Tomato bed supplements!

I have my plan pretty well set for germinating seeds for my tomato garden next spring. I have been working on my raised beds for the past two years attempting to incorporate as much organic material into my soil as possible. I use earthworm activity as my primary indicator for the soil health.

I have been reading about different common products which can be used to enhance the beds. Alfalfa pellets and cotton seed meal are two products which seem to be recommended for garden beds in general. Both products are available in many garden supply stores, but they are expensive. Both products are also available in farm and ranch supply stores as animal feed supplements and they are much less expensive. The farm and ranch stores also sell bales of straw which I am thinking about incorporating into my beds and use as a top mulch.

I'm curious about other folks experience using these products in their garden beds. If you do use them successfully, how do you use them? What concentrations do you apply? How often do you apply them?

Ted

[RinTinTin]

Alfalfa pellets, being a legume, are high in nitrogen, but I do not know how long it would take them to breakdown in the soil. A small bale, run through a chipper/shredder would probably be cheaper, and breakdown in time for spring planting. Or you could grow a winter-hardy variety as a cover crop, and incorporate in early spring. A side benefit of using it as a cover crop is that it will suppress many of the winter weeds.

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Compost, composted manure, make your own. Buy nothing that providence already provides for free.

There is no place that a gardener can grow plants that does not already have herbavore that creates manure that needs a gardener to make fertilizer out of that manure.

Originally Posted by Tom C zone 4/5

Compost, composted manure, make your own. Buy nothing that providence already provides for free.

There is no place that a gardener can grow plants that does not already have herbavore that creates manure that needs a gardener to make fertilizer out of that manure.

I totally agree and while I have a couple of cattle, not all gardeners are also farmers or ranchers who own some herbivores. While you would think there is plenty of manure produced every day for every gardener to have some, it really isn't that available. Many people only have the option of buying it in 40 lb bags at the big box stores for an outrageous price. When you get home with the bags of manure and open them, you find out the "manure" is 80% sand and 20% manure. Do you have any suggestions on how the average gardener can obtain a reliable source of "natures fertilizer"?

Ted

[fortyonenorth]

It might be a good time to get a soil test. While it's hard to have "too much" organic matter, this is only one factor in a healthy soil profile and has to be balanced with appropriate levels of major and trace minerals. If you're interested in learning a bit more, Google "mineral balanced soil" or check our www.soilminerals.com.

In terms of your original question regarding alfalfa pellets and cottonseed meal...they are both good sources of nitrogen, but cottonseed meal has the reputation for being very laden with pesticide residues and is not approved for organic production. Remember too: any addition of nitrogen will leach from the soil relatively quickly. Better to grow a cover crop now (winter rye/hairy vetch is a common choice here in the north), then incorporate in the Spring along with a balanced organic fertilizer.

In answer to your second question regarding a "reliable source" of manure - that's a tough one. Even though manure is considered "organic" - there's no screening for quality of manure - it's only as good as the cow that produced it. If that cow's been plied with crappy food, hormones and antibiotics - your "organic" manure will have the same. I prefer sphagnum peat moss. It's has very little in the way of nutrients, but it's clean, relatively consistent, and a great soil builder. Add your nutrients. separately - this way you'll know exactly what you're getting.

Good luck!

[Tom C zone 4/5]

I've gardened in urban setting and composted inna barrel to living 'out back of beyond' and dodging bear on the way to the compost bin. Never once was there an abscence of "stuff" to compost. the more I looked the bigger were the piles of orphaned poo.

Use other senses than your wallet to lead you to where you want to go.

[franzb69]

Rock dust or azomite, best way to remineralize soils.

[Alberta]

Compost, compost and more compost!! I garden with my veggies in raised beds and have for the last 12 years. I make my own compost with shredded leaves, grass clippings, vegetable waste, and coffee grounds. Make some now and it will be ready by late Spring. Regarding Alfalfa pellets and/or meal...its a good fertilizer by itself. Cottonseed meal...can't help you with that one, I've never used it. This year I've put down some winter rye as a cover crop, hubby said he will turn it over in the early spring so it will be decomposed by the time I plant tomatoes, etc. Good luck!!!

