I used alfalfa pellets for the first time last year and I had the best tomatoes and peppers ever. I also tossed a few handfuls into my compost tumbler a couple of times. I'll be using that compost this year so we'll see.
@@IjeomaThePlantMama time will tell, too early for outside planting where I live. In fact, we had a snow storm today. Probably a few more weeks yet, I can't wait! It looks nice though.
I just want to say that you are an amazing teacher. You are never stingy with information and you give us, your lazy dog fam, so much valuable knowledge. Thank you so much!
I use alfafa as a compost substitute when hilling my tomatoes in raised beds. My primary compost is often very woody and the activity from alfalfa decomposition seems to encourage faster woody decomposition. The worms went crazy for the alfalfa and I saw a noticeable increase in castings.
It will work, but urea has a crude protein equalvalent of 287% alfalfa is maybe as high as 20% There is only one kind of nitrogen that microbes need to breakdown the fibers in your compost and that is the kind that's on the atomic chart, the kind that was around before humans, the only kind of nitrogen there is, it's not humanly possible to make nitrogen, there is no such thing as "synthetic" nitrogen. Since the video talks about the scams that are out there to take Advantage of those who are ignorant! I thought I might have a chance to warn people, my advice is free to one who is willing to read, but won't be heeded by those who are certain they already know everything and by those that have cash burning up while laying in their bank!
First time to your channel. Alfalfa pellets work great around roses, blueberry bushes and I put a thin layer of alfalfa and a thin layer of compost at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, fill with water; let sit for a day or two stir it up a couple times and use it on my lawn and house plants. I learned this back in high school taking horticultural classes. It was also a embarrassing time because a couple students played a prank on me saying the teacher was in the back smoking pot, and they had burned some alfalfa (me not knowing) said can’t you smell it and I said yes… and I’d never smelled either at that time and believed it. seriously freaked me out thinking I was getting high from the smell. That was back in the early 80’s I think they had a lot of fun pulling pranks on me as I was pretty naive as my parents would be considered overly protective and I was very sheltered. I wasn’t aloud to go to concerts or parties. Still thankful for my up bringing because most kids I grew up with are into drugs or alcoholics and it is really sad to see that depression and suicide seems to follow. I’ve lost 9 friends to suicide..all had problems with both and dysfunctional families. I still have 2 friends since 1976. 1 has been sober for 6 years, she quit her bartending job and the other just does a lot of pot and mushrooms and says it helps her…I had to follow her one day to drop her car off and she was all over the road… I don’t think it helps, I think she gonna get in a accident. She smoke pot like she chain smoking. But I still love my friend, I just worry about her safety because she is like family to me.
I enjoy your presentations! I accidentally propagated many fig trees! I pruned a neighbor’s fig tree and used limbs as a filling for some raised beds. This last spring and summer my beds were full of figs trees! My friends gladly came and took to grow at their homes! Keep up the good work!
I used alfalfa pellets in my compost pile this winter to break down all the leaves off the yard. They worked good for that. My dad also used to make alfalfa tea to fertilize roses. He showed roses and was pretty successful at it. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes. I really enjoy the videos, keep up the good work.
I mix alfalfa pellets with hardwood pellets (used for grilling) and soak with water until they swell. Then I mix again and let it sit, mixing every couple of days. It composts great and my plants love it.
I've always used alfalfa meal in my garden as fertilizer, but switched to pure alfalfa pellets commonly found in animal feed stores 3 years ago, because it's cheaper and not as dusty during application. Important is to use pure alfalfa pellets without any other Byproducts....it's also available as organic for anyone interested.
a couple of things to note about using alfalfa pellets. they will attract critters so precautions are necessary. i have only ever used the standlee brand of pellets and they will expand to triple their size initially and by the time they are fully expanded it's probably closer to 4 times their original size so container/bag gardners beware. i have never used it as you did in this video so i can't advise on quantity to use but i do use it in my compost to heat it up with stirring. i trash can compost and check the temps every time i water my garden. when the temps drop to100 i stir & add alfalfa with plenty of water, which really isn't that often, because of the amount the pellets expand. i don't worry about the amount of alfalfa going into my compost because i'm using it for heat and not because it's green. besides, alfalfa isn't going to burn anything. i also use it in my worm bedding mix but i don't add bedding to the bins until it cools down to ambient the alfalfa will definitely heat up. when planting my garden for the year, i'm using grow bags so my plants are well established before they go in the ground, i usually add 1/4 cup to each plant in the bag.
