Yes!

Did I read correctly, that you are only trying it on a square foot of lawn? I routinely neglect my lawn, but I have been trying to read up on doing a little more about it organically. I had already decided to try Alfalfa meal on the lawn, but I am waiting for the fall and next spring to make an application.

I bought organic alfalfa meal from FEDCO this year and that is what I will use. I've used it in the past on roses and loved the result. Seems pretty reasonably priced and I know it is organic matter and can only do good, so I'm not planning on having a trial with it. But, maybe I should. I have a very small front lawn and it would be worth trying the alfalfa on just that part and wait to do the back lawn until after I see results on the front. But I would think a square foot would be too small an area for a useful trial.

No, I put down 20lbs in a 1000sq ft. area and meant to say that in a 1 sq ft area I put at least double to see the difference.

Ohâ¦that makes more sense. I'm not familiar with the rate of application for lawns because I haven't done mine yet.

I would think Kimmsr would be more familiar than I am about how long before you see results. I wonder if you have been used to using synthetic chemicals in the past and seeing a quick result? Two weeks seems like a very short period to expect to see anything.

For me, I plan on applying it fall and spring and after a year evaluating how well it is working. Have you watered it in well too?

I think this depends on a couple of things and exactly what you are looking for. What type of grass do you have? If it is Bermuda, it needs more Nirtogen than Alfalfa can give it.

Keep in mind, when you use an organic, in this case Alfalfa, you are feeding the soil, not the grass. It needs time to breakdown and then uproot to the turf. This time can vary based on amount of micro-organisms contained in your Turf that "digest" the alfalfa. I beleive the majority of people who use Alfalfa use it as it contains a growth hormone and wouldn't exclusively use Alfalfa as their only lawn feeding (although I think dchall does).

Nothing in organic lawn care happens in 2 weeks. It's a process of building up active soil, with proper Ph micro/macro nutrients levels, and high amounts of organic matter. Each year you feed the soil, the better the conditions become to grow grass. Eventually, you build up such a thick lawn that it drowns out the weeds.

Alfalfa is just ok. It's cheap, but not particularly high in Nitrogen. I'd prefer to spend a little more and use Soy Bean Meal (contains GMO) or Corn Gluten Meal. CGM has the dual benefit of of blocking weed seed from germinating and also adding 9% Nitrogen.. about as high as you can get in the organic world. At best you might notice a slight green up after an application, but not like you would using synthetics, that is not natural.

How quickly, if at all, something like Alfalfa will help "green up0" turf grass will depend on the Soil Food Web. A good active SFW will digest and convert that Alfalfa fairly quickly while in soils lacking adequate levels of organic matter and an inactive SFW probably will never see any "green up" because there is nothing working to convert it into something the grass can use.

@Aggranduser, it took 3 weeks for visual results on my tall fescue lawn using Alfalfa pellets. I made sure to water it in to get faster results by breaking down the pellets with water. Since April I took suggestions from this forum and have had great results. I've been adding Alfalfa pellets, corn meal, worm casting tea, coffee grinds with crushed egg shells, Milogranite, unsulfured blackstrap molasses with baby shampoo and my lawn looks amazing. Give your lawn some time if you have been adding organic matter to it and you will see results. If you have not seen a difference in 4 weeks then your lawn lacks the necessary organisms as Kimmsr informed you. Your lawn need those micro organisms to convert the protein into nitrogen. Compost or worm castings would help you tremendously.

My organic matter came in at a whopping 14.2%. If the amount of worms gives any indication of microbial activity then I'm good on that too. When I pull up dandilions with a fiskars weed puller I get a worm almost every pull.

14.2% is stellar!

I tend to find that any organic requires 2 to 3 weeks to even start working, with peak at week 4 to 6 or so. But after that, the effect sustains beautifully.

My spring feeding with soybean meal (circa May 15th) kicked in pretty fast, by June first, but I've been feeding organically for years. I already have populations of bacteria and fungi that are built to eat soybean, like it, and flourish on it.

If it was your first alfalfa application, it may take some time for populations to rise to handle it. As the months (and years) roll on, that will accelerate somewhat.

Organics are really sensitive to soil moisture, so if the soil goes dry, processing stops (or at least slows severely). That's a good thing--dry soil also isn't growing much lawn!

Thanks, I'm happy to hear your results. I wonder if you can ask your company next time they come, what rate they apply their fertilizer. I'm getting ready to order more alfalfa meal and wondering how much to buy.

