What container are you using to brew the tea in?

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) I brew in a 20-gallon garbage can with an extremely large PVC ball valve on the bottom that I added.

@Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca Maybe use something longer with a larger mesh, like pantyhose? That way you could stuff the "sock" and leave some of it hanging out of the garbage can before you seal the lid. I haven't had to deal with cleanup of the garbage can yet, but if that is sufficiently horrible then I might give that a try.

Put the residue on your garden....actually there is no need to make alfalfa tea....just put the alfalfa meal on your garden and water....or wait for rain.

@lindac92 I am putting two cups of alfalfa pellets with each rose plant, but the hassle with that is the pellets do not quickly degrade. You end up having to work them with your hands after a few weeks of watering to get them to break up into an alfalfa meal and then distribute the meal into the soil. I should try to buy the meal directly next time.

I cannot find any science that proves it, but my theory on why growers like to use *both* the tea and the in-ground alfalfa is that the tea gives an extra high dose of triacontanol, which is a plant growth hormone that roses specifically seem to strongly react to. So based on that I am using the in-ground alfalfa as a good nitrogen fertilizer, and the triacontanol from the alfalfa tea is simply to stimulate higher levels of growth.

It will be significantly easier to do something along the lines of what Lilyfinch is suggesting. Use something like cheesecloth, pantyhose or whatever, and put all your dry alfalfa in there and tie it at the top so nothing comes out. Steep it for however long in your trash can, and then just remove the solids all together in the cloth, cut it open and throw the solids in your garden as well as the tea. Filtering it inside the watering can and cleaning it out each time seems like the much more tedious way.

Linda, I have done it both ways, the tea and the alphalfa straight on the plant.

I use much less of the alfalfa brewing it as tea so it goes much farther.

I also use the meal, it breaks down faster and like my actual tea bags, I use it to brew a couple of batches.

I have also been making banana peel tea and that works great with no smell.

How about saving up some gallon plastic jugs and make the tea in them. Just set them out in the sun for a few days. Punch a hole in each lid as the pressure in the jug will blow the top off. Once you have a batch of tea jugs just walk around the garden pouring the stuff around each plant. About one cup of tea per plant should work. Any left over alfalfa in the jugs can be used in the next batch of tea you make. Do the math of one cup per plant to determine how many jugs you will need.

Once the season if over, just flatten each jug by stepping on them a few times and toss the remains in the trash bin….. No stink, nothing to really clean up or store for the next season….. KISS

I would do the pillowcase method like Lily suggested or get some cheescloth or some cheap cotton fabric by the yard and throw the alfalfa in a piece and tie it up like a bundle and hang it in there. You can still dump the remaining mush into the garden or your compost pile etc.

I have a bunch of 5 gal buckets w lids that I throw a few cups of alfalfa pellets ( and the remaining powder crumbles from our goat's alfalfa hay that falls to the botto. of their hay feeders) into. I fill the rest of the way w water. Leave them out in the sun for a few weeks, stirring periodically. Then I dump them into a pot that is manageable size to sump into my garden or potted plants. I dump the bottom mushy stuff in there too. It smells pretty bad but the plants love it.

You could probably set up a few 5 gal buckets on a wagon so you could just roll them over to the flowerbed when its ready as well.

@toolbelt68 Are you saying that once it is brewed we only need to pour one cup (about 8 ounces) of tea per rose plant? I have been pouring gallons on each plant....

I like the pantyhose and milk jug suggestions.

When Ive done it, dumping the residue in the garden doesn’t work. It actually just bakes in the sun/heat and creates a solid barrier over the soil that normal watering won’t penetrate. Like a dried out cow pie.

westes, I had tons of new growth from my roses after I gave them one cup of tea. I just filled the cup and tossed it close to the base of the plant. Not on the plant just close to it. Heck, what do you have to lose by trying a couple jugs of it. Check some of my previous posts on the subject and you will see I made up about 5 gallons of the tea. I let it sit in the sun for about 3-4 days. I had to move the jugs close to some plants as the tea was bubbling out the top all over our deck --- that is why I say drill a hole in the cap.. lol It is sort of like why you take two aspirin instead of only one -- if one is good, two is better..... soooo, if one week of tea brewing is good, two is better, on and on it goes. Remember -- use the KISS method

Maybe the reason the plastic jugs worked for me is that the sun can get to the mixture through the jug easier than through a bucket. Takes less time required to heat everything up……

Are there any general guidelines on the maximum amount of time you can leave alfalfa tea brewing in a garbage can? I have used most of the alfalfa tea in my 20-gallon trash can, and the residual of tea in the can really looks and smells like a sewer. I am not sure it is okay to leave it there for another week or two or not.