I lived with Arizona "dirt", not soil, yards, not bags of pellet/cubes, now with that addition I can grow cover crops, and thus whatever I plant, the earthworms loving it too. My organics went from .05 % in virgin "dirt" to +7 % now. So anything organic works, my fortune is a local pellet plant where I get spills, chaff, but down side is grass seeds from the blends, but I'll live with it, the spills come cheap.
I love your channel i watch it all the time, old and new shows. I just started gardening last year. My parents has always had backyard garden and i haven't done it in year's, but looking at you and your family have brought back many many memories of what its like growing your on vegetable and enjoying them.
This is a great idea with the Alfalfa during a fertilizer shortage. For rooting cuttings this year… I have cut way back this time. Only doing 4 Parfianka Pomegranates, 3 Azores Dark figs, and 4 Shangri La mulberries. The extras will be used for trade and gifts. For tomatoes I am trying Red Snapper and Bella Rosa thanks to you. Also doing Celebrity, Chefs Choice Pink, and Black Krim. For cherries going for the two HD reliables… Sungold and Supersweet 100.
@@LazyDogFarm I just took a look at both of my high-end organic fertilizer bags. BOTH of them use Alfalfa pellets as one of their main ingredients. Pretty cool. Saw other things like green sand, bone/blood meals, kelp meal, etc. as well.
Great video Travis. At the start when you said you had something that reminded you to prepare the plot for potatoes, I would have bet my life savings you were going to say “Tater Time Titus”!! I pictured him running up to you to declare “It’s tater time!!” Much better than a bunch of thieving hucksters. I think you are going to like the results from the alfalfa pellets, and I think 80 pounds for 1,000 SF sounds about right. The fig cuttings are looking fantastic as well!! Enjoy the rain, and I’m looking forward to seeing Monday’s video.
I use sand in a similar fashion that you use perlite….the sand keeps the fungus gnats away from my seedlings and it helps control the moisture so I don’t have to water my trays as often….there’s many other benefits to use sand…. I made a video on my channel sharing the details and results….I get a 50 pound bag of sand for $6….I also use alfalfa pellets in my garden which is a great source of nitrogen….happy gardening 🥰
We use alfalfa pellets and they work well as a slow release nitrogen, however I've been thinking it is an easy to use, but expensive version of alfalfa hay, I just wish I could incorporate hay easily. Also the decomposition process will temporarily reduce N availability, so applying early is key and overapplication is hard to do. If you can find the book Malabar Farm by Louis Bromfield which is out of print, is a good read. He bought a farm that was known as a place everyone went broke on, planted alfalfa gradually building the place into an amazingly productive farm. Alfalfa roots go as deep as 20ft bringing up trace minerals etc. Too bad here in north Florida the water table is so high alfalfa would drown. We are using Live Oak leaves and pine straw to mulch since we seem to have an overabundance of them for free.
I use alfalfa pellets in Michigan sandy soil for adding organic. I also till in hardwood leaves to bring up the organic level. I haven’t relied on pellets for nutrient value alone - too weak for that. I use a few handfuls of organic granular fertilizer for the nutrient value. Great yields and never worry about ground staying wet in summer even with copious rains.
I used alfalfa pellets for my leaf compost pile because I didn't have enough green material. Started it 2 weeks ago and it is pushing 150 degrees. Haven't even turned it yet.
Well I’m trying the alfalfa pellets as well, only in a raised bed though very small scale lol. 4 x 8 raised bed for onions. I Added them pre-planting and once since then, The onions look good to me although it is my first time doing a bed of onions. Have had to spray some copper for fungus. But the onions look big and very chaotic lol they are all kind of laying on their sides and intertwined. But I don’t think the alfalfa Pellets by any means have hurt it.I’ll definitely be interesting to see the results of your experiment. I was actually going to go add some more alfalfa pellets to one of my other beds that I am trying to grow potatoes and since I have a big bag and only raised beds lol
So we just went visit my wife’s family for thanksgiving, and they live out in the country on a nice piece of land. We were walking around checking it out and just stumbled on a turned over box full of seed potatoes. Her grandpa is getting up in age and I guess he was getting rid of them. Idk what kind they are but I have a bunch of seed potatoes now. I’m going to plant them for the heck of it, but I wish I knew what to do with all these taters that are ready to plant lol
I use hay discard (what my ridiculously picky goats drop, and won't eat), plus barn and chicken bedding between my toes in the summer. Then till it in in the spring with other compost. I have a full bag of beet pulp cubes the goats wouldn't eat. Thinking about spreading that around as soon as the snow clears to let it break down before tilling
I am one of the Alfalfa skeptics. It being pelletized grass leads me to believe it'd need to be pretty thick (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch) before tilling and then allowed to break down. At that point, I'm feeling very minimal effect, and that I should have went to my buddy's and just got a load of chicken manure compost ... But, to each there own and live and learn. 😁😁😁
Hard to beat chicken manure compost. No doubt about that. We're just using it for comparison sake. We have the chicken tractor, we have the composted no-till plots, composted tilled plots, and now the alfalfa pellet plot. Should be a fun comparison.
