Let's talk Alfalfa, buckwheat!

As a compost additive, Alfalfa is great stuff. I'm not just talking about the stuff you buy in bales for your bunnies and ponies- it's great too, but probably in pretty short supply with the hay shortage this year. It also comes in various other forms - meal (bunny food, I believe), pellets (bunnies and horses), and cubes (horses). I buy it at my local Farmer's Co-op, but I would bet even Petsmart would carry the rabbit food.

You can throw it directly on your pile as a green. Me, I like soaking it (it takes about 20 minutes or so to absorb) and throwing it in when it's soft and fluffy. The person I learned all this from, JudyB on the S'west forum, takes the cubes and plants them directly with her roses - desert soil is not known for it's high nitrogen content, but she has (or had, I think she went xeric) beautiful roses.

You can also soak them and use the excess water for a "tea" - then water your plants with it.

Okay, questions and comments or corrections?

Sounds like you got it down to a science. Alfalfa is a great material to use to "kick start" a cold pile. I'm allergic to the stuff so have to have DH do the deed. He just dumps it in the middle of pile and we wet it down. I usually turn from the outside of the pile inward, so I don't come in contact. It doesn't take long to start working. I also use compost for tea. I put a shovel full in a cheesecloth bag and dunk it in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Just let it steep until I'm ready to use it. Mainly on my house plants. Works like a charm!

Double Ditto to PC's comments. I follow the same plan & love the ease of using alfalfa pellets to heat up any pile I build.
Also for fertilizing anything that's a "heavy" feeder. Works great.
I've mostly used it in a "fluffed up" form - leave it in the wheelbarrow & wait an hour or so. Since we are not rain-deficient here, I can always count on whatever is in the wheelbarrow to get a good dousing.
I will advise not to throw it on top of a pile/bed. I did this once & well, let's just say the cats scored tremendously in the rodent department that night!
My son nicknamed it "Mouse Mountain"...

Ooops... lol! Yeah, I keep my stash in a garbage pail with a tight fitting lid. Although whether I'm protecting it from 10 oz rodents or 1000 lb ones, it's hard to say....

OMG! another rich visual, PC!
I was picturing an extremely large rodent with excess girth, then quickly changed that image to one who whinnies. phew!!!

LOL - yeah - guess I coulda been more specific about that! I usually refer to them as the 1000 lb termites (many horses love to chew wood) but in this case...

Doccat, if it helps at all, I'd get DH to do the cubes instead of the pellets. I've noticed a *lot* more dust off of the pellets whereas the cubes often retain some grassy particles instead of dust.... and you just don't need to be breathing that in if you're sensitive to it.

BTW, they also make cubes out of Bermuda hay - wonder if that would work as well? Hmmm....

I used the cubes in my compost bin this summer when I needed greens - my yardguy mulches the grass as he mows so I don't have grass clippings. I love the way the alfalfa smells and I haven't had any rodent problems with it yet.

I also used them in the lasagne beds I built for my cannas, clematis, and hardy jasmine, and they all seem to love it. So does one of my dogs, so I've had to be more careful about burying it in the beds. lol

I didn't put it in my strawberry bed, tho. I was about to when I read something that said strawberries don't need too much nitrogen - hope I did the right thing.

My Sheltie kept snarfing up any alfalfa pellet that she could while I was adding them to the bed but once I watered them in and the began to swell she left them alone. They must have tasted pretty good though cause she kept watching the bag for more.

Yeah.... I tend to think it's better to soak them first, unless your mix is too wet. They do get a nice, fluffly texture to them fairly quickly.

And when we're talking $10 for a 50 lb bag (typically) it's a pretty good deal.

We paid $7.38 for 50 lbs and I put 1/2 that in with this rebuild because the grass and alfalfa break down so much faster than the redwood needles will. But the pile is good and hot today so the little microbes must be happy with the arrangement. If the microbes are happy, I'm happy :~)