Stinkless alfalfa tea
erasmus_gw
6 years ago
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Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years agoerasmus_gw
6 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (11)MichaelG's question relates to a procedure for getting the growth stimulent, triacontanol, off of alfalfa leaves and into a rose. Triacontanol is present as an ester on alfalfa leaves and one way to set free the triacontanol would be to simply heat with water. I would think a temperature near boiling, for 5 minutes or so, would be adequate. I wouldn't actually boil the stuff to avoid the smell. It turns out triacontanol is soluble in plant oils, such as canola (see the linked patent description) and if I were going to try an experiment, this is what I might do. Mix one cup of alfalfa pellets, two tbs of canola cooking oil (canola oil is the easiest of all cooking oils to emulsify in water), 2 tsps of any dish detergent, one gallon of water and heat to near boiling, with constant stirring, for 5 minutes. Figure out how to filter this mess and spray it on your roses, or maybe just pour a cup around the base of each rose and water it in. The object of this experiment probably wouldn't be to save on alfalfa pellets - they're cheap enough - but to maximize the effect of triacontanol. By the way, Michael, rose leaves have a waxy coating consisting of esters of fatty alcohols. Can you guess what one of the most abundant alcohols in these rose leaf waxes is? Yep, triacontanol. Here is a link that might be useful: Triacontanol and Oils...See MoreWhy alfalfa tea works better than alfalfa?
Comments (10)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: â¢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: â¢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...See MoreWhat is your opinion/experience with alfalfa and AA tea? & Qs
Comments (195)No, baking soda would not harm at all provided the final pH of the solution is reasonable. And you are not using so much of it as to cause salt burn. Just measure the pH of the aa tea and add baking soda to till you just get your pH. sodium bicarbonate appears in water from many sources. Its a matter of pH and concentration. Do on a small volume first, keeping track of how much you are adding of what and then you can scale up as needed. Be aware that sometimes solutions that contain a lot of amino acids and proteins (such as aa tea) may suck up a lot of salts without changing pH, ie they can be strong buffers. In this case you cannot use baking soda but need something more caustic such as sodium hydroxide (lye)...just a little bit of lye can make the pH alkaline quickly. the experiment is worth doing, adjusting pH of aa tea to an alkaline range. It may happen that you have to add alkaline water in a different way. But it may work the way you want it to....See MoreKarl Bapst Alfalfa tea recipe
Comments (20)While I have used alfalfa meal (and before that, bunny poop) to fertilize various plants, I made alfalfa tea purely by accident, as my bag of meal became moisture damaged. I dumped it all in a big HD plastic tote, filled it with water, let it sit for about a week and then started using the tea as a bi-monthly soil drench. Yes, it stinks initially but the smell fades with time. My vat of tea is now going into its third year, with only annual additions of alfalfa meal....the water pretty much comes from nature, except in midsummer. I have never followed any "recipe" nor have I ever added anything else to the mix - just the alfalfa meal and water. And yes, it does 'do' something :-) Alfalfa contains a natural plant growth hormone, triacontanol, that encourages basal stemming and stimulates growth and productivity. Roses, clematis, tomatoes and lilies especially benefit from this but virtually all plants will respond with vigor. If you don't use any other commercial fertilizers, then additives like fish emulsion, seaweed extract or a bit of Epsom salts won't hurt and could help. But be wary of these recipes for magic concoctions or homemade fertilizers and be cautious of using until you understand precisely what they are supplying to your plants and how and even if their usage is necessary. You run the risk of oversupplying nutrients or supplying those of minimal value or that rarely ever need supplementation. Or are unnecessarily pricey for what they provide. SuperThrive comes immediately to mind as a massive waste of $$!!...See MoreVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoerasmus_gw
6 years agosuncoastflowers
6 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years agopatricianat
6 years agovesfl (zone 5b/6a, Western NY)
6 years agopatricianat
6 years agoAlana8aSC
6 years agoChey - 6b Massachusetts
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoerasmus_gw
6 years agovesfl (zone 5b/6a, Western NY)
6 years agoChey - 6b Massachusetts
6 years agovesfl (zone 5b/6a, Western NY)
6 years ago
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