@@LazyDogFarm I really want to see those results. Do we really gotta wait 3 to 6 months. Can't you do some of that UA-cam snap your fingers and it is here magic??😁
@Jeffery Barron, FYI alfalfa is not a grass. It's a perennial in the legume family. A nitrogen fixer among other things. It's inexpensive if you buy it from a feed store. I use chicken manure as well but alfalfa can be used any time of the year. Cheers.
No not at all. I use it with everything I grow. You do not have to put that much down. It is dry and compressed, when you add water it doubles in size. 3 big coffee cans full are what I turn into the soil with beans. I also add a can of hardwood sawdust pellets for grilling. I nearly tripled my green bean production by doing that plus testing soil Ph, and 2 Dixie cups full of bone meal for the 30 foot row. I will never grow green beans any other way now.
@@joeyl.rowland4153 Thanks for your advice. I will check my soil pH and add some bone meal. I used a lot of leaves for carbon with the alfalfa. Cheers.
30 pounds is plenty for a 35' x 30' plot providing the soil is already in good shape. 80 pounds won't do any harm. Consider it a 50 pound bonus for the soil biology.
Watching your videos has been great. I appreciate the information. I’m further South and always behind y’all 🤣 but my wife and are are only a couple years into this. We started our tomato’s and peppers a week ago and I had every intention on having them in the sun during the day and inside at night. But the weather had other plans. So I purchased a 5 shelf wire unit and grow lights so they can stay inside until our temps increase a bit more. We have a 30x30 plot of onions doing well and 30x30 of lettuce and kale that has struggled from the beginning. Well the direct plant onions didn’t do well. I planted everything a day before we got a couple big rains and that heavy clay soil makes a hostile environment for seeds. When we left Iowa for Texas, we should’ve brought a train cart full of dirt 🤣
@@LazyDogFarm that’s the truth. We have been working on our compost for a couple years now. Our biggest hurdle is water. We get enough to grow a crop generally but not enough to support good microbe activity to break organic matter down.
I used alpha pellets last year. My garden is pretty sany, so I used it to add organic matter. I think it worked ok. I am going to use more this year as well. I also have chicken manure compost I plan to add to my corn plot. I have to pull my winter crops and get the plots covered for spring.
One of the brands that is common at Tractor supply does use herbicides and pesticides in their alfalfa pellets.herbicides Sencor (metribuzin), Select (Clethodim) or Raptor (ammonium salt)
@@LazyDogFarmI used Standlee pellets from TS two weeks ago (organic wasn’t available)and I’m sick to my stomach about what I did to my vegetable garden.
Hello from Chesapeake VA. I'm so happy i found you and your Daddy Hoss. I've actually learned real techniques. FYI: until y'all i didn't know Onions were so sensitive to amount of Sunlight. I've told my Daddy about you Fellas. He's in Sauicer MS. I have to buy my whole family the "Oh-Kree" shrits. Awesome stuff! 👌
Really like the way you try so many different things for comparison. Most products are advertised as "the best", "amazing results", etc. Seeing how they actually turn out for you, without the sales hype, is a great help! Your "pavers" must be related to the frozen meat sales guy with the deep freeze in the back of the pickup that's always "going out", and he needs to sell the last of it "before it thaws".
I was rewatching one of the Rusted Gardener's videos on this subject just the other day. He recommends 2-3lbs per 100sq ft. He's got a couple different videos on using the alfalfa pellets. I'm going to give it a go myself. Happy gardening and keep those conmen down in South Ga, we don't want nor need them up here in NW Ga. Hahaha!
That was really interesting! I have been humming and harring about alfalfa pellets ( I worry about rodents) but now that I see they dissolve with water I’m thinking I will incorporate some into my beds before planting this spring. I like to sow seeds in the same cell that will hold them until planting out. I follow the same thinning as you, I feel this step can help you get the strongest seedlings in your garden as you thin any week specimens in the cell! Klaus
plant on valentines day harvest on mothers day.. also i got a question my seed potatoes came in today and it looks like they have pest damage on the potatoes do i need to be concerned about eggs inside the potatoes?
