WATCH THIS BEFORE USING ALFALFA Pellet for FERTILIZER
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@Gary Pilarchik (The Rusted Garden)
Where we live, alfalfa meal is just alfalfa pellets that have been ground down. Thats what the chunks are in the meal. The analysis is what’s important. I’ve seen people using timothy alfalfa pellets thinking it’s pure alfalfa.
Thanks for your video.
Amazing video…thanks
I'm Buying a microscope, so cool. The way you can test what's really in your product is amazing.
Awesome!!! Great video. Thank you for using the microscope. It's always fun to be able to actually see the microbes.
I was waiting for you to express a preference between the pellets and the meal!
Alfa cubes i use them with success
So which one is better alfal meal or pellets
Great video Mark!
Love how you and your microscope explain: Fungi eat the bacteria, and the resulting poop =s plant fertilizer. 😉
Presently fermenting table scraps, using the solids for compost additive, and adding alfalfa pellets to the liquid. (Bokashi tea)
I use the pellets to insure a slower nutrient release in sandy soil.
I also use coffee grounds up-top for extra nitrogen when growing cucumbers.
Question: My daughter is extremely gluten intolerant!
She read that a gardener gave this person with Celiac Disease cucumbers fertilized with coffee grounds.
After consuming she had a bad intestinal allergic reaction due to the gluten in the ground-up coffee beans.
Is this possible? A gluten transfer on a microscopic level?
There is a lot of heat produced in the pelleting process, so they are near sterile. I know this because you can essentially hydrate alfalfa and wood pellets to innoculate with oyster mushrooms, with very little issue of not being sterile if you innoculate enough
Fascinating, I love the science that goes with the fertilizer to explain the difference and show how it all works together. Thanks for sharing.
Brilliant.
Fascinating. Thanks for this! How is the family? It has been a long time since I talked to you.
Great video! I have a giant bag of alfalfa pellets that is probably 5-6 years old–I just keep forgetting to use it. And of course when I do, the pellets that touch the surface mold. After all this time, will the microbes in the pellets be "expired"? Should I toss it? Or if expired add it anyway so that the pellets can be food for bacteria already in the soil? Now I'm going to go see what other videos you have : ).
Excellent video. Thank you. May I ask a question? I have a Jora (brand name) tumbler composter. It’s well considered in the market. From this tumbler, during rainy periods, there is seepage which I collect in a bucket underneath that is “compost tea”. During rainy season, I get much more than 100 litres. My understanding from this fantastic learning is that the tea saved is anaerobic unless oxygen is added. This year is my first year and I saved my “tea” over the months for use during the summer. Therefore, to make it aerobic, do I have to aerate it at the time of collection, or just before use.? How long is needed for the aeration process for say a 5 gallon bucket of the “tea” with saved rain water from my water butts? This tea is completely free of charge so as you will understand, I want to maximise its benefits and use! Thanks again Paul (from UK)
Cool video, the very fastest bacteria replication is never much less than 10 minutes, also I’m not sure if those are actually bacteria considering their size with respect to the magnification level. They look to me more like eukaryotes of varied size.
is ALFALFA FERTILIZER good for hydroponics nutrient solution?
great vid. so it seems the meal is better choice for immediate availability of nutrients for the soil than pellets. However for cost effectiveness for large area gardening and farming the pellets would be better choice but would take longer for those bacterias to reproduce to be a benefit to the soil and plants. When would be the best time to apply the pellets to raised garden beds? I am prepping and more soil to my beds this fall with deep mulch as well. Can i scatter pellets across the whole bed then cover with new soil? The soil i have in there is pretty depleted and i need to fill probably another 6" of soil to the existing soil bed. How much Pellets to use per square foot? Again thank you for the vid and your time. cheers
I always thought alfalfa caused mildew on my plants.
i don't have the patience for 17 minutes… assuming from the comments that my best shot is horse pellets… maybe a one minute version sometime for those of us who drink too much coffee..
Great stuff! Thank you!
One question: what’s the shelf life of all this fertilizers that come in a bag? I recently purchased a lot of bat guano, seabird guano, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, blood meal, etc etc…
Another question good sir: I always add diatomaceous earth to my super soil mix because it retains 20 times more water than regular soil and it’s rich in silica and trace minerals. The question is: are diatoms detrimental to bacteria?
Much of the nutritional value of alfalfa is dependent on when it is harvested. Harvest at 1/4 bloom gets the most TDN or total digestible nutrient for livestock and fertilizer as well. Also involved are the age of the field and the type of soil. When alfalfa was first being pelletized I was heavily involved in the industry and the TDN was constantly checked. Not so much these days I understand. As a fertilizer, the type of soil and its biology makes a huge difference. I will still use pellets because they are much easier to apply and control.
I learned more useful information from this one video than from the dozens viewed before. Thanks a lot! (Now I'm going to buy some alfalfa meal, wood chip animal bedding and a microscope!)
Nature is fascinating!!!
Recently, I threw down a bag of alfalfa pellets (horse feed) on 2K sqft of garden as a supplement to the Espoma organic blend I typically use. One of the problems I see with garden products is people using too much expecting a miracle in a bag. I learned a long time ago some products have benefit while other nutrients may needed such as adding biomas (crop residues, manures, etc.) to build nitrogen. I prefer ocean products such as fish & kelp to boost the micronutrients and amino acids in soil biology. I'm not a scientist but have had great results in many different garden plots thriving with life.
What alfalfa brand would you recommend