Alfalfa superior to other seed meals?

[maryanne3087]

I've been reading a bunch on this organic soil forum and came across a post by Clackamas Coot (sp?) pointing out that he suspects Alfalfa could be superior to other seed meals because it isn't a waste product.

It also has the growth hormone: triacontanol

Spurr says it's a good source of Ca, N, and K

So is alfalfa superior to other alternatives?

 

[Scrappy4]

Good question,while I do not have the answer, I have read that it is a good idea to have multiple sources for our plants....

I have used alfalfa tea once, and had new growth in two days on four different plants, so ya I'm impressed........scrappy

 

[guest2012y]

Different plant/seed meals have different properties....diversity is the key. Research what plant meals do what and what they contain and then follow the recommended application rates.
Create a balance when mixing them together by taking into account the specific values of each. When you do it like that you'll find (with experience) that you will need very little of any one plant/seed based amendment. In the long run when the flowers pop out the other end you'll have a choice product.

 

[CT Guy]

Alfalfa in and of itself is an excellent microbial food, I would consider it a must-have for any grower because it's cheap and easy to source too for the most part (or grow yourself).

I like the idea of a combination of seed meals (alfalfa, kelp, neem, etc...), like CC describes in his post.

 

[maryanne3087]

Is kelp considered a seed meal? Is it just lumped into such a category because it provides nutrition to teas?

I was thinking of seed meals as a protein source, I don't know what kelp provides other than lots of K and trace elements.

Do you guys think diversity is important when considering stuff like cotton seed meal, rape seed, soybean, neem which are by products and have their oils removed for other use? This is the point of CC's post that interested me most, since all the nutrition in alfalfa is intact.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

What I was trying to say is that alfalfa meal is unlike any of the seed meals.

All of the seed meals that I'm familiar with (i.e. the ones that they carry at the farm stores) include canola meal (aka rape seed), flaxseed (aka linseed), soybean meal, neem seed meal, cottonseed meal (do not use - pure junk) & sunflower meal - all of these are meals (aka cakes) which are collected and packed as soil amendments after their oils have been pressed or removed chemically for other applications.

Alfalfa meal is not a seed meal and is intact as it was the day it was harvested. And it's the least expensive of all the 'seed meals' generally used as soil amendments.

If I could only get one 'seed meal' then I would definitely choose alfalfa meal.

CC

 

[jaykush]

how is alfalfa a seed meal, its a plant meal...aka ground up dried alfalfa.

 

[CT Guy]

Good points Jay and CC, they're not technically seed meals like the others. I guess I've always lumped them together in my head without thinking about the definition.

If I had to choose, I would definitely get the kelp and alfalfa meal in my soil mix. The alfalfa for all the reasons listed above, and the kelp for it's plant growth hormones and regulators (auxins, cytokinins) and chelation properties. In addition to the fact that both are excellent microbial food sources.

 

[Heusinomics]

We are sorta discussing dif things.

Alfalfa meal= ground up alfalfa plants (sometimes pressed into pellets )
This makes a botanical tea n feeds worms/soil biota

Alfalfa seed= seeds of alfalfa the plant

Alfalfa seed meal= ground up alfalfa seeds (usually soaked or sprouted)
This has the hormones/enzimes & triacontonal n is for the plants not the soil.

Does this sound right? Maby waxi ,teamMicrobe and others could clarify.

I'm doing my first buildAsoil method now (after 15yrs of conventional AACT) so I'm still learning some of the new methods of SST exc.

big ups respect and happy growing.

 

[Scrappy4]

Wow, five year old thread!

I still use alfalfa meal frequently. Most often its in a tea, at 1/2 cup per five gallons of water, one tsp of molasses and bubbled 30-36 hours.

I like to soak a hanfull in water for a day or two, then strain and spray as a foliar feed, with liquid silica, and fulvic acid. Sometimes I might add a tiny amount of powdered aloe.

And I water rot/ferment for alfalfa meal like other fermented plant extracts.

I use it mostly in veg, but as a tea or fermented up to week 5
or so in flower.

 

[SamsonsRiddle]

4 years later... i add equal amounts of kelp and alfalfa into a bottle of water and shake it every time i see it for 3 or 4 days ( or 5 or 6 or 7 or whatever), then strain a little and add to more water for a foliar. i drench the rest and plants love it. if i'm going for some enzymes, i used some malted barley seed crushed in a coffee grinder then shaken in water - water it in after 30 mins and it is a kickass boost.

 

[St. Phatty]

I don't know if it's superior but my introduction to it was kind of dark.

I had a plot at a community garden in Santa Rosa and the guy in the plot next to mine laid down a 15 x 15 area of alfalfa.

Then I got permission to transplant some of his tomatoes.

I noticed that there was a lot of life under the alfalfa. Salamanders, bugs, everything.

Got the impression it creates a good habitat for the other animals that make a good soil.

Then the guy with the alfalfa on his plot ... committed suicide.

Never heard the whole story.

 

[aridbud]

Alfalfa meal is alfalfa water logged, fermented, then then dried out. It's GREAT stuff!!

Use 4 cups of alfalfa (in alfalfa meal or pellet form most likely) for every 5 gallons of water. Some people like to make larger quantities and use a 20 gallon drum (the size of a standard garbage can). You can add 1-2 cups of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate crystals) for every 5 gallons of water.