Someone gave us a 40lb bag of old rabbit feed pellets. Would it be a good idea to use them in a new raised bed? I’m going to fill the 4x8 bed with raised bed/potting soil and will be planting hot pepper seedlings in this bed. By the way, I bought a 30” Dramm watering wand at Ace but with the plastic nozzle, and it saves your back. I’m going to look for the metal nozzles. Thanks for another great video!
The pellets will provide some long-term nutrients for the soil. They might not break down fast enough to feed the peppers immediately though. So just keep that in mind.
Hey Travis I have a thought for you. My thinking is the alfalfa pellets are going to raise you nitrogen levels. Wouldn't it be wise to add some hardwood sawdust pellets for grilling the pellets of course contain carbon? Not only would it give you a carbon nitrogen balance the pelleted sawdust will slow release a vast array of minerals to your garden. As far as how much I have always worked by the rule of thumb of more is better but you need to wait before introducing plants. I wait about a week.
80 lbs of pellets that are 2% nitrogen means that we're only putting a few pounds of actual nitrogen on the entire plot -- about the same as compost. So I don't think it's going to be too much.
There you go again besmirching those upstanding transitory visitors to the area! :) Sure you don't need some asphalt work done, I've got a piece of a load left over.....??! Lots of good stuff on this episode! I was really counting on a bit better show with the windy tarp deal!! I just about got airborne last weekend myself with that 26x40 tarp. That dude is a handful!!
Lots of folks use vermiculite instead of perlite. I've never tried the vermiculite, so can't speak to the differences. But let us know if you test them against each other.
You can make alfalfa pellets into a tea along with seaweed if you have it. Leave it soaking in 5 gallon buckets (or whatever you have) for a few days then use as a drench around your plants. Do not cover any alfalfa concoctions because they can ferment and go ka-boom.
Yes. I have also had those thieving groups stop by our place and had to run them off. A few neighbours have had dealings (mostly new people to the area) with these people with very bad results....
Do you have a video on the alfalfa results? I used alfalfa on my lawn and it greened up but not so much. I was told with organics you don't need to apply a lot to get results idk.
I know we covered it, but not sure what video it was. It works as a soil conditioner and will provide some pre-plant nutrients. It's slow though, and it's not going to provide all the nutrients most plants need. Think of it as a pre-plant booster, not as a complete solution.
We get the fly-by-night contractors in hail season during August for re-roof project scams. Calling them Irish Travelers is just old school racism. I'll be picking up one of those spray wands. My plan is to lay down alfalfa pellets with an even heavier hand, so we'll compare results. Soil microbes are said to love the stuff plus it contains triacontanol, a plant growth hormone. I hope that Pueblo Chile scores well in your trials. It's the Mosca cultivar that Colorado uses to compete with the popularity of New Mexico Hatch Valley Anaheim types. Muy Sabrosa.
Glad that tarp didn't whip you in all that wind, ask me how I know 😬. Going pick up some seed potatoes at the local nursey tomorrow, they just got in Yukon Gold, Kennebec White and forgot the red ones name. 5lb minimum $0.95 a lb. Love my local nursey!!! ✌
Yup, it's tater time here, too. I've never tried alfalfa pellets, except the recycled ones. We had a 20 acre alfalfa hay field we baled for horse hay every summer. Then we used horse poop in the vegetable garden. Ah, the circle of sustainability :^)
I use the alfalfa pellets in 5 gallon buckets and raised beds this past spring and I can say idid see a lil difference in the forage. I was surprised so this year going to add to a small plot that I will be growing watermelons in. The price did go up this year, I bought the bag from tractor Supply.
My best raised garden bed was composted horse manure and alfalfa hay in layers, nothing else. I think the tomato growth was so fast because it was manure from race horses 👍🤣🇦🇺🇺🇲
I saw this video but can’t find where or if you told how the alfalfa worked. Did you like the alfalfa pellets and do you think it was beneficial and worth the time and money?
If you used both bags of alfalfa pellets on your 30 x 35 sq ft plot, my math tells me it cost you about 4 cents per square foot in material. That's quite inexpensive, and I hope it gave you some good results.
You mentioned not keeping up with a seed pack with some seeds left in it. So, do you buy all new seeds for the growing season every year then? Just curious how other growers do. I have seeds for several seasons. Hmmmm, interesting.
