"JimS." wrote
How do you make your alfalfa tea? I have a huge bag of alfalfa meal, and
I don't have much patience for digging it into the soil around the rose,
especially my large potted ones. I'd rather pour it into the soil in the
form of tea. Do you do anything special, or just fill up a container of
water and dump in a bunch of alfalfa meal? How long do you need to let it
"brew"?

Thanks

JimS.
Seattle
(another) Zone 8, very different from Gail's!

I use about 12 cups of alfalfa pellets per 30 gallon
(trash) container. (I'm guessing a similar amount of
alfalfa meal.) Add about 1/2 cup chelated iron,
2 cups epsom salts, stir and let it stew until it gets
stinky. Couple of weeks, depending on weather.
Pour it around roses at the rate of about 1 gallon
per rose bush, 2 gallons per climbing rose, about
1/3 gallon per mini. Use dregs to make another
batch (add more chelated iron & epsom salts) or
dump onto compost pile. I do this twice a year,
spring and fall. If I have more than roses need,
I dump it on other shrubs in the yard. I haven't
noticed it hurting anything.

I use plastic gloves (those cheap medical type
latex gloves) when doing this to minimize the
smell I have to wash off my hands.

BTW I do mean stinky. If you have neighbors
who object to "natural" smells, you might have to
soothe ruffled feathers. I live out in the country
so organic smells aren't that unusual. The smell
does dissipate pretty rapidly, within a few days.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8
oh yeah *very* different zone 8!