Alfalfa horse feed cubes.

[BurnOne]

Thanks to Vonforne and Dignan, I thought I'd post a way of using what is probably the best Nitrogen nute available for organic growing.
Alfalfa.
Alfalfa is used for horse feed. It comes in treats called "cubes" or "nuggets". You can get 50 pound bags for less than $15 at most agriculture and farm supply outlets...

Alfalfa Cubes for Horses

Using these nuggets may take some experimenting, but the benefits will be well worth the effort.
I'd say start with about an ounce of alfalfa in 5 gallons of water along with some molasses or Liquid Karma to make a tea. Bubble it for at least 24 hours.
Alfalfa has a lot of natural growth enhancers similar to kelp.
But be careful. As you know, any source of nitrogen can burn your plants if you use too much.

Burn1

 

[jaykush]

alfalfa works really good with long soaks (bout 2 weeks under water) then diluted and applied either to brew in teas or straight to the plants. and like said, start low and work your way up, if it was not enough its easy to add more, if it was too much its not easy to take it back.

 

[Dignan]

Ah... nice thread, B1.

Maybe I'm being a little too exact, but do you guys have a sorta ballpark dilution ratio you shoot for?

I've been playing with about 10:1 (though I rarely measure anything... cuz I'm lazy). Wondering if I should give the plants a little more Alfalfa Turbo than that.

Dig

 

[BurnOne]

Dignan-
I used about a cup of alfalfa meal in 5 gallons of water. I bubbled it for 48 hours. It was a little too strong and burned my plants. They recovered and I used 1/2 cup per 5 gallons for success.
Fermenting alfalfa will make alcohol. Some think it's good for plants. I don't. It usually takes several days to get it to ferment. I'm just looking for nitrogen and the growth elements in alfalfa. Some think it's the stuff in Superthrive.
Regardless of that, it's a great (and cheap) way to supply nitrogen to plants.
Burn1

 

[jaykush]

just to be clear, with the long soak you use NO sugars. only water and alfalfa.

 

[Dignan]

I've been doing the long soak because that's what all the Rose Folks do. Like 7 days or so.

Thanks B1. That gives me a good idea. I've probably been hitting like 2 gallons of alfalfa per 10 gallons of water... then dilute it 10:1... so that's about [calculator... furrows brow... taps pencil on temple... calculator again... tongue sticking out...] 1/3 cup per gallon. So I should probably dilute it more like 8:1.

Dig

 

[Jochsmokes]

Thanks burnone!
That is a cheap and easy solution!
And everywhere has horse feed!
I'm going to try to get some bulk raw alfalfa for my compost pile this yr.
Then by this time next year it should be magical JS

 

[vonforne]

I've been doing the long soak because that's what all the Rose Folks do. Like 7 days or so.

Thanks B1. That gives me a good idea. I've probably been hitting like 2 gallons of alfalfa per 10 gallons of water... then dilute it 10:1... so that's about [calculator... furrows brow... taps pencil on temple... calculator again... tongue sticking out...] 1/3 cup per gallon. So I should probably dilute it more like 8:1.

Dig

Hey Dig. 10 to 1 is a good way to start. I like to folair with alfalfa but you need to watch how often. I had a slight leaf burn my last time around but I way using to many applications per week. You do have to be careful with it as it is hot as Master B1 says. The growth hormone is most effective as a folair.......that is what I have found to be true. It is the secret ingredient in Super Thrive. Or one of them anyway.

As a soil additive........it breaks down rather fast. At least the type that I was using. I was using it as half of the N component to the soil mix. One TBS of each ......Alfalfa\Guano=2 TBS per gallon. I had some great growth with the Deep Chunks and Venomhead on my last run.

After using as a folair I prefer to rinse with fresh tepid water to help prevent leaf burn also. It also help reduce watering times in the containers. Helps keep a consistent schedule.



JS, you could buy bales of alfalfa hay for 3 to 4 dollars and use it to heat up the compost pile. I believe it is considered a green even though it is dry because of the high c\n ratio it has. In gardening my Grandfather used to use all the old leaf droppings on the barn floor for additives to his garden. And at times used it the left overs as a top dress\mulch in the garden also.

V

 

[snottyp]

i use alfalfa in my worm veg compost and they love it. you just gotta make sure its spaced out pretty good otherwise itl start to heat things up and stink reaall fast. i like using mexican bat guano with it to feed ma worms. than just brew up whatever they poop out for me. i use indonesian guano for my flowering compost