It is not good to drink. :-p Anyway your egg analogy is quite accurate, since that is also strings of protein. Unless someone chimes in here and says it is harmful for some reason, I would think if it smells OK you can certainly use it. Those microbes are already in the soil anyway.

Interesting.......I may have to try this. I usually stir it up several times while it is stewing but that probably doesn't do too much. Last batch I bumped the bucket as I was bringing it out of the trash can and it splashed all down my left side. Including my face :) :) :) Lynn

I was thinking of using it on brugs and hanging baskets, veggie garden, and my planters as well as the roses. I've noticed a differaance before with the roses when i added a handful of pellets at pruning time. they did much better. I have a small nursery and was wondering if I coul use it on my perennials that are in smaller containers, the 3-4 inch pots and the gallons. Would i use it just the one time in the spring or during the growing season? I will research it further when I have time. I am selling my plants at the local farmers market and then i go to gardening college for 3 days. I am trying to maintain my little nursery, a 4,ooo sq ft garden and my veggie gardens all by myself and i am a bit overwhelmed. I am crazily thinking about adding cutting gardens with fresh herbs and flowers for next year. So as you see i am looking for better ways to grow my plants. I work in a another nursery and all we use is chemical ferts. I have no control over that. None of the classes at the mini college deal with organic fertilizers. pest controls , yes. so any help would be well appreciated.