After I spread the pellets around the rose, I turn the hose on to a stiff strong spray and water in the pellets thoroughly. They will start to disintegrate as a result--speed up the process and keeps the hard pellets from just laying there and attracting who knows what kind of critters (including ants?). Then I put mulch on top of the pellets--helps protect them and discourage the critters--and obviously is good for the future retention of moisture when the weather heats up. Just make sure there is no salt in the alfalfa--that iwould be a recipe for garden disaster! Kate

Interesting.......I may have to try this. I usually stir it up several times while it is stewing but that probably doesn't do too much. Last batch I bumped the bucket as I was bringing it out of the trash can and it splashed all down my left side. Including my face :) :) :) Lynn

Here's the info that you are looking for. Pay particular attention to the section, 'Start with the right kind of compost', and under the heading 'Tea Time' the direction to use "unsulfured molasses". Sulfur is antibiotic, so it is counterproductive to use in ACT. Sulfur is supposed to be a trace element in agriculture, and in order to alleviate its undesirable effects must be incorporated in the sulfate form as part of a compound - Iron sulfate for example, or some other compound depending on what is determined to be deficient by soil analysis. Terran Here is a link that might be useful: Brewing Compost Tea

What I have seen happen, around here, with new developments is someone comes in and strips the "topsoil" to go to some other development and then after the houses are built they haul in more "topsoil" and spread a thin layer and either lay sod or seed that. Then people try to keep that lawn growing by pouring a lot of "fertilizer" on it which can make for a lush green, but sick lawn with numerous problems that then need pesticides to control. Short of tilling in what yuu have and starting over spreading compost is a good idea, mulch mow the grass to recycle in place those grass clippings which will help add more organic matter to the soil. If you have deciduous trees those leaves that fall from them every year can be mulch mowed in to provide evenmore organic matter. What organic matter will do in sandy soils is help keep moisture and nutrients in the root zone so the grass plants can be fed by the soil bacteia that digest that organic matter. In clay soils the OM seperates the soil particles so the plants roots can move about more freely and makes moisture and nutrients more readily available. Compost tea can provide some bacteria, and nutrients, tht would then feed on the organic matter in the soil. However, soils lacking sufficient levels of OM won't have much of anything for those bacteria to feed on so spraying the compost tea would be, largely, a waste of time, energy, and maybe money. Molasses can provide a food source for soil bacteria, if they are present because of adequate levels of organic matter. Spraying molasses onto soils lacking sufficient amounts of organic matter will not do much except waste your time, energy, and money.