Alfalfa worked really well on roses.What else can I use it for?

16 years ago

Hi,

Thanks to garden web my roses are doing really good after just one application of alfalfa pellets. SInce I bought a 25kg bag I was wondering what else could I use this for? I also grow the following:

Vegetables: Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants etc

Hydrangeas

Trees: Hibiscus & Apricot

Blueberries

Lots of annuals.

Your advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Comments (13)

roseleaf
16 years ago
You can use it for all the garden plants and veggies that you listed. They love alfalfa as much as the roses do.
bean_counter_z4
16 years ago
You can use it on anything, including your lawn. Just be aware that it's getting a little late in the season for fertilizing perennials and shrubs. I would apply the alfalfa to annuals and vegetables until frost. Next April side dress your flowers with the pellets. You can reapply in May, June, July.
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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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After researching, I find that alfalfa meal decomposes fast and gives off quick heat, more so than alfalfa pellets. I cooked a geranium to death by planting in a clay mixed with alfalfa meal. I did the same with 2 rhododendrons in hot and dry summer. Years ago we detached our lawn in late fall and stored bags of grass clippings in the garage .. the entire garage was heat up, despite 40 degrees outside. NPK of alfalfa pellets is 2-1-2 ($17.99 for 50 lbs. bag), NPK of soy bean meal is 7-2-1 ($20 for 50 lbs. bag), and NPK of crack corn is 1.65 / 0.65 / 0.4 ($2.69 for 10 lbs. bag) at feed store. NPK of alfalfa hay is 2.45 - 0.5 - 2.1, sold for $8 per bale at the feed store. Corn is alkaline, has anti-fungal property. Soybean meal is also alkaline. Alfalfa meal is slightly acidic and naturally high in sugar, great for fungal germination. See below discussion "Afalfa Meal Heating Up Soil" in Organic Gardening Forum: Ã¢ÂÂ¢Posted by mprevost 7 (My Page) on Sun, Jan 13, 08 Throughout that time I've used only bagged composted chicken manure, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, and various mulches (leaves, grass clippings) to fertilize my soil. I have not seen this heating up occur without significant concentrations of alfalfa meal. Without a lot of alfalfa meal, it does not heat up. But if you put a lot of alfalfa meal under mulch or in a hole, it gets REAL hot in a couple of days. Like as hot as a very hot compost pile. 150 deg F or so. " **** From Straw: I haven't tested soy bean meal, so I won't recommend that. I tested cracked corn (grinded smaller with NutriMill flour grinder) ... awesome result, shiny leaves & many buds. Birds like to eat that stuff. The growth can't compare to alfalfa meal, but I'm aiming for buds and health in hot summer, and not top growth. Alfalfa hay is $8 per bale, best to mix that in with dirt, since the hay is hard to decompose, plus matting-up, blocking water. Some info. from the lawn forum: Ã¢ÂÂ¢Posted by lee_in_iowa 4 to 5 on the lin (My Page) on Thu, Apr 14, 11 at 11:35 Boy, I can't recommend the soybean meal. Never again! I tilled it into the top 4-6 inches of my raised beds one year and it grew me a bumper crop of cutworms and armyworms. It attracted pests I had never had before. For myself, I like to ask for bales of alfalfa hay." Here is a link that might be useful: Reference link on Organic Fertilizers This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 10:02
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RG100
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your replies. I will use it on other plants too.
michelle_co
16 years ago
After applying it last season, I was suprised at how the iris and daylilies responded to it. The produced tons of divisions. The coneflowers and hollyhocks also seemed to produce lots of flowering shoots.

Cheers,
Michelle
jeanne_texas
16 years ago
I agree ..I put it in my spreader and broadcast it onto my lawn..everyone asks what I do to have such a gorgeous green lawn...Jeanne
williamcartwright
16 years ago
I too have been using Alfalfa on the lawn (in conjunction with Soybean Meal) this year and the results have been profound!!!

See the "Organic Lawn-care" forum if you seek more details on this combination. Honestly incredible.

And I too have had my neighbors all asking what the heck I've been doing to my lawn? So far two have started the routine themselves. Good to know my little boy can play on our grass without being exposed to the nasty chemicals in "weed and feed" and our lawn looks better than the "Chemlawns".

Bill
rose_nutty
16 years ago
I use it on EVERYTHING! My veggies outdo everyone else I know, my corn is nearly 7 feet tall (unheard of for sweet corn), and my flowers always win blue ribbons in the local flower show in September. In fact, one year the president of the garden club joked with me that they were going to ban me from entering. I have yet to find a plant that doesn't love alfalfa. I would put it on my lawn if I could find some meal. Those of you who use it, do you spread pellets, or do you have a source for meal?
iowa_jade
16 years ago
Horses like to eat it.

Foghorn
RG100
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Rose nutty
Thanks for your comments. That sounds amazing. I use alfalfa meal, not pellets. It is very fine and seems like it would break down quite easily. Do you mix it in the soil every year - just once or twice? I live in Toronto, so dont know if my source can help you.
williamcartwright
16 years ago
Rose nutty, I use "pure" (no salt) pellets on the lawn. If I could get meal in 50 lb bags I might use that instead, but I can't. I do find that if watered well after spreading that the pellets swell up and pretty well break down in a couple days so it's not unsightly.

As I said I've been using the alfalfa in conjunction with Soybean Meal, and this combination has had an astonishingly positive effect.
rose_nutty
16 years ago
I am happy to hear that spreading the pellets with your spreader will work! I've been wanting to try alfalfa on my lawn, but didn't know if the pellets would spread evenly enough and I couldn't find meal. I hope my spreader will open widely enough to allow the pellets to go through. I'm definitely going to try it!
williamcartwright
16 years ago
Rose Nutty, I didn't use a spreader. I just hand-tossed it, so I don't know it a spreader works or not. Someone else may know.

Bill
jeanne_texas
16 years ago
Yes Alfalfa Pellets work just wonderfully in the Spreader..I set it at a large enough opening and they fly out beautifully...Jeanne

Alfalfa worked really well on roses.What else can I use it for?

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roseleaf

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Alfalfa worked really well on roses.What else can I use it for?

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