Hi topgunja, Thanks for the response. My gardening experience is limited to only a few years. 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. Another strange thing happens. The soil becomes gray over time -- almost like fluffy gray snow. It smells like compost -- very earthy. Not foul. Well... the hot soil smells very foul when it's hot (like decomposing alfalfa, whew!), but it is not foul when I dig up the plants and fine the gray snow soil. I think that the gray is from some kind of cellulose eater. From my research, I think it is the hyphae of actinomycetes. The plants grow fine, but it's kind of a pain because this heat can go one for a couple of weeks before it settles down (especially if there is also soybean meal). I'm still not sure if it's a good thing, but I tend to think that the heat may be good to kill off some soil diseases and soil pests. It also warms the soil in the spring (like a hot bed). With practice it may be useful. One thing is for sure -- it increases the microbial life in the soil. Alfalfa meal and soybean meal have become so expensive here that I use very little of it compared to what I used to. I mostly rely on bagged composted chicken manure and lots of leaf mulch. --- Mike R. Prevost Mad Scientist Gardeneer

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I tried this for years with inconclusive results. I used to mix in a cup of alfalfa pellets in every seven gallon pot. To answer Jim's question, as you water your potted roses, the pellets dissolve rather quickly. If you were to dig through the pot after a few weeks you would find pockets of dissolved alfalfa. The problem I found was that it tended to create pockets where things just rotted, and that didn't help the roots. I think that what ever beneficial chemical reaction occurs with the use of alfalfa, it must take place during the fermentation process. Unfortunately, the fermentation process is not good for plants. For basal breaks I would also try diluting SolPoMag/Epson Salts.

You can use Alfalfa anywhere, and for anything, you would use compost or any other form of organic matter. kimmq is kimmsr