alfalfa

Kim:  Alfalfa's good stuff, but people have grown great irises for decades
without it.  It's not a miracle substance, just one of many possible organic
soil amendents.

Alfalfa meal has a significant amount of nitrogen, about 5-1-4 for an NPK
rating. The meal breaks down a lot more quickly than the pellets or flakes,
but since the latter are pure extruded alfalfa and the meal is ground alfalfa,
can't imagine the analysis is much different. The real value of alfalfa,
though, is in the growth stimulant (contanol [sp?]) and many trace minerals and
vitamins it contains. As with any other crop, a the level of those varies with
the soil in which the alfalfa was grown.

Maybe because the pellets don't break down as quickly as the meal, their
high-nitro nature isn't a bad thing, but if the meal is being used as a
fertilizer for irises it would seem best to mix it with other high-phosphorus
and -potassium ingredients to get to the desired 5-10-5 NPK ratio.

I'd prefer to use alfalfa meal, but can only get the pellets locally.  I just
can't stand the look of them decomposing on top of the beds (like fat green
worms), so I use them in the hot compost piles, and add the compost to planting
beds and holes and as a mulch for mulch-loving plants.

Happy planting!

 Nell Lancaster, Lexington, VA   75500.2521@compuserve.com    USDA zone 6b
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