Alfalfa is an excellent plant for your garden. It gives not only a significant NPK increase but also a lot of micronutrients as plant material.
Alfalfa hay is commonly used as a mulch because it works as a natural fertilizer layer and weed suppressor.
However, alfalfa meal is more processed than pure alfalfa hay. Adult plants (Medicago sativa) are dried first, then ground into a fine powder.
It is fermented first before being used as animal feed to make it more appealing to ruminant livestock. After that, it can be formed into pellets or cubes.
Some varieties are made with fermented alfalfa seeds. After that, they’re dried and processed into a fine powder. Its use as a cattle feed can be traced back to 3500 BC in Iran, where it is said to have been farmed.
It wasn’t until much later that it was used as a fertilizer. It immediately gained popularity once people learned that it enhanced their soil!
How To Use Alfalfa Meal Fertilizer
It’s not difficult to figure out how to use an alfalfa meal. It’s vital to use the right amount, but it’s more probable that you won’t use enough than that you will use too much.
Below are detailed steps on how to use alfalfa meal fertilizer in your soil:
Around rose bushes or other shrubs of that size, spread around 2 cups (473 ml.) of the food. Apply a broad line of the meal across hedges and widely throughout large plantings.
With a rake, incorporate the alfalfa meal into the soil, then water the plants as necessary.
When your plants start showing new growth in the spring, apply the first application. Plants that just bloom once a year do not require any further feeding.
If your flowers bloom for a longer period, repeat the process every six weeks.
Because alfalfa meal is an alkaline ingredient, it should not be used with acid-loving plants like camellias and rhododendrons.
Wear a face mask when spreading it in the garden because it’s quite powdered. Finally, store any remaining alfalfa meal in a strong metal or plastic container.
Mice eat a lot of the meal, so any bags left in storage will be chewed through.
Read also: What Plants Benefit from Alfalfa Meal?
Benefits Of Alfalfa Meal Fertilizer
Alfalfa has many benefits for plants. Triacontanol is one of the largest advantages of this. This naturally occurring substance aids in the formation of healthy root systems in plants.
It also boosts crop yields, promotes nutrient absorption, and fixes nitrogen in the soil.
Alfalfa meals can be used for more than only as a supplement. It’s a natural way to help your compost pile grow.
A couple of handfuls of your pile might jumpstart the heating process if it’s starting to cool.
It also contains a lot of micronutrients. This meal contains a large number of trace minerals, all of which are useful to your garden.
If you cultivate your alfalfa, you’ll gain from the plant’s ability to soften your soil. It establishes deep roots that oxygenate and break up clay-like soils.
It acts to retain moisture in the soil by retaining much of its weight in water. Although it isn’t as good as other plant debris at this, it does aid in moisture retention.
One of the benefits of using it as a fertilizer is that it is thought to help prevent dangerous nematode populations. If you have root-knot nematodes, there are just a few options for getting rid of them.
Beneficial nematodes can help, however, high quantities of alfalfa meal can also help suppress nematode populations.
Read also: How to Make Alfalfa Meal Step By Step
How Do You Use Alfalfa Meal Compost?
Using alfalfa meal as a dry soil amendment is the most common method individuals use in their gardens.
You may either hand-broadcast it around your garden and let the worms and bacteria handle it (no-till method) or till or mix it into the soil.
Read also: How To Make Wood Ash Fertilizer
How Do I Use Alfalfa In My Garden?
In your compost, use pellets as an accelerator. Soak them in water overnight and then lay them out on the compost.
When alfalfa is soaked, it decomposes quickly, generating heat that will aid in the decomposition of the remainder of your compost, resulting in a higher nutrient level due to the alfalfa’s utilization.
