Hi Tony, I get my alfalfa pellets in 50lb bags from the feed store. If spread on the surface of the soil, it ferments, bubbles, smells horrible and sends off lots of heat.

Tilling it in is the way to go.

It is fed to quite a few animals as a commercial feed, including rabbits and horses. It is just ground, pressed alfalfa hay.

I heard about it from Treefrog, who always has better plants than I do, so I copied his idea(G). I use it in the fenced-in gardens only, since the chickens will eat it.

Lisa

Definately work it in. Funny to see you asking about this as I have been looking to get some for a while now. Only feed store I know about is a ways away threw some nasty construction.

Thanks Lisa, I didnt want to be alone in this alfalfa stuff.

It rained last nite and all the lil pellets are all dissolved that were laying up on top the ground. Guess we shall see.

Robin,

I dont know how much you need or plan on using but places like Petsmart etc etc carry rabbit pellets which is supposed to be the same thing.

I went to a feed store and got a small 5lb bag for like $3.50 . I put some in and around all the potted plants and around the trees and in the garden which is only about 6x12 and had plenty left over. I am sure a 50lb bag would be more economical though.

I am hoping to keep the nematodes away by adding as much organic material as possible.

Hi Tony! I use alfalfa pellets, and I swear by them. But I mostly use them as a tea. I put about 12 cups of pellets in a large 32 gallon garbage can, then I fill it full of water, put a lid on it and let it steep for a week. STINKS!!! I put on rubber gloves, then dispense a gallon of brew to the large roses, a half gallon to the smaller roses and other plants, then I water it in real well. It's good to water well before, too. The tea might burn the plants. It only stinks for about a day. But the plants really love this stuff.

I've also just put a few cups of the dry pellets around the plants and dug it in a bit. That works fine, too. I just go through a lot more alfalfa that way, so it's more economical for me to brew the tea.

I want nicki to come to my house and Brew Baby!! I'll make you some chilled Ice Tea, or better yet a banana daquiri, while your concoction brews!!!
Doesn't this look like tony??? Yuckaroo!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a brewer too.
I like to put a large coffee can full into a 5 gallon bucket of water. Stir it around for a couple of days. Then use it to water various plants.
I don't know exactly what nutrients are in it, but I'm sure there's quite a bit of nitrogen.
Everything seems to love it.
When I mixed straight pellets with potting soil it heated up so much as it composted that it would have killed anything planted in it. It was really hot to touch.
Probably a good additive but give it time to work.

I use the pellets mostly on roses. I slip them under the mulch and they thank me in blooms.

I also make tea to give to plants, just did it the other day and the scent is HORRIBLE to say the least. It makes me almost GAG! Last year just after I had given some to some potted roses and other flowers in my main garden, our neighbor came outside (we have a privacy fence between us) and he said My God what is that smell? I almost cracked up. The stink does go away after awhile. The flies sure come around though when they get a whiff of it.

Oh yea, I got a 50 lb bag at a feed store for about $10.

FlowerLady

After being ripped off at some feed shop that was converted to a pet shop I found rabbit pellets at wallywurld for under 7bux for 25lbs.

I hope what you are using is the rabbit pellets.

We have a few feeder goldfish in a little pond that love these things.

Now to make my brew!

thanks
tony

O man, what a morning! And to think I bought another 25lb bag of this stuff too.

Yes, I can ONLY be talking about Alfalfa pellets.

My eyes are still tearing, my guts are wretching, flies everywhere like kids in a candy store.

I know you guys said this stuff stinks, but that is an understatement.

I hope the plants dont croak from the stench!

I made the brew in a 15gal bucket and added a small amount, maybe 3 lbs and stirred it everyday.

The first couple of days, nothing special was happening. After maybe 4 days, it was bubbling/fermenting and had a minor odor. I thought, man these fellow GWrs dont know what stink is all about, them whimps.

About 8 days (now) I see flies all over the area of the bucket. As I got closer, I could smell this brew they were after.

