Re: CULT: Alfalfa pellets experiments

John said
<<Since you said that you were worried about overwatering, it sounds like
the iris are already planted. That being the case, I think alfalfa tea
is better, but then you have the watering problem again. You would just
wait until normal watering time then use the tea instead.>>

I experimented with the pellets a lot last year to see what worked and what
didn't.  Growing conditions here are lots of rain, usually mixed with hot
humid drought spells of a week to several weeks (this year it's mostly just
been lots of rain).

Here's what I found - hope this helps in high rainfall regions:

Applying the pellets during the summer, after bloom season: last year

o  Covering the ground surface with a layer of alfalfa horse pellets - makes
a goopy mess even without rain if the soil is wet.  Cultivars that are NOT
prone to rot didn't seem to mind, though it made me nervous to see them under
all that mess.  Dries to a waterproof crust over everything.  Eventually
disappears as soil microbes and worms do their thing

o  Sprinkling enough to cover about half the ground surface - not quite as
traumatic to the grower, still makes enough goop to cover the ground, but not
as thick, and disappears faster.

o  Sprinkling "some" - this makes me most comfortable and seems to be
incorporated into the soil almost immediately, if it's rainy weather.  I
suggest just sprinkling some on bare ground first and watering it so you can
get a feel for how much it swells up and how careful you need to be in
spreading it.

Fall, winter, and early spring application:

o  No experimenting with amounts, I just walked around with a bucket of the
stuff and when I saw a plant that looked like it could use a boost, scattered
a bit here and there, as if it were concentrated mineral fertilizer.  

o  On my seedlings, which I start in washtubs, I have sprinkled pellets on
them everytime the previous application is no longer visible.  They are about
2 ft tall and were growing packed tightly in a tub - about 40? seedlings in
one of those big galvanized wash/watering tubs (maybe 2 + ft diameter?).  I
just transplanted them a few days ago - they were finally starting to show
signs of stress as it has heated up ( one actually rotted, and a few had a
rotten leaf or two).

Linda Mann lmann76543@aol.com east Tennessee USA
I don't think it rained here yesterday.  The mud is starting to dry.  In the
90s and wretchedly humid.
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