Here's a alfalfa recipe...

Manure Tea

Cow tea, Alfalfa Tea and Fish Emulsion solutions still work the best with roses of all types, including Miniatures. The mixtures feed the soil, supporting the organisms that convert nutrients into forms available to plants. A long chain but a simple one. Food value is built in as well, but the primary boost comes from activating the soil organisms. If you don't have access to natural manures to use for a tea you can make an artificial manure. It can't burn and tiny root hairs love it. If you haven't brewed up one of the teas, your roses haven't enjoyed a natural treat.

Equipment Needed:

32 gallon , leakproof , plastic garbage can with a TIGHT lid
Alfalfa mealor pellets [about 12 cups per barrel]
OR a 10 pound onion sack of cow chips or horse apples[sack of manure]

Fermenting Method:

Add the active ingredients to garbage can, fill nearly to the top with water and stir. Cover tightly. Let steep for 2-3 days, stir again. Recover. Stir and steep off-and-on for more than a week. the result will be a green fermentation solution with a foamy consistency. Its ready to apply. It also smells really bad

Application:

Use an old bucket to bail out a gallon or so per bush. Minis can use about half as much. Can safely be used every six weeks during the active growing season. Works great on all sorts of plants in containers. Leaves green up, new growth appears, bloom take on a richer hue. When the garbage can is nearly empty , there will be a rich sediment left. Fill with water, steep a day or two or so and apply again. One loading of organic will make two batches.

What Happens:

Alfalfa contains a growth hormone Tricontanol and organic base on which organisms can feed. Alfalfa meal or pellets broadcast or scratched in the soil do the same thing, but tea works much faster.

Fortified Tea:

This post was edited by jim1961 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 21:15