In article , Charlie wrote:

On Fri, 7 Aug 2009 23:05:31 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:

Charlie wrote in message

As far as the alfalfa, one needs to find the right balance perhaps. I
think parts of my garden suffered from alfalfa meal overdose this
year. At least I had what appeared to be nitrogen burn on some things
that I likely OD'd with too much alfalfa meal and blood meal.

Charlie I often use lucerne (alfalfa) straw as a mulch but I notice in
another post that you refer to alfalfa pellets.

Can you buy lucerne (alfalfa) in bales such as you'd feed to a horse as this
stuff is magnificent as a mulch. Or even if you could buy it in the chaff
form should also be good. It's ideal for gardens but not for cattle. My
old lecturer when I was doing a farm animal production course used to say
that feeding lucerne to cows was like feeding chocolate to children.


I'm unable to find small bales locally this year, at least ones that
aren't contracted or weedy as hell, and don't feel like driving thirty
odd miles for a few bales. Most producers and farmers are now baling
in the 1500 lb round bales. A bit unruly to wrestle into my small
garden. ;-) I'm using chopped leaves and old moldy straw this year
for mulch.

I use alfalfa pellets and meal in potting mix and incorporated in
compost and the mulch. Meal sounds like the chaff you mention. Meal
is ground alfalfa which has the consistency of,
say....hmmmm......wheat germ, and is good for incorporation or as a
slurry with water in compost (thanks to catdaddy, gets a heap
smokin'), but I find tends to form a crust when used as mulch.

CHalrie

No feed stores that sell in bales? 1500 lbs is a lot to buy all at once.
Bales I get must weigh 50 lbs or so.
--
Racial injustice, war, urban blight, and environmental rape have a common denominator in our exploitative economic system.
~Channing E. Phillips

http://tinyurl.com/o63ruj
http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm