WATCH THIS BEFORE USING ALFALFA FERTILIZER Pellets

WATCH THIS BEFORE USING ALFALFA Pellet for FERTILIZER
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[@benjaminlopez2558]

This is the first useful alfalfa video I've watched. Thank you for answering the questions of how and why.

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU so very Much. Here to share and Help the best way I can.

[@jenniferrose5908]

Fascinating and exciting to see nature in action. I am a seventy six year old who has gardened much of my life and what I am learning about the soil structure is amazing and helps me see how our world being able to heal if we understand that nature knows what its doing if we only open our eyes and give it the care it needs. Thank you for this article

[@stephanieray6587]

I was waiting for you to express a preference between the pellets and the meal!

[@christine3794]

After watching this video it reminded me of my grandparents who homesteaded our ranch years ago and used to have this huge Haywagon pulled by draft horses. My father continued after they passed with the alfalfa growing and rotational resting of the land, then planting crops and we always had an abundance of whatever crop my father planted cotton, corn, etc. But it was a rotational thing which was the best for the land.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Any cover crop that is left or used that have a living root in the ground for as long as possible help build and grow soil.

[@miguelpintadostanford711]

I love stories about Old farms and homesteading and how these people actually lived and made a living. I admire them very much and thank you for that little tiny part of the story that you gave!

[@mrf5347]

My Grandpa called it "The Old Way". Crop rotation, Alfalfa/Sweet Clover seeded with oats, cattle grazing first year, hay crop second year, feed the soil third year, (thick canopy and ground moisture decomposes weed seeds and green manure to fertilize), wheat, corn, oats, rye. Every other year, leave straw for the Soil. My oldest brother has straight cropped for 18 years since Dad passed away. Hard pan, alkali patches, wind and water erosion, heavy use of chemicals,,, Dead Dirt. Now I teach my Daughters how to be a good steward of the soil, on my 3 acres, veggietable, fruit, grass clippings and sweet clover for mulch. Wood chips, horse manure, clover for compost/mulch.

[@yearofthegarden]

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

[@RWM1955]

I was told by the manager of Alfalfa Supply Inc. that during the pelleting process they heat the pellets up to 400 degrees. Also most alfalfa pellets and alfalfa cubes are grown from Roundup ready alfalfa. Roundup is not only a herbicide it is also registered as a bactericide.

[@bitTorrenter]

​@@RWM1955Funny that because glyphosate works on an enzyme in plants, which I don't believe has anything to do with bacteria.

[@RWM1955]

@@bitTorrenter regardless of how it kill a plant it has also has registered an anti bacterial status.

[@4RTigers]

What an outstanding production! Mark has us all in geek/nerd mode!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU for you kind words and proud of it.

[@danunger2784]

Microscopy video worth a thousand words. Wonderful.

[@TheLaLaFarm]

This is really interesting and unlike any other video I found explaining the benefit of alfalfa. Thanks!! - Rick

[@iamorganicgardening]

Hello Rick. THANK YOU so very kindly. Always here to share and have Fun gardening.

[@mariebunce4362]

This was so informative! Now I have a visual of these organisms in relation to fertilizing. Thank you!

[@thereseboogades8498]

Fantastic & thorough video. As always, your content & delivery are great! I love your videos! I'll switch from pellets to alfalfa meal. Greetings from Virginia Beach, VA.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank you so very much, Enjoy.

[@Weifengast]

Amazing video. Love the way you explain the biology on how nature organic works. More videos plz. Thank you,

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank you! Will do!

[@HippocratesGarden]

You sound like a student of Dr Ingham.. I finished the foundation course this year. Good on ya!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Nice to hear you took the course. I have not, but email her to answer some question to keep me on track. She is the best.

[@e.wicksholisticgardens9851]

Overpriced in my opinion but I took it too when I was green and excited. Lol

[@HippocratesGarden]

@@e.wicksholisticgardens9851 Yeah, I got in on the "discount" but still think it's steep. Did some quick calculations on how many students at even the "discounted" price. That's some tax bill due.