It just depends. If it's a pricier seed variety and there's enough left in the seed packet for another planting, I'll save them in the fridge. I did this for instance with the Supremo cucumbers that I purchased last year and will plant again this year from the same packet. But if it's a cheaper seed packet, like some of the heirloom tomatoes we're growing, and there's only a few seeds left, I'll just double plant the seed tray cells because a few seeds isn't going to do me much good next year anyways.
"Travellers" is the current name for the group you're talking about. They live in Murphy Village, South Carolina. Well known for doing roofing, asphalt scams, etc.
I pull my extra tomato seedlings early like you , I replant them and the ones that make it I give to my neighbors and they love my OCD plant growing technique lol
I couldn't help noticing how easily you tilled your soil. One handed. Were you tilling lightly? I wish I had a tiller like yours. I too purchased alfalfa but not the pellets but the fine stuff. I wasn't sure how much to use either so I just spread it lightly. I probably will have to go back and add more. I like your videos. Keep it up.
That Grillo tiller is nice because it drives really straight once you get it pointed in the right direction. So I can basically steer it with one hand. I do till lightly though, on the most shallow setting it has.
Is that Grillo a G85 or G85D? I see you have the Yamaha engine. I have a G85, but with the Honda engine. Turning is tough on a non-D model, but going straight is easy.
Have you ever opened a bag of alfalfa to find that it is moldy? I have. The bag was exposed to moisture outside and some larvae are inside aswell. What would you recommend? Throw the whole bag out? or salvage what I can?
That’s the nature taking over. Mold is part of the decomposing process. I wouldn’t feed moldy pallets to the animals, but you could definitely mix it with your compost or a garden soil, and let the nature finish the rest. Good luck with your projects !
Oh, my, yes about the "g"s!!!! Several years ago they rolled through our neck of the woods (20 miles from y'all) and were painting old metal barn roofs with aluminum paint. Today, you can tell who they "got" because the runny aluminum paint jobs all look the same!
Any findings or conclusions on using alfalfa pellets? I'm thinking about using them. Cheap. Organic. A little on the fertilizer. Super easy to apply. Any noticeable bang for the buck using them in the garden Lazy Dog Farm, Inc? I can't help thinking how is it any better than just applying some fresh grass clippings? Maybe the pellet form makes it ideal to mix and distribute in the garden.
@@LazyDogFarm Thanks Chief. I might use the OMRI certified ones. Scared that they may use that animal safe(?) herbicide on that. I'm scared of straw now too.
By the way, I commented about you growing garlic on a recent video by Hollis & Nancy. Hollis says you’re a good ole boy! Lol! I agree! I’ve watched Hollis & Nancy off & on for about 5-6 years….
We enjoy gardening and there are many more expensive hobbies than gardening. But we do enjoy helping Abram sell the veggies when he wants to do the veggie stand.
I don’t get it. You can grow outside when it gets cold at night. Is the greenhouse heated? Will they handle a 24 degree night? I know it’s on a heat mat but I’m trying to figure this out. Thanks
We use an electric heater in the greenhouse on the cool nights. We turn on the heater in the afternoon so it can get toasty in there and some of that warmth will be preserved throughout the night. We got down to 24 one night, but had two electric heaters running in there which kept the temps in the greenhouse closer to 50.
Just got the same pellets today then stumbled on this video. Gonna be using them for a 15 bale straw bale garden. Looking forward to seeing your results. I think we're both gonna be suprised! Do they see to have broken down or decomposed yet?
Alfalfa is the main ingredient in rabbit pellets. I wondered if rabbit poop was safe for my plants. It seems to be. I had to change my chicken feed because the plants that I planted on the chicken coop space did poorly a few years ago. So I switched to Organic Chicken feed. It is twice the price for a smaller bag. But at least my plants are growing..
Hey bud watch what you are saying about the asphalt pavers I was in the asphalt business for 25 years!!! LOLOL!!! But we were not those gypsies!!! and yeah you hit those con men comment right on the head!! You are exactly right on how they do their con!!! We did lots of roads,parking lots,Walmarts and airport runways!!!
Haha! We have a reputable asphalt company down the road from us and they do a great job. Hate to see the local businesses losing customers to these con men.
@@LazyDogFarm The local law enforcement will have a warning in the newspaper every so often.You can always recognize them by the one small dump truck,a small paver and a small roller.