Alberta

Originally Posted by Alberta

Compost, compost and more compost!! I garden with my veggies in raised beds and have for the last 12 years. I make my own compost with shredded leaves, grass clippings, vegetable waste, and coffee grounds. Make some now and it will be ready by late Spring. Regarding Alfalfa pellets and/or meal...its a good fertilizer by itself. Cottonseed meal...can't help you with that one, I've never used it. This year I've put down some winter rye as a cover crop, hubby said he will turn it over in the early spring so it will be decomposed by the time I plant tomatoes, etc. Good luck!!!

Alberta

Sounds like you and I have identical compost piles. Mine may be a little heavier on the coffee grounds since I drink more than most normal humans. I've got the winter rye, turnips, chard and a few other things planted as cover for return to the soil in the spring. Still curious about the alfalfa pellets and cotton seed meal though. Cotton seed meal = 6.5 % nitrogen + trace phosphoric acid, very very slow release which retards leaching. I'm just not sure what the protein content of either or both will do in my garden. Alfalfa pellets and cubes usually contain some molasses as a binder. Molasses will contain lots of sugar plus sulfur. With both, you get a lot of potential for the money, just not sure if all of it is good in the long run.

Thanks

Ted

I visited my favorite Farm & Ranch store this morning to get some high protein, low fat dog food for my gardening buddy. While there, I asked about buying alfalfa pellets and cotton seed meal. I could get 50 lb. bags of each for about $13.00 each. Doing the math in my head, it seems that quantity would be worth about $150.00 at a garden center in smaller quantities. When I told him why I was asking about those products, he said many gardeners also buy dried molasses in granule form in 50 lb. sacks for their gardens. It costs about $15.00 per bag. Any ideas how the dried molasses is used in a garden? He said they also spread the molasses on their lawns along with an organic fertilizer made from some vegetable residue. Fertilizer is $13.00 per 50 lb bag. The fertilizer has a lower nitrogen content than normal commercial fertilizer, but it releases it slower over a longer time. I love it. I learn something new every day.

Ted

[doublehelix]

I've used alfalfa pellets for 15 years or more and I know a bit about what it does. Cotton seed hulls make the best mulch I've ever used but has some drawbacks. Do you have a local Rose Society? If so, get in touch with them. I don't think there is another group that seems to know so much about soil ammendments as a dedicated rose grower. I wrote a blurb about soil ammendments that I can PM to you if you want, but don't want to post it here because people tend to polarize with certain things and I don't really care to argue.

[fortyonenorth]

Originally Posted by tedln

Any ideas how the dried molasses is used in a garden?

Molasses is a good source of magnesium as well as micronutrients. I use it in liquid form diluted 1 TBL to a gallon of water as a soil drench and/or foliar feed. I'm not sure about application rates for the dried stuff, but I think if you broadcast about 8 oz every 25 sq. feet or so, that wouldn't be a bad guess. It's not like chemical ferts so I don't think you can really over do it.

This is a really good article from one of the "alternative crop" forums. Well worth the read:
http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-ma...ur-plants.html

[barkeater]

Composted manure, burned leaves at the end of the season in the garden(kills weeds and seeds the top inch or so), lime, and wood ashes give me the best growing conditions and best crops I've ever had. I learned this year that it needs to be done at least every other year. The last 2 years I skipped the composted cow manure because in 2008 I thought I made things too fertile and this year I paid the price with reduced size later in the season. The couple of droughts this summer also had an unanticipated effect after being used to so much rain every year.

[b54red]

I've been using both for years and they can be purchased fairly cheaply at farm feed stores or mills. I pay about 11 dollars for cottonseed meal and 13 for alfalfa pellets in 50 lb bags. They are both fantastic for the soil and the worms love them. After I started using them my worm population exploded. As to the comment about cottonseed meal being laden with pesticides I think that is an exaggeration. Cottonseed meal will rarely have trace amounts of pesticides whereas the cotton hulls might have some residue depending on the amount of pesticide that was used in growing the cotton.
It is best to work the cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets into the soil a week or two before planting if possible because they need to break down a little first. They can also be used for side dressing without danger of burning your plants but you need to scratch the cottonseed meal into the soil or it will form a hard crust once it gets wet if it is left on top of the soil. I use alfalfa pellets as a mulch on my carrots. I just spread them thinly under the plants and wet them down and they swell up and form a nice mulch which also slowly feeds the carrots as it breaks down.

[Alberta]

Just a side note, I added alfalfa pellets to the beds I was growing my onion plants in this year...wow an explosion of nice sized onions, the best I've ever had. Alfalfa is great for roses, clematis,and day lilies too, and as stated above, won't burn the plants at all.