[@manbearpig8691]

Great video! Gave a thumbs up. Fascinating how it all works. My take away is that the meal was faster acting and more beneficial than the pellets on a per ounce basis. I would have enjoy getting your thoughts on the benefits of each on a per dollar basis as well. However the variables of intended use and brand variations would make this very difficult

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thanks for sharing!

[@TravelswithLucky]

Great information! Knowing why this works is so interesting! Thank you! I have incorporated pellets into my gardening this year. Now I am really excited to see what happens. I even featured using pellets on one of my gardening videos but I had no idea why! I will definitely share your info in my playlists!

[@ABamaGardener]

Great Minds think alike, This morning I made a slurry of Alfalfa cubes to put into my compost to be used in about a month or so. Thanks for showing the "Little Guys" I'm growing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Very cool! THANKS for sharing.

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

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.

[@sher152]

I've been watching you for years. Enjoy your videos. I love it when you pull out the microscope and dig up plants to show us what is going on. I always learn something new. Have a great year gardening.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Awesome! Thank you! And a Very Happy Gardening New Year to you also. Enjoy.

[@tamaleenyouknowwhatimean777]

Thank you so much for this, I’ve been looking for natural ways to “grow” healthy soil. Just added alfalfa pellets and wasn’t sure how it works but this was very enlightening. I am also going to try and compost in place a bit to feed all these micro organisms. I added to rabbits for fertilizer as well. Our soil is very heavy clay here in San Diego and has taken years to get it somewhat useable. But we’re getting there. Thank you for the lesson, I’ll be subscribing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

The key to grow soil is a balance of food for both bacteria and fungi ( 1: 1 ratio ) plus moisture all the time and a living plant root also all the time. THANK YOU

[@mrsworms]

Fascinating, I love the science that goes with the fertilizer to explain the difference and show how it all works together. Thanks for sharing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

So nice of you to say. THANK YOU, have a great weekend

[@kkrollingskkrollings3173]

Great video great break down , i just bought the alfalfa pellets over the meal as i got twice as much weight for the same price were i was shopping.

[@iamorganicgardening]

That is awesome! THANK YOU for the great news.

[@lauraskorczewski5813]

I really like it when you use the microscope for us. Very interesting material. Well done Mark.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Always my pleasure to do that. It is a blast for me also. THANK YOU.

[@lisakukla459]

I really love this kind of stuff. Thank you, Mark, for taking the time to do this.

[@iamorganicgardening]

My pleasure to share with you.. THANKS

[@TheChasathome]

THANKS! I'm trying to get educated prior to beginning to organically garden. I found this video content interesting and informative.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad it was helpful! If any question just ask away here to help and share.

[@chachadodds5860]

Loved it! Thank you, so much! I just found your channel for the first time, and this reminded me of 7th Grade Biology... which I loved. I'm planning to use Alfalfa pellets and pine straw, along with worm castings & hopefully a few logs, to fill up the bottom of my 30inch raised bed, Hugelkulture style. This really helped me to see that I don't need to amend that layer with azo/rhizo, or mycos, like I was planning. I will be mixing both of those into the top layer of soil, and allowing it to simmer for 6wks, before planting in the Spring, so that should be plenty. I've never gardened in raised bed before, so this will be sort of an experiment. I'm so excited because I haven't been able to garden for the past 4yrs, and I've really missed it. Your science class, has sparked much enthusiasm, as I look forward to this year's adventures. You've earned a new Sub!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU, Glad you found it. Thanks again for the sub. They keep to healthy soil is keeping a living root all the time year round. I will be doing a video later for a container or raised bed in early spring. Plant when you can outside a crop of spinach to start that living root process. Takes about 30 days depending on weather.

[@chachadodds5860]

@@iamorganicgardening Thank you for the suggestion. I'll do that. Looking forward to your video on raised beds. Love your approach.

[@TheChromePoet]

I'm Buying a microscope, so cool. The way you can test what's really in your product is amazing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Awesome, thank you!

