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aj_jones2461

Will the use of alfalfa pellets on a lawn introduce unwanted seeds?

9 years ago

Hi.... I live in Florida and have a sandy soil lawn that I have been trying to improve. As a test, I applied a small bag of rabbit alfalfa pellets to a small section of my St Augustine lawn. The grass in that area grew lush and tall. I was impressed and have considered adding alfalfa pellets to the remainder of my lawn. The pellets I bought were expensive so I searched on-line at farm suppliers. Concerning a specific product (Standlee Premium Western Forage Premium Alfalfa Pellets, 40 lb.) I read the following product review:

"There is one problem: the pellets are a mix of alfalfa and timothy grass
and a few seeds do survive the process of grinding the alfalfa and
timothy grass into pellets. Studies have shown that the survival rate of
seeds is very low. Still, every year I end up with stands of timothy
grass (a bunch grass) in my yard and garden. The grass is very easy to
pull up and does not spread except by seed. That said, when the Timothy
seeds it spreads rapidly. Because it is a "grass" the Timothy will not
be controlled by standard "weed and feed synthetic lawn products." Not
that I use those on my lawn or garden. It took me a while to figure out
where this "new" weed was coming from. It grows over three feet tall in
short order. Then I was visiting a friend who spread alfalfa pellets on a
section of his yard and ended up with the same problem."

Hence my question: Will the use of alfalfa pellets (be they Standlee brand or any other brand) on a lawn introduce unwanted seeds?

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