The smell was a combination of puke and other fragrant bodily things.

I stirred it up and filled the watering can half full and added water to fill it rest of the way. Of course I spilled some. Flies were on the areas where it splashed doing the happy dance. I have never seen so many! They come out of nowhere wherever I poured the stuff.

I cant write no more about it, I may go puke.

even my puking bird friend that describes raw tomato taste couldnt stand up to the smell no more..........

Sounds like you had a great day in the garden Tony! Hope you don't spend your evening worshiping the porcelain god!
Marion

that is a funny description, Tony :)
Yup, that is some stinky stuff - I brew it for roses once a month or so. Scary thought - I think I am developing tolerance to the stink :[

Olya

Olya

You may have blown out one of your 5 senses!

Can these pellets be used raw? You know, just bury a few here and there?

Unless I see jack in the bean stalk results here real soon, I may not risk blowin my nose out like Olya has.

hehehe....I do not think I have lost the sense of smell quite yet - just started developing tolerance for the stink :) On the other hand, maybe it is a sign of me losing the sense of smell, and I am in denial...

Back to pellets...Tea is a quick way of delivering nutrients. I also use raw pellets - dig them into the soil. I bet adding a bunch to areas that do not have anything planted will improve the soil quality (I think one has to be careful not to put too much stuff if plants grow in the area to avoid root burn).

Another use I have for them is adding pellets to compost piles, to get composting going.

Olya

Olya

what is your recipe for making this nasty stuff? How much water and how much pellets? How long do you leave it brew? In the sun or shade?

Do you just water the ground or the rose leaves too?

I got a bunch of this stuff I will need to put to use.

My dog likes the pellets and so do the goldfish.

I remember finding a recipe on rose forum...Lets me see if I can find it now..

Here is one post I kept:

Angela, I do what Pete does, just put a cup or so of alfalfa pellets under the mulch and close in to the base of the plant, and then soak with a little water. But, to get to your question, a good recipe to start off with is probably the original recipe for alfalfa tea, as described by Howard Walters, the Rosarian Rambler, in an ARS article:

"Alfalfa tea is a great spring or fall potion that doesn't interfere with normal seasonal processes. Alfalfa tea releases a growth hormone that makes everything work better. Just add 10 to 12 cups of alfalfa meal or pellets to a 32-gallon plastic garbage can (with a lid), add water, stir and steep for four or five days, stirring occasionally. You may also "fortify" with 2 cups of Epsom salts, 1/2 cup of Sequestrene® (chelated iron, now called Sprint 330) or your favorite trace element elixir.

The tea will start to smell in about three days. Keep the lid ON. Use about a gallon of mix on large rose bushes, 1/3 that much on mini's. And keep the water going.

When you get to the bottom of the barrel, add water to fill it up again! One load of meal or pellets will brew up two barrels full, but add more fortifiers for the second barrel.

You'll see greener growth and stronger stems within a week."

I stir the "witch brew" almost every day...Keep it or 3-7 days, and then water everything with it- other plants besides roses will appreciate the "potion". Gardeners from upnorth recommend using it a few times a year, but I use it here a lot more often.

I like to put a trashcan out in the rain, so it gets filled up. Then, add the pellets and wait for it to brew.

Hope it helps :)
Olya

Hi Olya,

It definately helps me to know the approximate recipe to use on plants. I would guess, mine was about half the strength, plus I cut the end result in half with water before giving to the plants, yes, I am a chicken when it comes to suiff like this.

Maybe the secret step is to cover this stink bomb with a lid while its cooking, I didnt do this, not this time anyways.

Thanks for posting the info.

Btw, to make sure I wont be doing this TOO OFTEN, I filled a bucket with the pellets and went around the yard dumping them in the flower beds lightly.

tony

Tony, here is a more detailed article on alfalfa tea for you:
http://www.ars.org/About_Roses/fertilizing_alfalfa2.html

Olya