Re: CULT: Use of Alfalfa pellets, etc.

Morning... About rabbit pellets and etcetera

>>Wed, 20 Dec 2000 06:36:22 From: "wmoores" <wmoores@watervalley.net> The rot 
problem with alfalfa occurred when I first top-dressed with it.  I did not 
know that I should have tilled in the pellets.  I used 
too much and after a rain, a nasty 'crust' formed and started to smother the 
rhizomes.  I had to rake off the smelly yuck when it dried.  It is best to 
till in the alfalfa pellets, but if you top-dress, use it sparingly or in a 
tea.  I learned the proper procedure from this list. Walter Moores  Enid 
Lake, MS USA 7/8  >>

Walter, I did the same thing about 3 years ago in building the last & my 
biggest raised iris beds (3 landscape timbers tall) out front.  Just plopped 
on three 50 pound bags of the pellets and when I watered and they expanded 
---- oooooheeeee...  And if the smelly yuck (good phrase you had for it) 
wasn't bad enough - OH those flies!  I've never seen flies that big. Some had 
3 inch wing spreads... & a few made almost as much buzz as our city police 
chopper.  

But, I decided to grin & bear it, masked myself & started tilling.  Tilled 
and tilled.  Used the claw and just kept working it.  Threw more top soil on 
it & tilled again.  That was October.  By March, that was the blackest dirt 
and it felt like velvet.  It had earthworms beyond belief and they, too were 
unbelievable in size.  Needless to say all the newly planted iris exploded 
and bloomed and bloomed.  They were already in full sun (the only iris bed I 
had in full sun) and by fall needed to be thinned.  
                
Alfalfa pellets are good and cheap, but I prefer HUMORE as it is so much more 
controllable and easier to apply without the problems associated with the 
rabbit/alfalfa pellets.  The last Cross-Brand pellets I got out by our 
Remington Park race track only ran $4.35 a bag of 50 pounds.  The price does 
fluctuate greatly with the futures market.  Other places around here can 
charge as much as $7.00 to $8.00 a bag for the same thing.  

And, for Rosalie Figge:  I always think of you whenever my Lorapetalum (the 
Razzleberri bush) is in bloom.  Did you ever get one this year???  Has it 
done well?  

We've had so many horrible freezes already and the 6 inches of snow pellets 
back on Monday December 11th  that may not all melt away til March, that 
Razzleberri has given up it's bloom for now.  Rest assured, the pubescent 
leaves are still green as can be and it's hardiness so far is holding up as 
predicted.  Hopefully next spring we'll be able to say that for all our 
plants here, but not likely.  I'm sure all our crepe myrtles are knocked down 
to the ground for the first time in 8 to 10 years.  

In my Christmas card & letter I got yesterday from our Daily Oklahoman Garden 
columnist: Loretta Aaron, she advised that we had no fall and went straight 
into the string of freezes and plummeting temperatures with none of the 
plants, shrubs & trees being dormant yet.  I don't know if attempting to 
mulch at this point would help or not.  This winter should be good for the 
bulbs.  Just received 2,000 daffodil bulbs (big sale on the internet) that 
I'll be sharing with 15 close friends and we'll all be out there with 
pick-axes the next week or two getting them into the ground.  

Thanks to Judy & Ray Keisling for the great holiday message.  Happiest of all 
the holidays to you all...

Kath in OKC =^..^= aka: Kathy Poore,  AIS Reg. 22 Zone 7

   Where we may just be in for only our 7th White Christmas since 1893...  
Snow predicted for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  As long as it'll 
turn those big ugly black piles BACK to white!    

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