[@o.o1163]

Yes this was excellent to know, I've got alfalfa meal because I'm making my own soil to plant in grow bags. I bought alfalfa meal , my own worm castings plus azomite, chicken compost , blood meal, bone meal , micorriza fungi, and a few other things to make my soil as healthy as possible so my food is more nutritious for my family🤗💐😊,, thanks

[@iamorganicgardening]

Always here to help and share. Happy Gardening

[@sherimetschan961]

How did your soil turn out? Can you provide what and how much you used? I have some grow bags in addition to my raised beds and want to use grow bags more. Thanks!

[@TexasNana2]

Hope your soil was a success. Please let us know. Happy gardening 😊

[@joeyfarley9916]

I am in zone 6b as well it used to be zone 6 but they changed it around 2012. I am glad to finally find a channel at least close to my time line on things. Great video I subbed and will be looking forward to seeing what comes out as spring and summer comes on.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Welcome and Hello 6b gardener. First to to plant outside is our sugar snap peas in march .. Hopefully.

[@manguydude287]

This was a very interesting video! I appreciate you sharing with us. Bacteria and fungus are nearly indestructible!

[@iamorganicgardening]

They are what keeps the world alive. THANK YOU

[@bluejay3945]

In review of your comments I see a lot of folks doing that fermentation thing via JADAM theory. I just don’t get it as my understanding is aeration is the key. I would love to see you do as thorough of an evaluation of the JADAM theory as you did here. I think a month of folks would benefit from it. Thank you for this awesome content

[@iamorganicgardening]

I agree with you that aeration ( aerobic ) is key. I will be doing aerobic compost tea video soon. Thanks for asking.

[@gailmarlatt8029]

Thanks you for another great video! I always learn something.

[@iamorganicgardening]

My pleasure to always share. THANK YOU.

[@PleasantPrickles]

This was so fascinating! Thank you for this demo. I guess the take away is the pellets serve as more of a slow release fertilizer than the meal starting with less bacteria. I’ve just ordered pellets because it was so cost effective. I’m determined to improve my soil and boost veggie and flower production for my personal use. 🌱🌱🌱🌱😃

[@iamorganicgardening]

The meal is the better product( more bacteria )plus we know the NPK value in it. . As the pellets we do not know the NPK in it . Plus it is grown for the protein value only for a food source. Less bacteria, etc. Thanks for asking

[@fionaewhite]

@@iamorganicgardening lll

[@GinaSiska]

This was the most interesting garden video I’ve ever seen! To actually see the life forms under a microscope is amazing and I can’t thank you enough. What is your background?

[@iamorganicgardening]

Wow, THANK YOU. Both my grandparent's where farmers. Each having over 300 acres. After my wife passed away at 36 years old from a rarer incurable cancer I decide to by a farm. My 2 sons where 6 & 4 at the time. So I had no money and why not farm with nature because I knew it works, it is all around us. I was very lucky to hear and be taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham. Top soil scientist that discover the Soil Food Web. Been doing it now for 20 years working with nature.

[@english1midlands]

If you likke this then you'll love KNF Korean Natural Farming.Take a look at Chris Trumps posts.He shows you a very simple way of harvesting the Microbes/Fungi with boiled rice placed on the soil for a couple of days.After 48hrs its covered with white furry Microbes which you can make IMO Indigenous Micro organisms that can be stored and used to treat the soil.

[@scottsmith507]

Very good video Mark! Love when you pull out the microscope and let us all take a look. There is so much talk about using alfalfa as a fertilizer. Now I see pellets and meal are not the same. I was always wondering about what happens to microbes when soil is froze 4 feet deep. Thanks again for the lesson!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad it was helpful to see the difference. When the soil freezes or even below 60 degrees large amounts of microbes are not at all very active. But that is a good thing for both endo and ecto mycorrhizal fungi living in and on living plants roots as a host. THEY grow great now because nothing is eating them and they can grow and build soil.

[@engell3707]

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?

[@bardobro]

Diatom shells shouldn't have any affect on bacteria. They are much larger than bacteria and probably provide a decent substrate. And the pesticide affect is only for dry DE; its main action is adsorption of lipids from the cuticles of invertebrate animals.

[@bitTorrenter]

I wouldn't use it to be honest. There may be beneficial insects and the DE might well have an effect if they come in contact with it. It can be used to kill bed bugs, carpet moth larvae etc, but I wouldn't use it in the garden. That's just me though.

