feed (e.g. alfalfa) spreading question

15 years ago

So I bought a sack of alfalfa meal last year, but spreading it was a disaster: huge billowing greenish clouds rose and headed for my neighbors, looking for all the world like WWI poison gas. (Not that I know what poison gas looks like.)

I have considered alfalfa pellets, but our lawn is visited by rabbits, and I figured they would dine well at my expense.

What options do I have? I have not tried cornmeal but I am told it can get sticky and hard to spread. Is soybeam meal a bit more granular than alfalfa, and so easier to spread without nasty looks from neighbors? What else is easy to spread and good for the lawn?

(I mean feed-type materials, not Ringer, but Ringer is certainly the right consistency for spreading.)

Many thanks!

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Comments (9)

grassboro
15 years ago
I just put down alfalfa pellets this afternoon before and during a rain shower. The pellets turn to mush as soon as it gets wet.
Nevermore44 - 6a
15 years ago
shoot... i just put down two 50lb bags of chicken scratch feed on the lawn (was on sale)... once the rain hit it that night, it was mush. Didn't see one bird poking around for it.

If you do get soybean meal, it can be spread using a spreader.
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brandyanna
15 years ago
Soy spread well in a broadcast spreader.
gardenal
15 years ago
Starting to put down alfalfa pellets for the first time. We're not expecting rain for a while. Can this be watered in effectively, or should I wait for a good rain?
david_tx
15 years ago
Al, you only need to water enough for the pellets to break apart. It doesn't take much water. The alfalfa has to break down to provide nutrients to the soil and that will take weeks. One of the good things about organic fertilizer is that it doesn't have to be watered in.
gardenal
15 years ago
Thanks, David. Just to be sure, since this is my first time doing this, there is only ONE kind of alfalfa pellets, right? I got this at the local feed mill. When I got home with it the bag states only for horses, etc.
dchall_san_antonio
15 years ago
The horse pellets are usually laced with molasses, which is fine. Rabbit pellets are slightly larger than pencil leads. The horse pellets are more the size of your thumb. They come in all sizes.
brandyanna
15 years ago
The rabbit/ horse pellets around here also have salt added, not so good for turf IMO.
brettn_10
15 years ago
Anyone know of a convenient method for crushing the larger alfalfa pellets. I looked everywhere here and could only find the larger horse pellets that are about 2" long and 3/8" diameter. I have a drop spreader and a larger broadcaster, but neither could effectively handle something that size. So I just broadcast by hand. Not a big issue as I only have 4000sf of lawn, but a little bit better dispersion would be nice.