Hey Travis do have any links for your mister nozzle, watering wand & your pellets, didn’t see them in you description box, unless I’m blind . Thanknyou
Hey Trav I wanted to mention you have some dirt or something on your lip 😂 So y'all got those people to! One came by my brothers house and told him the government was paying for him to get 200+ channels on his TV.. He didn't open the door but talked to them through the screen, but told him that he wasn't interested. That guy wanted to get in the door and Lord knows what he was planning to do. Little did the guy know there was a gun aimed somewhat in his direction. Thankfully the man left peacefully. My brother is going through chemo and his yard isn't being kept up, so that guy thought he had an easy target. I've already put a few potatoes in the soil for a experiment. I'll let you know how it turns out.
For my pricey pepper and tomato seeds, I start them sprouting in a paper towel in a large plate on the top of a Hot water tank, covered with several towels,bottom heat, monitor closely when tails show I pop them in the starter mix. Be alert, 3-5 days and into starter pots, I put them in Solo cups right from the getgo.
It’s a great method if you have 5, or 10 plants. I normally start about 200-300 plants from seed. 10 20 trays are much better choice for starting seeds than Solo cups Good luck with your projects !
@@mar1video this spring I started over 300 tomatoes, 100 pepper plant this way, it is like starting in a plug tray, but doesn't take the massive amount of room. But the solo cups sure need lots of space.
Hi. I'd really like for you to do a test one of these times about hilling versus just planting your potatoes deep in the soil and no hilling and then comparing yields. That would be interesting. Thanks for your videos. I learn a lot from you.
I'm planning on doing something like that this year. Someone mentioned that they just put their potatoes on top of the soil then cover with straw. Was thinking of trying that vs. hilling with soil to see what the differences were.
@@LazyDogFarm I live in a super small town 100 miles from KC and for the life of me I couldn't find any last yr I wanted to try and to add to my compost. Don't have much need to get out of town much and should have ordered online. I've seen you can get a huge bag for cheap ill give this a try this yr. I sometimes have that top crusting thing happen
It's not a farm stand in the traditional sense. It's just a couple tables that we put in our second driveway. It's not a permanent setup, but we'll try to film it next time we do it.
My sister in Calif. turned me on to them. They are SO GOOD just sauteed in a pan with some olive oil and salt. OMGosh! I grew my own last year and they were perfect--very prolific. Toward the end of the season, though, I was finding some pest pressure. When I had some over-ripe ones that I cut into to take the seeds out I found bugs in them. I didn't eat any late in the season because it is gross to eat a whole pepper (which is how you cook them) if you are thinking that some of them might have bugs inside. (At least it is a total turn off for me.) But the early peppers looked undamaged and they were wonderful.
Yep, we know about the ones from Memphis. They would come in to the Piggly Wiggly on Winchester and cause a ruckus on one side of the store while another group would steal them blind. We saw this in the 80's. A friend lived in Hornlake at a trailer park with a group of them. He told us some stories.
Oh, you are going to LOVE Sun Sugar! It doesn't split, holds on the vine, tastes fabulously, looks beautiful, and will probably be the longest producer you have. I first learned about them compared to Sun Gold from a video Curtis Stone did. He said he chooses Sun Sugar over the other because it never kinds of runs out of the great taste as the season wears on. That is so true. No splitting, big producer, beauty, and consistently excellent taste is exactly what I was looking for. Congratulations on a great pick and I hope you like them!
I used alfalfa pellets for the first time last year and I had the best tomatoes and peppers ever. I also tossed a few handfuls into my compost tumbler a couple of times. I'll be using that compost this year so we'll see.
Nice!
How'd the compost turn out??
@@IjeomaThePlantMama time will tell, too early for outside planting where I live. In fact, we had a snow storm today. Probably a few more weeks yet, I can't wait! It looks nice though.
I just want to say that you are an amazing teacher. You are never stingy with information and you give us, your lazy dog fam, so much valuable knowledge. Thank you so much!
Thanks Dianne!
Thank you, I love taters.
Good job reminding us to be aware of sorry people "scammers"
I use alfafa as a compost substitute when hilling my tomatoes in raised beds. My primary compost is often very woody and the activity from alfalfa decomposition seems to encourage faster woody decomposition. The worms went crazy for the alfalfa and I saw a noticeable increase in castings.
Neat! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Did you use the pellets or hay ?
It will work, but urea has a crude protein equalvalent of 287% alfalfa is maybe as high as 20%
There is only one kind of nitrogen that microbes need to breakdown the fibers in your compost and that is the kind that's on the atomic chart, the kind that was around before humans, the only kind of nitrogen there is, it's not humanly possible to make nitrogen, there is no such thing as "synthetic" nitrogen. Since the video talks about the scams that are out there to take Advantage of those who are ignorant! I thought I might have a chance to warn people, my advice is free to one who is willing to read, but won't be heeded by those who are certain they already know everything and by those that have cash burning up while laying in their bank!
