Alfalfa pellets
old_dirt 6a
15 years ago
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luckygal
15 years agodchall_san_antonio
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Alfalfa Pellets instead of Cottonsead Meal?
Comments (8)Last year I used a variation of Steve Solomon's fertilizer recipe based on alfalfa meal as the nitrogen source. This year I'm adding some soybean meal to help me get a better NPK balance. You can create your own mix according to the NPK ratings of the components. I like alfalfa meal, but any Solomon fertilizer using just alfalfa meal ends to be higher in potassium (K) that Steve reccommends. (The N & K in alfalfa meal aren't that different.) Adding in soybean meal helps me increase my N relative to K. Also, by some accounts, soybean meal gets N to the plants faster than alfalfa meal, but alfalfa meal has growth agents that are good to have too. Off the top of my head, my recipe is: 1 scoop soybean meal 8-0-1 2 scoops aflafa meal 3-.5-2.5 2 scoops rock phosphate 0-3-0 1/2 scoop lime (mix of agricultural & dolomite) With my quart-sized yogurt container scoop, a scoop of meal is about 1 pound, a scoop of rock phosphate & lime is about 2 pounds. So before the lime my bucket has (# = pound): 0.14# N - 0.13# P - 0.06# K The net percentages are low, but the balance is close to what Steve suggests......See MoreHelp using feed store alfalfa pellets roses
Comments (13)Look at 100% alfalfa cubes, too. They work the same as pellets and are likely to have fewer additives. They are dried chopped alfalfa compressed into 2 inch cubes. As far as I can tell, California cubes don't have additives, but you should confirm with the seller. If you garden in a civilized suburban setting, you can toss them out to the dripline and water them in. If you garden where there are vermin or want to avoid the hand-watering, put them in a garbage can, add water, and dole the mash out to your roses. You don't need to overdo it. I add at roughly 1 cup of alfalfa to a 3 foot diameter dripline. Adjust to the size of the dripline of the rose. The primary additive is a hormone that aids in root growth. In Zone 9 California, early fall (right now) is a time of tremendous root growth, as is late winter to early spring. I'd do it soon. I'm sure you do no harm by adding more or at other times, but IMO it's a labor intensive exercise, so I want to get my money's worth. Once a year is fine. I find it really beneficial in pots and can't manage it any more with the planted roses because it is to labor intensive with a lot of big roses. Follow up to make sure it doesn't form a crust on the surface. You might need to break it up. I don't know what you mulch with, but I put it on top of the mulch I use....See MorePeat moss, alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets, or alfalfa meal?
Comments (38)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...See MoreAlfalfa Pellets vs. Alfalfa Meal
Comments (4)Meal from my feed store is straight alfalfa, no additives. If you don't see what you want, just ask at the counter. Most feed stores are happy to order for you at no charge with their next order from their distributor - that's what mine does and they were even familiar with it's use on roses. Next time, I think I will get the pellets though. The meal is so fine, it tends to fly around when scooping and distributing....See Morepetalpatsy
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