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...

Judith I bought a 50lb bag at the only Co-op store in St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu. It is horse feed. It cost $17.61 including tax. It was May 15/08 and they had two bags in stock. I have the phone number & address if you want. Let me know. St-Antoine is off Hwy 30 in the direction of Sorel-Tracy. It is called "Célébrité-Ration Complete pour Chevaux" I hope this helps you. PS. I thought a 50lb bag was ridiculous but believe me...it goes fast and it stores well. I use it to fertilize the lawn as well.

No problem with the questions...sorry for slow response, been busy painting the house. Now there is a job I hate. I love organic, but it's not a short term deal, it might take a few years to get your lawn "back to nature" with some headaches along the way and it's not cheap. At least for me and the wife watches me like a hawk when it comes to spending. Be careful about going overboard on the lawn. It's just the lawn and don't get carried away tossing money into it. To me, my first choices is CGM but too expensive, then SBM, but could not get it, then Alfalfa, corn meal. CGM - You have to put it down when the temp is above 50 for more than 5 days...check on the web..there are a few organic lawn sites that give advice on this product and timing. I put it down during March, but that is for Central Fl. You can put CGM down anytime you want, but be careful about watching out for cynch bugs if that is a problem in your area. I put it down in March and late Sept. (Of course, don't put it down in the snow, depending on your area). CGM worked great against crabgrass, I did not have a problem. When I used the lawn service, wham, I got crabgrass and other weeds that they can't defeat anymore. The restrictions on the commercial lawn spray companies is preventing them from using what works to what might work. Alfalfa is cheap where I live. 14 dollars a bag from Farm City, but they won't order the SBM anymore due to low demand. It was 34 dollars a bag 2 years ago. Last week I found a lady out in farm country that sells grains on the side and she said she could get SBM for 19 dollars a bag which is pretty good price. Corn meal is a weaker fert. but a lot of people claim it prevents fungus problems. I put it down a few times and still got hit with fungus, but Florida to me, is difficult for lawn care so I think fungus is a never ending problem. It's not cheap going organic, but I really liked the results I got using this process, except weed control. CGM controls some, but not all weeds so you will still go out there and yank them. Also, if you can get a soil test to give you a basic starting point that is a good idea. Then dethatch you lawn. I did not do the dethatch thing and regret it. The machines are cheap, 120 bucks off Amazon. Then, if you can get the CGM, put it down as a prevent for the weeds. Figure out your temps for you area. You can always toss down the alfalfa. I like the smell, and it is small pellets so just toss them by hand and water them in. Wait a month and see if the CGM greens up the lawn, which is should. Then in June try SBM. It's a lot of fun to see the results and I tried different products on different areas of my lawn. The area between the sidewalk and the street has always been a headache for cynch bugs due to the heat. Also, I put some of the alfalfa pellets into old milk jugs and let it sit for a few days, boy does it stink, then poured the stuff on the base of the various bushes and trees. One thing I did notice was my oak tree really "greened up" going organic compared to my neighbors trees. Don't store any of these grains in your garage, house etc..buy them, use them same day or next. If not, mice etc..might find them..also they might have bugs in the grains so never store them, buy them and put them down. I'll search around and see if I can find that really good organic site I used to read. Now those guys...they got it down...lost that url when the computer crashed.

The biggest difference between the meal and pellets is spread-ability when using a broadcast spreader. The meal is very light/dusty. It must be applied on a calm day, Otherwise it will blow all over the place. Pellets on the other hand spread perfectly in any condition. Pellets are a great choice for using a broadcast spreader on your lawn. Meal is great for apply by hand to your landscape plants and working into the soil. Im sure the meal will breakdown a bit faster but its not an advantage. I am also able to get soybean meal -- would there be benefits to alternating fertilizations between alfalfa and soybean Yes and Yes. Both are excellent but you will get more bang for your buck with Soybean Meal. The protein content in Alfalfa is approx 14% whereas SBM is approx 46%. You would have to apply approx three times as much Alfalfa to get the same affects as SBM. Both have there time and place. Alfalfa is a bacterial food with lots of vitamins and micro-nutrients and they contain trianconatol, a natural fatty-acid growth stimulant. Soybean Meal is a fungal food with a high protein content. You want to have a good combo of both in your soil. SBM is a great choice when you grass is actively growing. Some cool season grass experts should be able to give you a plan when to apply what.