First time to your channel. Alfalfa pellets work great around roses, blueberry bushes and I put a thin layer of alfalfa and a thin layer of compost at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, fill with water; let sit for a day or two stir it up a couple times and use it on my lawn and house plants. I learned this back in high school taking horticultural classes. It was also a embarrassing time because a couple students played a prank on me saying the teacher was in the back smoking pot, and they had burned some alfalfa (me not knowing) said can’t you smell it and I said yes… and I’d never smelled either at that time and believed it. seriously freaked me out thinking I was getting high from the smell. That was back in the early 80’s
I think they had a lot of fun pulling pranks on me as I was pretty naive as my parents would be considered overly protective and I was very sheltered. I wasn’t aloud to go to concerts or parties.
Still thankful for my up bringing because most kids I grew up with are into drugs or alcoholics and it is really sad to see that depression and suicide seems to follow. I’ve lost 9 friends to suicide..all had problems with both and dysfunctional families. I still have 2 friends since 1976. 1 has been sober for 6 years, she quit her bartending job and the other just does a lot of pot and mushrooms and says it helps her…I had to follow her one day to drop her car off and she was all over the road… I don’t think it helps, I think she gonna get in a accident. She smoke pot like she chain smoking. But I still love my friend, I just worry about her safety because she is like family to me.
I enjoy your presentations! I accidentally propagated many fig trees! I pruned a neighbor’s fig tree and used limbs as a filling for some raised beds. This last spring and summer my beds were full of figs trees! My friends gladly came and took to grow at their homes! Keep up the good work!
Hah! That's great that you all got a bunch of free fig trees!
I used alfalfa pellets in my compost pile this winter to break down all the leaves off the yard. They worked good for that. My dad also used to make alfalfa tea to fertilize roses. He showed roses and was pretty successful at it. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes. I really enjoy the videos, keep up the good work.
I've heard of other folks using them in their compost to get it started. Sounds like it works pretty well for that.
I mix alfalfa pellets with hardwood pellets (used for grilling) and soak with water until they swell. Then I mix again and let it sit, mixing every couple of days. It composts great and my plants love it.
Nice!
give charcoal pellets a try sometime in stead of hardwood pellets sometime and see what almost getting biochar does for your plants.
I've always used alfalfa meal in my garden as fertilizer, but switched to pure alfalfa pellets commonly found in animal feed stores 3 years ago, because it's cheaper and not as dusty during application. Important is to use pure alfalfa pellets without any other Byproducts....it's also available as organic for anyone interested.
I saw several things about the meal online, but it looked like the pellets were much easier to apply as you suggested.
a couple of things to note about using alfalfa pellets. they will attract critters so precautions are necessary. i have only ever used the standlee brand of pellets and they will expand to triple their size initially and by the time they are fully expanded it's probably closer to 4 times their original size so container/bag gardners beware. i have never used it as you did in this video so i can't advise on quantity to use but i do use it in my compost to heat it up with stirring. i trash can compost and check the temps every time i water my garden. when the temps drop to100 i stir & add alfalfa with plenty of water, which really isn't that often, because of the amount the pellets expand. i don't worry about the amount of alfalfa going into my compost because i'm using it for heat and not because it's green. besides, alfalfa isn't going to burn anything. i also use it in my worm bedding mix but i don't add bedding to the bins until it cools down to ambient the alfalfa will definitely heat up. when planting my garden for the year, i'm using grow bags so my plants are well established before they go in the ground, i usually add 1/4 cup to each plant in the bag.
I lived with Arizona "dirt", not soil, yards, not bags of pellet/cubes, now with that addition I can grow cover crops, and thus whatever I plant, the earthworms loving it too.
My organics went from .05 % in virgin "dirt" to +7 % now.
So anything organic works, my fortune is a local pellet plant where I get spills, chaff, but down side is grass seeds from the blends, but I'll live with it, the spills come cheap.
I love your channel i watch it all the time, old and new shows. I just started gardening last year. My parents has always had backyard garden and i haven't done it in year's, but looking at you and your family have brought back many many memories of what its like growing your on vegetable and enjoying them.
Glad you're back in the gardening groove!
I used alfalfa pellets last year and had the best crop of cabbage that I ever had, not sure why but I’m using it again.