[@jamesstorm5892]

Very good explanation. I think you’re the best.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Appreciate that. It is all due to great viewer's like you. Thank You.

[@sandihelman2301]

Never knew what using alfafa products on a garden invovled. Loved the slide presentation

[@iamorganicgardening]

Great. Thanks.

[@janetherriott3215]

This is CRAZY! I never imagined such a thing! AWESOME!!! Thank- you for showing me a whole new aspect of gardening!!!😊

[@iamorganicgardening]

Any time! Always here to help and share. THANK YOU.

[@danielfisch655]

Great video with easy to understand analysis. I use alfalfa hay for mulch around our fruit trees and vegetable garden and alfalfa meal to fertilize our roses. Thank you for sharing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Great tip! THANK YOU for sharing.

[@hollywoods6814]

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.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Interesting! THANK YOU for sharing this.

[@heavymechanic2]

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.

[@heavymechanic2]

@@YAYA-bv7po Thanks for the tip on 30 days, I threw it down in the fall to allow plenty of time to get absorbed by the soil biology through several processes to become available to plants. I use stuff like Espoma as a similar ingredient and have success.

[@bluejay3945]

@@heavymechanic2 I gave up on Espoma years ago as I perceive their quality has diminished. Switched to the line of fertilizers from Microlife out of Texas. Absolutely love their quality. Have to buy on Amazon and it’s a bit more pricey than Espoma but I love the results. Just wanted to add my 2cents. Since I’ve switched to them I use nothing else. Great company

[@heavymechanic2]

@@bluejay3945 I use a lot of fish fertilizer with kelp, and started going with humic, it all works together to improve the soil.

[@annagudmundsen4419]

Cute little critters :o) Thanks for showing us ..-

[@iamorganicgardening]

Great way of looking at it. THANK YOU.

[@billhatcher2984]

That was a very interesting I would like to see it again in like 12 hour increments then with aded sugars and castings I think I need a microscope

[@iamorganicgardening]

That would be cool!

[@mnp5404]

love to know what kind of microscope you are using! Thanks!

[@kfs9300]

Love it! It is all about science. Thanks for the understanding. Nice microscope.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Exactly! THANK YOU.

[@dexterking9003]

I’ll have to add to my vegetable garden this spring

[@iamorganicgardening]

Meal is the better one.. More nitrogen .THANKS.

[@lynnbailie8734]

I just discovered you & subscribed today. Thank you for taking the time to do this video. I was just Fantastic information and I will use Alfalfa meal in the future instead of pellets. Fascinating use of your microscope!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU for the subscribing, Glad you like the video .

[@lhy2000]

Mark, Another great video! I wonder if soy meal would be a good soil amendment as well, it's $20 per 50 lb bag, vs. $15 for alfalfa, however, the former has almost 3 times the protein content.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Good question! Sorry, I do not know. Like they way you think. THANK YOU for asking.

[@Doktracy]

Soy meal is a good nitrogen source, they are a good mix with alfalfa.

[@terrychrist1383]

Very interesting. I didn't know this stuff. Awesome information 👍☺️

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad to hear, THANK YOU so very much.

[@tammyque1506]

Now I understand the science behind plant food. Very interesting to see it in action under a microscope. Thank you for sharing.

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU so very much.. Here to share.

[@rk7630]

Thank you for sharing this information about Alfalfa pallets. This video was extremely INFORMATIVE 🙏🏼

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU kindly

[@crossing3790]

Intelligent design......

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU kindly.

[@carolynsteele5116]

Wow, I feel so smart after that vivid tutorial! Thank you! I’ve wondered if alfalfa meal or pellets need to be composted before adding to the soil? Wouldn’t adding them directly rob nitrogen?

[@iamorganicgardening]

They are perfect to add in just as is. The have a C:N of about 25:1 which is Ideal.

[@judyedwards7597]

@@iamorganicgardening I have raised beds and am also zone 6b (CT). Should I add alfalfa now? I was wondering if you could tell if the types of bacteria were the same on both pellets and meal.

