Using Alfalfa pellets as fertilizer

The guy at the feed store told me I could use the Alfalfa tablets directly in the garden as a fertilizer instead of making tea. Is that true?

Well, how big are the pellets? I have never used alfalfa but I know that it is an excellent source of nutrients. I imagine that if the pellets are large you would have to break them up somehow to have a better distribution in the soil, but if they are small, they should break down quickly and give the same effect as the tea, only a little slower.
I don't know how much the alfalfa costs, but if the cost is comparable to compost or higher, why not use compost?
Josephine.

I use alfalfa pellets in my garden as fertilizer. I first bought them to use in my potted roses, and then began using them directly in the garden for other plants. I just dig a bit around each plant, throw in a handful, and mix them into the loose soil.

Last year the guy at the farm store insisted I should try meal instead of pellets. While it seems logical to use the meal, for some reason I like the pellets better. It's just easier to reach into the bag with my hand and grab a handful than to scoop up or shovel out the meal. When I use up the meal, I'm going back to the pellets.

Either form comes in big fifty-pound bags, and goes pretty far, so the cost isn't bad at all.

:)
Dee

I use them all the time, usually buying 4 or 5 bags a year.

Very easy to broadcast the pellets or use them to side-dress. Most times I broadcast the pellets then turn them under with the tractor or tiller. If you side-dress w/them they begin to break down at first watering. And yes, they are great for nutrition. (Last year the only thing I fed my corn patch was alfalfa pellets; bumper crop!)

Shoe

Now I am curious, how does the price of alfalfa pellets compare with the price of compost? Higher or lower?
Josephine.

I can only say that I pay about $8 for a 50# bag of alfalfa pellets. I've never purchased compost so can't offer any input on that.

What comes to mind though is that "they" say to spread compost an inch thick (on established beds) and it certainly seems to me by doing so that a 50# bag of compost won't go near as far as 50# of alfalfa pellets.

Will be waiting for someone else to offer the price of bagged compost.

Shoe.

horsehoe, I've paid up to $2.50 for a bag of compost, and up to $28.00 for a yard of compost. but compost is an amendment ,not a ferlilizer. and I just layer it. alfalfa is organic fertilizer if I'm not mistaken, so they do different things. hostajim1

Well, now I am confused, because I use nothing but compost, our own, and mulch in our garden and my plants are big and lush, so there has to be nutritional value in it.
I work compost in the beds when I prepare them, or just put a shovelful in the hole at planting time, and I always mulch with leaves or shredded plants from the garden.
Josephine.

I'm with Frostweed--I'm heavy into mulch and have been doing it for years. But I did notice it down at our local garden center that carries alot of organic stuff this morning. It was very cheap--I might consider using it in newer beds until the mulching starts building the soil up. Mulch builds soil pretty fast down here because the heat breaks it down probably much fater than other parts of the country.

frostweed, yep, your own home-made compost has quite a bit of nutritional value. Not only does it contain nutrients but also important soil-building bacteria/microbial life that encourages soil life as well as contributes to helping plants deal with pests/diseases.

Hostajim, "compost" can be used as both, an amendment as well as a "fertilizer". (I put fertilizer in quotes 'cus I tend to call something like compost "plant food"...for some reason the word "fertilizer" tends to draw people's minds to man-made chemical fertilizer like 10-10-10, etc).

"alfalfa is organic fertilizer if I'm not mistaken, so they do different things".

Yes, alfalfa can be used as an organic fertilizer/plant food but differs in it's composition (talking processed pellets here) from compost in that it doesn't contain many of the microbial activity that compost can offer. However, when incorporated into the soil it will certainly encourage the growth of microbial bacteria and thereby help to feed the soil and, in the process, feed the plants.

As for mulch, I guess that is another topic...leaves? store-bought bags with the name "mulch" on them? plastic mulch? wood chips? grass clippings, etc? Those examples of mulch can't easily be covered under an umbrella topic designed to include mulch as a single topic. But YES, dmj, I am glad to hear you mention your use of mulch as I feel you are using biodegradable mulch that you'll be able to turn into your garden soil at some point in time, and as someone says, "It's a good thing". (Can't believe I just quoted whats-her-name!) :>)

Shoe-less
(Happy Growing! In all your gardens of Life!)

I said above that I use alfalfa, and I do, but I also use compost too. I spread my home-made compost out over the beds, I guess you could say like a mulch. The alfalfa pellets I use on a plant-by-plant basis; I throw a handful in the hole when planting and then sidedress each spring. I also use shredded leaves as mulch when I can get around to shredding them. I always put them down in fall, work them into the soil in spring, and then if I get to it put another layer as a mulch in spring. (Unfortunately, I never seem to get to it - at least not for the majority of the beds!)

Regarding the price of compost: I make my own compost, which is kind of slow going for me since my piles are small, but IMO, buying bagged compost is very expensive. I think the last price I saw was last fall, and it was almost $4 a bag for a 40-pound bag. Bulk compost is anywhere from $28 to $35 a yard. I'm hoping to build some bigger bins this year to get my compost cooking faster.

:)
Dee

I've been using Alfalfa Pellets this year- they break down quickly, and I believe are a good substitute for a cover crop of alfalfa- minus the seeds. Alfalfa is used as a cover crop because it is loaded with nutrients to feed the soil. I have seen a huge difference in using the pellets as opposed to compost alone. Besides, we don't make enough compost to use everywhere in the yard.

Hi Shoe:

I pay $8.00 for a 50 pound bag. I dump a shovel full in a few 30 gallon plastic bins, fill it with water and let it ferment a bit. I have had outstanding results.

It can get rather smelly but after reading about your rotten fish brew in another thread, I'll don't think I will complain.

There is an extensive thread about using alfalfa tea on DG and is well worth a read by interested parties.

BB

PS: Shoe the basil was delicious

I used alfalfa pellets on my rose bush once and I got tons of weeds from it, is this normal?

I've never had that problem. Wonder what kind of alfalfa you got, was it horse feed?

If you take a few pellets and wet them, they'll soften up and you can look thru them...see if you see anything in there that look like whole seeds. The pellets I use look like the alfalfa was chopped/ground up and then pelletized.