Will alfalfa meal stunt seedlings?

[merri]

Hello all,

I heard that alfalfa meal was a great soil additive; promoting microbes and adding nitrogen without too much phosphorous...
But then I read that it is also used as a growth regulator~~
Will this stunt my little seedlings, keeping them tiny? Will it keep the veggie plants I bought from growing?
Now I am scared to put it out!
I know this sounds so basic, but I am such a novice...

thanks!!
merri

[CaptainCompostAL]

Absolutely not! Alfalfa is a perfect soil amendment no matter if you are planting seeds or transplants.

Alfalfa is just like any grain protein fertilzer. It will add more proteins to the soil, thus feeding beneficial soil microbes and earthworms, which in turn will digest the stuff and release more available soluble nutrients to growing crops. Grain proteins are rich in nitrogen and phosphorus.

Alfalfa is the highest in nitrogen of the grain protein fertilizers/soil amendments. You can even make soak a tea out of these grains, and use them as a foliar or soil drench on or around crops.

I use alfalfa meal or alfalfa tea on crops where I need extra nitrogen. I use grains like corn meal, in a tea or dry form, if I want to use less nitrogen and more phosphorus for crops. Corn meal is also a generic natural fungicide as well as a protein fertilizer.

I get alfalfa cheaply, by buying 50 lb bags of either rabbit feed or horse feed. It really doesn't matter. The soil microbes and earthworms love it!

I buy 50 lb bags of corn meal products, usually disquised as cattle feeds in farm supply stores.

Happy Gardening!

[merri]

Thank you Captain!
I was nervous about putting it out...our poor soil needs all the help it can get.
You would be proud of me - Eddie and I stopped dead in the middle of the road today and grabbed three huge bags of leaves destined for the landfill. Now they will go in my beds and compost heaps!
thanks again,
merri