[@wildedibles819]

I put mine through a rabbit first Many times they waste food and it goes into the garden no problem

[@waynetadlock9719]

@@wildedibles819 🤣 Cool/ I do compost worms.. 😊

[@Alan_CFA]

Loved the video. Minor edit: the time for bacteria to reproduce is 20minutes, not 20 seconds. It’s still tremendously fast.

[@nancyshinn2037]

thank you for the scientific approach. Loved your video. Can't wait to see more.

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU so very much. Working on a new video to upload soon.

[@jhjln8712]

Very interesting!! I enjoyed the science demonstration!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@GreenLove1]

My gosh, what a fantastic video. I have started using alfalfa pellets to amend my raised beds and it sure gives me a sense of validation that I am doing the right thing (albeit more slowly than meal!). I learned a lot from this video, thanks Mark! So much fun seeing through the microscope!!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Wonderful! So very glad to hear. THANK YOU kindly.

[@donthegardener8670]

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?

[@iamorganicgardening]

Here is a How it works in this video link just click on it. : kzbin.info/www/bejne/hITOk4ZnpsmYjM0

[@classicrocklover5615]

I can only add my family's experience. I have a SIL who has celiac disease. She is so reactive to any gluten that she cannot eat commercially prepared ketchup. Wait? There's wheat in ketchup? No, but it is a part of commercially prepared vinegar, which is then used to make ketchup. So I don't think the issue is can gluten transfer from one product to the next. I think the question is how sensitive is the patient in question 🤔

[@sarahjustesen1305]

so interesting thank you

[@joelzdepski9884]

Hey Mark, I was moving my tomato starts this morning and thought of this video. I don't have a heat mat under my trays, and the lights are in my garage and not that warm (its CA, so not too cold at night). A thought popped into my head - "I bet the heat mat effect has nothing to do with warming the roots, and everything with raising the temp for the microbes and fungus to get active." I recall a slide (probably Gabe Brown or Ray Archuleta video?) where someone had 2 trays of seedlings that were identical in every way but 2. One tray has vigorous plants and one not so much. The vigorous tray had mycorrhizal fungi and the other did not. So is the soil heating from a mat is to make the microbes and fungi happy and only secondarily the make the plant starts warm? Do you (or anyone else) have any thoughts or research pointers to share?

[@iamorganicgardening]

To my understanding the microbes love to grow and work around 70 to 80 degrees. With a fair about of moisture and food.

[@lisakukla459]

I am certainly no expert, but I would speculate the same thing. Good thought!

[@nashaugust6765]

Instablaster.

[@OfftoShambala]

Good work… thanks for your service to humanity.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank You kindly

[@valoriegriego5212]

Wow, great info. 🙂 So glad I came across your channel.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Welcome! And Glad you found it. If any question just ask. THANK YOU for the sub.

[@iwanttobelieve5970]

I wanted to buy the pellets but to have it delivered, it went from $12.99 to $35 for delivery. So, I decided to buy the Alfalfa Meal instead. So, thanks. I won't feel bad with my choice.

[@iamorganicgardening]

It is a great choice.. Well Done. THANK YOU

[@billelrod1779]

This really clears up a lot for me..thank you! I was under the impression that most bagged material was “dead”, and would eventually wake up in the garden. But this shows the life is there, and just needs water..and maybe air? Thanks again.. On another subject, I’d love to hear your take on alfalfa being “gmo”, likely sprayed with herbicide, and whether or not that has an effect on garden soil..

[@iamorganicgardening]

So far to my understand their are just 2 types of alfalfa variety's out there. And that alfalfa hay is used for cow bedding only. NOT FEED . And they are mark that way and should be never used in the garden.

[@desertheavens]

@@iamorganicgardening Not true. Alfalfa is used as food for many livestock, cows, horses, goats, sheep, etc. And, now, much of the alfalfa is GMO. I was very disappointed a few years ago to find out my local farmer, whom I've known all of my life, had resorted to using GMO alfalfa. He used the hay for his own cows and sold a lot of it. He had always had the best alfalfa hay around. I hated feeding that to my goats. Remember that GMO's do not have to be labelled. That said, anything certified organic, by definition, cannot be GMO. But, the label has been compromised and you cannot be positive that "organic" products are truly organic. A sad situation.