15-20lbs p/1000 sq. ft. ( ex. 5000sq ft @20lbs) = 100lbs to buy

Wow - that's a lot! Especially when they sell them in 5 lb bags. [g] Glad I have a small lawn.

5lb bags! Noo....you need a different source, they come in 50lb bags for less than $15 dollars. Not sure where in MA you are, but Bridgewater Farm Supply is a great source for all organic grains

We're in Eastern Massachusetts. Bridgewater is a distance away. They do have 50 lb bags, I thought I added that, sorry, brain freeze. [g] 50lb bags are $40. though and are organic. That's quite a difference in price. I would order them from FEDCO - and shipping would be on top of that. Maybe I will call around and see if anyone has any organic alfalfa meal. OH -- you said a source for organic grains…does that mean organic alfalfa for $15. That would be worth the drive. I'll give them a call. Thanks.

We have a large corner lot so lots of grass especially with the city boulevard (3 houses worth) - or 156' worth. I will try to remember to ask. :)

$40 is way too high, I would never pay that much. Use the Blue Seal store locator to find a place closer to you, there are a lot in eastern MA. http://blueseal.com/store-locator/

Soybean meal is a better grain, higher in nitrogen and I only pay $19 p/ 50lb bag at Bridgewater Farm Supply. Any of the blue seal dealers closer to you should be in that ballpark.

Thanks zoewy04 - no need to remember, I think I have an idea how much I need to use.

SC77 - I just spent some time looking at the Blueseal website. Their products, as far as I can see, are not organic. And they are not able to follow the practice of avoiding GMO grains, so that wouldn't be something I would be interested in, but thanks. I will call around though and see if a supplier has another product line that is organic. And I did see Soybean meal offered on the FEDCO site, I'll check it out.

My apologies, I was using the term "organic" to suggest non-synthetic lawn feeds... but you are looking for organically grown grains to put on your lawn. That is very admirable, but it will present you with many challenges and very high cost as 93%+ of Corn & Soy products contain GMO. Best of luck

No problem sc77 - I'm not having a problem with the cost because it balances out in other ways. I've been gardening organically for 30+ years. Now you know why it's so expensive to buy organic food. I actually haven't fertilized our lawn in about 20 years. [g] So I guess I can splurge for a couple of years to give it a little shot in the arm. I have a lot of clover in my lawn, we cut it high in the heat, and water it when necessary and that's about it. We've been babysitting our son's dog and so the lawn is looking a little less than pristine lately, so I thought in the Fall, I'd lay down some seed in a few spots and do a little fertilizing for a change.

I am very committed to non GMO seeds and buy all my seed from companies that don't carry it. I don't really use soy products anyway and Corn is not one of our regular vegetables. I just checked FEDCO again and yes, they have the soybean meal that is non GMO, but only the alfalfa meal is organic too. So that is what I'll use. I feel good about supporting a company that has made that commitment not only to organics but to non GMO too. I'd guess our lawn is less than 2,000 sq feet, luckily, so that shouldn't be so bad.

This is a four year old thread, which just goes to show the power of a Google search! I've stopped by here looking for info on alfalfa pellets for my lawn. This thread was very educational.
I'm in Central Florida and garden organically. I replaced most of our lawn with trees and shrubs years ago, but there is still a small section of the front yard and backyard where the sod is growing, and I rarely do much more than apply Milorganite to it twice a year. We have St. Augustine Floratam in the front yard which was put in about 5 years ago. Empire Zoysia in the back. I don't use spray companies, but I want to keep the soil healthy and was curious to see if Alfalfa would help the soil long term. For those of you who commented above, do you still use alfalfa on your lawn?

Just curious and bumping this thread up!

aggranduser - How has the Alfalfa pellets worked? This is my first time using it and I am seeing an increase in worms and birds coming over to my yard. Hoping to see some difference atleast by next year on my bermuda lawn. I am right now at organic-synthetic approach but the plan is to move towards organic at some point.

Bumping this thread. I live in West Central FL (9b) and have used alfalfa pellets for a number of years. I would love to get soybean meal but it is hard to find around here. I do an application of organic lawn fertilizer in the spring (Espoma, Purely Organic) and supplement through the year several times with alfalfa pellets and cracked corn (can't find bulk corn meal or gluten locally). Have been very happy with using alfalfa pellets.