Alfalfa Meal

When I hear the word alfalfa, my first thought is horses.
 
But alfalfa (Medicago sativa) can be a valuable addition to your garden, as a ground cover or green manure, or ground up into alfalfa meal.

Horse eating alfalfa (Jennifer C.) CC BY 2.0

Alfalfa is a legume, like peas and beans, so it can fix atmospheric nitrogen. But it grows more like oats and barley. Before it goes to seed, deep-rooted alfalfa plants improve soil structure and make more nitrogen available to neighboring plants.
 
If you cut those plants down, ferment, dry, and grind them up, you have alfalfa meal.
 
How does alfalfa meal help in the garden?
 
Alfalfa meal adds nitrogen, a fatty-acid growth stimulant (triacontanol), and trace minerals, like Vitamins A, B, and E, magnesium, and iron to your soil. Triacontanol stimulates root and stem growth in young plants. Generally speaking, alfalfa meal has an NPK value of 3-1-2. This means it contains three parts nitrogen (N), one part phosphorus, and two parts potassium.
 
Amending your soil with alfalfa meal improves its structure by helping to build better soil aggregates. Those are the clumps of soil that hold water and nutrients while allowing roots and gases to move around freely.
 
What is alfalfa meal?
 
While you can certainly mulch your garden with alfalfa hay, it may take a while to break down into nutrients your plants can use. Alfalfa meal eliminates that lag time by grinding dried alfalfa up into a fine powder. The powder is then used as-is or pressed into cubes or pellets. Because these pellets are made from a finely ground powder, they decompose quickly. They decompose so quickly that they can jump-start your compost pile if conditions have slowed the heating process.
 
How to use alfalfa meal
 
Alfalfa meal decomposes so quickly that it can create significant amounts of heat. Alfalfa meal is spread on top of the soil. You can either rake it in or cover it with mulch to prevent it from blowing away, using the following application amounts:
 

• Light applications—12 pounds per 1,000 sq. ft.
• Medium applications —25 pounds per 1,000 sq. ft.
• Heavy applications—50 pounds per 1,000 sq. ft.

 
You can also sprinkle ¼ to ½ cups of alfalfa meal around individual plants.
 
Problems with alfalfa meal
 
Alfalfa meal can attract mice, rabbits, rats, and other herbivores to your garden. You can get around this problem by using loose meal instead of pellets. Apparently, those creatures find licking up alfalfa powder too time-consuming.
 
Alfalfa meal is generally free of weed seeds, but lower-quality alfalfa meal may contain alfalfa seeds. In my opinion, that’s fine because alfalfa is a great addition to the landscape, but you may feel differently, so buy accordingly.
 
Most livestock-grade alfalfa is genetically modified and specifically engineered to withstand heavy doses of pesticides. [The name ‘Roundup Ready’ should be a clue.] If you want to avoid GMOs and keep those chemicals out of your garden, buy organic alfalfa meal from a reputable seller. Look for the OMRI-certified label on the container.
 
Of course, you can always grow your own alfalfa. Its roots reduce soil compaction, the flowers are lovely and attract pollinators, and once it starts growing, plants can live for up to 20 years! Read my post on alfalfa to learn more about growing your own.
 
How to make your own alfalfa meal
 
If you want to make your own alfalfa meal, cut your alfalfa when plants start to flower and ferment the silage for a couple of weeks in an anaerobic environment. This is then dried and ground into a powder. Personally, I’m not sure my coffee grinder or food processor would be the same after grinding up a load of alfalfa. Of course, buying ready-made is simpler, but alfalfa is still nice to have in your landscape.

Some people use alfalfa meal to make a fertilizer tea. If you’d like to try your hand at this, use the following steps:
 

1. Put 5 gallons of tap water in a large bucket and let it sit for three days to allow the chlorine to dissipate.
2. Stir in 4 cups of alfalfa meal (any form) and cover with a lid.
3. Stir once or twice every day for one week.
4. Apply your alfalfa tea as a foliar spray or pour it on the soil.

 
Whether you use alfalfa meal or alfalfa tea, the best time to apply it is after your seeds have germinated.

Alfalfa contains chemicals that can slow or halt the germination of many crops. But the nutrients provided will help your seedlings thrive once they’ve sprouted. Research has shown that soil amended with alfalfa has a healthier microbial community than soil amended with only composted manure. Those bacteria support plant health, resulting in earlier and better yields. Your strawberries will be bigger, sweeter, and ripen earlier.
 
Alfalfa meal is also said to make life difficult for root-knot nematodes, but the research does not support these claims. In fact, nematodes are alfalfa pests. Oh, well.