[@desertheavens]

Yes, much alfalfa is now GMO. I know. I used to farm and live among all of the farmers here. And yes, herbicides do have an effect on the soil. The most dangerous is glyphosate as it is a mineral chelator and is devastating to the nutrient value of a plant and to humans and animals who consume those plants. Dr Stephanie Seneff has been studying glyphosate for years and has numerous informative videos and articles.

[@desertheavens]

@@iamorganicgardening And, alfalfa hay just for bedding would be expensive and a waste of a normally fairly scare and valuable food source. I've never known of anyone that used alfalfa for bedding. Other hays and straw, or purchased wood shavings or pine bedding are used.

[@billelrod1779]

@@desertheavens thanks for the info..it’s definitely been something that has kept me from using the cheap 15lb bags to use as fertilizer. I couldn’t find any of those labeled organic or OMRI. It’s my understanding that the alfalfa has likely been sprayed. I thought about buying the more expensive organic pellets, but have decided to just use the organic material I get free on my property..

[@rrman2party]

I love the videos! Very educational and interesting. Thats why I am a sub for years now. Keep up the outstanding work.

[@iamorganicgardening]

I am here for you. Love to share. THANK YOU for your very kind words

[@hickoryhillinthebigwoods-r759]

Fascinating. Thanks for this! How is the family? It has been a long time since I talked to you.

[@timmartin8191]

Awesome, informative video. Thanks for posting!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kalebbillig3472]

There’s a good chance that alfalfa has mold spores on it so if you’re gonna use it, lay it down either a couple weeks before you plant, top dress it, or make a tea with a mycorrhizae inoculant before you feed it to your plants

[@iamorganicgardening]

YES, please make the teat aerated . THANK YOU.

[@dragonshadow3707]

Love it and your right nature is an amazing things we should all learn to appreciate it more cause if we did can you imagine how much better off we and the world would be that's a world I would love to live in.

[@iamorganicgardening]

I fully agree. THANK YOU.

[@fayjason]

So helpful. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to the next video.

[@iamorganicgardening]

That is Very kind of you to say... THANK YOU, always here to help.

[@CircadianRythyms]

Alfalfa is a great amendment! Biological Nitrogen Fixation uses N2 nitrogen gas from the atmosphere not from the soil. That’s why it’s such an important process it takes completely unusable N and mineralizes it. It then enters the soil N pool when the plant decomposes. Hope this helps!

[@iamorganicgardening]

I agree. THANK YOU.

[@herlindeclark5488]

This is a great tutorial. I am into red wigglers and their compost, and recently purchased alfalfa pellets, because I could not find the powdered form. I spread a few handfuls over my garden soil and let the rain and snow break them apart. So glad to learn what’s ‘in’ these pellets. Thank you!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad it was helpful! THANK YOU so very much.

[@salsa1bori]

Good info this guy going above & beyond thanks👍

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad to help and share with you and others. THANK YOU kindly.

[@MrTonos10]

Educational as always!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU so very much. Have a great week ahead.

[@amysnipes4245]

Thanks so much. You have provided a lot of good information.

[@iamorganicgardening]

So nice of you to say. THANK YOU.

[@tcotroneo]

I’d imagine putting a few tablespoons of quality compost or homemade bacterial fertilizer in the alfalfa slew would greatly enhance the microbe activity.. would have been neat to see that in the slide..

[@pyrorc]

ding ding ding! we have a winner. this is how i go about it. it is very benificial

[@jhutto3814]

Very interesting. You have me hooked.

[@iamorganicgardening]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@larlarkrumble7578]

I add a can of cola and a can of regular beer to my compost with the alfalfa pellets to jump start the process.

[@helentc]

This was very interesting! Are you a soil food web student or consultant? I am an SFW student, FC4, so enjoyed your very relevant post.

[@iamorganicgardening]

No i am not. But great course. Just a farmer. Enjoy and thanks

[@helentc]

@@iamorganicgardeningThe microscope work is exactly what I'm studying right now. So great to see the video of the moving critters and not just still shots. Very informative. Thanks again!

