Corn yes, it will love it. Beans no, alfalfa tea is pure nitrogen and beans do not tolerate excess nitrogen at all well - gives you huge plants but no beans.

Be sure to dilute is well before spraying (to the color of weak green tea ;) and don't spray it in the heat of the day or direct sun as it can burn the leaves.

Dave

I don't spray it.....too much straining. I just dilute and poor near the roots. Corn should love it since it's a real hog about nitrogen and such. Beans don't really need it.

Bet you have some happy roses.

Thank you both very much. Oh good I'm excited now. I used most of the first batch on roses but am brewing a new one from the sludge that was left for next Sunday.

Dave thanks for the tip on keeping the tea off the foliage. I have not graduated to spraying yet but just using it as a soil drench.

Shebear I will put it on the corn next weekend. I did pour a little diluted Miracle Gro yesterday morning. Okay to use the tea a week after that on the corn? I know that allegedly you cannot burn plant roots with Alfalfa Tea but would have to fry my little seedlings with too much fertilizer.

Thank you.

Kate

Wow, something new to me. Okay, tell me about alfalfa tea and how to make it. I can obtain alfalfa hay at the feed store. Would rabbit pellets help?

No rabbit pellets.......they contain salt for the rabbits. Use horse pellets....the small ones if they have them.

Just like compost tea, there are various ways to make alfalfa tea. Basicaly it's just water and pellets. I usually put a cup in five gallons and let it sit....how long depends on how I feel that day. I have been know to let it get stinky but most of the time I just let the pellets melt and the water turn kinda greenish-brown. The plants would be happy with the pellets mixed in the soil and watered but melting them down makes all the good stuff more readily available.

I do this about every 2 weeks for some veggies but just remember alfala tea has alot of growth hormone and you need to stop at some point so the veggie does the veggie thing. Growth on roses equals more canes with buds. Growth on veggies equal more green and no veggie.

I put my alfalfa pellets in a "tea bag" (an old knee-high nylon stocking of wife's). That way you don't have to do all the straining if you want to spray as a foliar feed. ;)

katefisher - watch the timing on your corn feeding. They need a good N boost when they get to knee/thigh high. Small seedlings can still be killed by too much N.

Dave

Great information, digdirt and shebear. To the feed store I go. Thanks so much.

Thanks Dave.

Aulani I will give you a link to the recipe I use for Alfalfa Tea below. To that recipe you can add also fish emulsion if you like but again that's for roses. Not sure for vegetables.

As you will see in the recipe the steep time is generally considered to be a week. It stinks after that long. I dispense it either at the end of a gardening day of early in the morning before I get ready for the day. Wear shoes that you keep outside. Trust me on this.

Finally the alfalfa pellets should not contain anything added. There are some out there you can buy that have sugar added. You don't want those. If you buy them in error just take them back and get just plain ole alfalfa pellets for horse feed. Should only be about $10 for a 50 gallon bag.

Hope this helps.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Alfalfa Tea

Is alfalfa tea good for tomato plants , and how it is used

Is alfalfa tea good for tomato plants , and how it is used

In small doses perhaps but as discussed above it is almost pure nitrogen and tomato plants are not nitrogen oriented plants. They need some but not much and excess nitrogen causes big leafy plants with very little fruit production. And as already discussed in this thread it is used as a diluted root drench.

Dave

Thank you very much . Do you have best recipe of any kind for tomato's fertilizer and pesticide .

How I can use the compost from under trees in thick forests , which has been there for decades .

I have a bag of alfalfa pellets but its been some time since I purchased them. Is there a way to tell if they have salt in them? I've never heard this before, salt added to these pellets intended for rabbit feed. I don't think there is anything marked on the bag and I don't remember what was said about the pellets. I think I just asked for alfalfa pellets to use on the lawn. I purchased this huge brown bag at a feed store that has since gone out of business so they will be no help. I'm assuming it was sold for feed for some animal but not sure which animal. :-)

Mary

Hi . I am planting fruit trees , can I apply alfalfa tea or pellets during the process of planting and after ,

Can alfalfa tea be used in place of blood meal? Blood meal is a bit pricey. Alfalfa pellets sound more economical.

Alfalfa pellets as shown in link below looks to be great fert for tomato plants. Does the tea provide that much more nitrogen in a quick hit vs slow release pellets?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19hbLDLmHk&ab_channel=manley1979