[@thegrahamstead]

Great explanation! Thanks so much!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank You so much.

[@jcbfree]

Just found your channel. The video was awesome. I have been using organic fertilizers and wanted to use alfalfa pellets but wasn't sure. What about alfalfa Cubes? Would that do the same?

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU for the sub. Pellets are 10 times less nitrogen. ( see my new video. ). We will never know what is in the cubes ( early harvest alfalfa or late harvest alfalfa, Big DIFFERENCE )

[@garyb4929]

Very good , informative video . Thanks

[@iamorganicgardening]

So nice of you to say. THANK YOU. Happy Gardening year forward.

[@ambrosemclaren145]

Mark, were these products organic? I didn't notice on the packaging. I remember hearing the alfalfa is now gmo. You are my favorite online gardener. Your passion and appreciation of God's nature always comes shining through. There are a few I trust and learn from but you are in a class by yourself. Never take your gifts for granted. Thank you!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Yes, Both 100% Organic ( meal Cert Organic, On front of box is OMRI List right side. ) and both non GMO. THANK YOU for your kind words. Always here to help and share easy gardening FUN.

[@skootles1]

fantastic video. Thanks for sharing

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank you too

[@utahnaharris5664]

Yes, very useful and needed info...thanks!!

[@iamorganicgardening]

Always here to help and share. THANK YOU.

[@claud1542]

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

[@iamorganicgardening]

Save your money and do not use either. If you have fall leaves use them. They will do 3 times better for you. Layer fall leaves with your own native soil ever 2 inch's. Please watch my video on this. Grew 8 tomatoes plants in one raised bed and they plants did fantastic.

[@METALONLY100]

Learned alot thanks for sharing 👨‍🌾😁

[@claireconley8522]

*VERY* interesting, educational!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU so very much for your kind words.

[@jeffferris2783]

TSC has fifty lbs. bags of either pellets or cubes of alfalfa for horses or other livestock for 18 to 19 dollars guaranteed analysis. Organic 24 dollars for forty lbs. .

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank You.

[@lynnevans7248]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU for watching. Have a great week ahead.

[@annestudley8235]

Thank you for that interesting and informative video. Organic alfalfa isn't generally available in the feed stores in my area, so I'm guessing that what is sold is GMO. I've used it in beds and not seen detrimental effects, as far as I know. Wouldn't you think that there is enough biology in the ground soil (as opposed to potting soil) to take the place of what is already on organic alfalfa in breaking it down? And I always have weed tea fermenting through the growing season, and I can smell plenty of biology in that - at least during the fermenting process. What if I watered potting soil in a pot with that and/or rehydrated the non-organic alfalfa with that?

[@waynetadlock9719]

That would depend entirely on the biology already in the soil where any specific person lives. If the ground has been constantly tilled and/or synthetically fertilized- it is abused and weak. Perhaps by accident, but not nearly as healthy as compost treated/mulch/cover crop soils. 😊

[@iamorganicgardening]

Gmo alfalfa is not available to the public in meal , pellets form or hay.. In Ground soil there is very little different types of microbes in the real soil. Mostly just high amounts of bacteria. Plants go wrong when their is not a balance of both fungi and bacteria. Plus you need another group to eat them called nematodes and protozoa to final get plant available nutrients. That is why you need living roots in the ground that feed the soil and build it. They make passage ways for all the small and large groups to move amount and hold the soil in place making aggerates . Only nature can do this. Thanks for asking. Fermenting weed tea must please be aerated ( bubbler used ) at all times. If not it grows the wrong bacteria. Which is bad called anaerobic. You need oxygen for the correct aerobic type process THANK YOU for you great question.

[@desertheavens]

@@iamorganicgardening You are misinformed. GMO alfalfa hay absolutely is grown and used and sold as food for livestock. I live right in the midst of it.

[@desertheavens]

Anne Studley Anne Studley You are correct in that much alfalfa is now GMO and much has been sprayed. I know because I live amongst and buy alfalfa hay from the farmers since I no longer farm. I was shocked when I found my neighbor had sown his fields with GMO alfalfa seeds after I had been buying from him a few years. GMO does not normally have to be labeled. Technically, certified organic products cannot be GMO but there has been so much corruption in the organic certification organizations that it can't be totally trusted.

[@annestudley8235]

@@iamorganicgardening Thank you for your answer. How about just letting weeds grow to keep living roots in the ground? The winters here would kill most cover crops. And how about edible root crops, such as parsnip and sunchokes? I have 2 sunchoke beds and usually harvest both in fall, but this year I had enough to last me through the winder in one bed and so left the other for harvest in spring. They're alive down there, but I'll dig 3/4 of the rhizomes out and disrupt everything - there's no avoiding that. What's left will multiply and grow another stand. So is that patch of ground going to be worthless with the annual digging to get the food out? As opposed to carrots, which I have heavily mulched to no avail in the past, parsnips seem to last the winter here, and I can harvest them in spring before they bolt. I will plant something there right afterwards, but again, I have disturbed the soil to get those roots out. So is it pointless in terms of improving soil biology to leave them in the soil through the winter just to have something living in the soil at all times? Regarding the non-aerated tea, I've never had a problem with using it. I even soaked some herb seeds (cilantro, basil, and Mexican marigold) I planted for indoor winter growing in that tea (which no longer stinks) and water them with it, and they're doing great. The cilantro is the most beautiful I've ever grown, in fact (I think that's due to lack of pests to a large extent).

[@lpah2u]

Awesome video. 👌

[@iamorganicgardening]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@lilywondertwin]

I am concerned about agricultural grade alfalfa though . Is there requirements to tell us what the fillers are ? I do biodynamic gardening and organic . I think the best way is to grow cover crops and till them in .

[@iamorganicgardening]

The two items I used the meal is Certified Organic. No fillers. The other is no filled and non gmo. They do have to tell you what is in the bag. I have a great plan stay will it.

[@carolynandjoestriker4992]

What happens if you use Alfalfa pellets that are not organic? Does that mean that there are herbicides in it that will be harmful to your garden? The reason I ask is because I wonder what the sterilization process does to the pellets, if the herbicides are destroyed. I used alfalfa pellets last year not realizing they weren't organic and I wonder if I have ruined my soil...

[@iamorganicgardening]

Do not worry about your soil due to Pellets. First you only did it for one year. Second the soil heals itself by plants that place carbon back into the soil by it roots that takes CO2 from the air. This carbon binds the toxins to the carbon so it does not hurt us. Enjoy

[@lorannharris9034]

Mark Ive been using alfalfa pellets for years. Ive always put it in a barrel with water and rice and allowed it to ferment before using on garden. Any thoughts on this?

[@iamorganicgardening]

Hello. Hope all is well. To me ferment is the lack of oxygen. That is something that we do not what. You can add water to it and add a air bubbler to give it air. Just like making compost tea. Thanks

[@lorannharris9034]

@@iamorganicgardening thanks. This was done mostly to make it less appetizing to those darn voles. Hope you and your family are healthy and happy.😊

[@rrbb36]

Absolutely fascinating. Nerdy factoid: “bacteria” is actually the plural form of bacterium,-bacterium meaning just one. 👍

[@iamorganicgardening]

THANK YOU. 👍

[@I.am.Mumma.Bear.1]

Organically grown Lucern is best and higher microbial value. Not sure how you get it I processed over there 🤷‍♀️

[@barbkafilmout9449]

Thanks for this valuable information

[@iamorganicgardening]

Always here to Help and share. THANK YOU.

[@stillnessbetween5103]

The pelletizing of the alfalfa does create some heat, so maybe that is why there is less bacteria and fungi in them. Mixing in some mycellium powder works wonders !

[@iamorganicgardening]

I agree. Thanks.

[@edwardshepherd5275]

When you buy rabbit pellets the protein percentage is right on the the bag!

[@sukhvindergrewal5697]

Outstanding job

[@iamorganicgardening]

Glad to hear you like it. THANK YOU and a Happy Gardening Year to you.

[@cqammaz53]

Cool video I enjoy it. Thanks for sharing

[@iamorganicgardening]

Very Kind of you.. THANKS.