Awesome! Congrats on your best cabbage crop ever!
This is a great idea with the Alfalfa during a fertilizer shortage.
For rooting cuttings this year… I have cut way back this time. Only doing 4 Parfianka Pomegranates, 3 Azores Dark figs, and 4 Shangri La mulberries.
The extras will be used for trade and gifts.
For tomatoes I am trying Red Snapper and Bella Rosa thanks to you. Also doing Celebrity, Chefs Choice Pink, and Black Krim.
For cherries going for the two HD reliables… Sungold and Supersweet 100.
Thanks for sharing. You'll love Red Snapper and Bella Rosa -- both excellent varieties.
@@LazyDogFarm
I just took a look at both of my high-end organic fertilizer bags. BOTH of them use Alfalfa pellets as one of their main ingredients. Pretty cool. Saw other things like green sand, bone/blood meals, kelp meal, etc. as well.
Great video Travis. At the start when you said you had something that reminded you to prepare the plot for potatoes, I would have bet my life savings you were going to say “Tater Time Titus”!! I pictured him running up to you to declare “It’s tater time!!” Much better than a bunch of thieving hucksters. I think you are going to like the results from the alfalfa pellets, and I think 80 pounds for 1,000 SF sounds about right. The fig cuttings are looking fantastic as well!! Enjoy the rain, and I’m looking forward to seeing Monday’s video.
Thanks Tim!
I use sand in a similar fashion that you use perlite….the sand keeps the fungus gnats away from my seedlings and it helps control the moisture so I don’t have to water my trays as often….there’s many other benefits to use sand…. I made a video on my channel sharing the details and results….I get a 50 pound bag of sand for $6….I also use alfalfa pellets in my garden which is a great source of nitrogen….happy gardening 🥰
Thanks for sharing! Haven't heard of using sand to top seeds, but it makes sense that it would work similar to the perlite.
I that that is about the best reminder of when to plant something that I have ever heard. LOL
Not the most conventional type of reminder, but it works! lol
We have used alfalfa pellets with success, in our garden and compost pile. Really like what it does to beef up the soil.
Thanks for sharing Susan!
We use alfalfa pellets and they work well as a slow release nitrogen, however I've been thinking it is an easy to use, but expensive version of alfalfa hay, I just wish I could incorporate hay easily. Also the decomposition process will temporarily reduce N availability, so applying early is key and overapplication is hard to do. If you can find the book Malabar Farm by Louis Bromfield which is out of print, is a good read. He bought a farm that was known as a place everyone went broke on, planted alfalfa gradually building the place into an amazingly productive farm. Alfalfa roots go as deep as 20ft bringing up trace minerals etc. Too bad here in north Florida the water table is so high alfalfa would drown. We are using Live Oak leaves and pine straw to mulch since we seem to have an overabundance of them for free.
Thanks for the tip on the book. I'll try and find it.
I use alfalfa pellets in Michigan sandy soil for adding organic. I also till in hardwood leaves to bring up the organic level. I haven’t relied on pellets for nutrient value alone - too weak for that. I use a few handfuls of organic granular fertilizer for the nutrient value. Great yields and never worry about ground staying wet in summer even with copious rains.
That organic matter has many benefits -- drainage being one of the big ones.
Alfalfa is a great supplement for Roses too! I learned that about 20 years ago.
Thanks for the tip! We do have a few rose bushes in the front yard.
I used alfalfa pellets for my leaf compost pile because I didn't have enough green material. Started it 2 weeks ago and it is pushing 150 degrees. Haven't even turned it yet.
That's great Don. My compost hasn't gotten close to that hot yet.
Well I’m trying the alfalfa pellets as well, only in a raised bed though very small scale lol. 4 x 8 raised bed for onions. I Added them pre-planting and once since then, The onions look good to me although it is my first time doing a bed of onions. Have had to spray some copper for fungus. But the onions look big and very chaotic lol they are all kind of laying on their sides and intertwined. But I don’t think the alfalfa Pellets by any means have hurt it.I’ll definitely be interesting to see the results of your experiment. I was actually going to go add some more alfalfa pellets to one of my other beds that I am trying to grow potatoes and since I have a big bag and only raised beds lol
Probably wouldn't hurt to add some to the future potato bed. They take a while to break down, so early is better.
I've always used 3LB in a 100 SQ. foot garden it's always worked good for me
Thanks for sharing Pamela. We went a little heavier than that, but I think we might be okay.
I used alfalfa pellets last year and it seemed to work well on the corn.
Thanks for sharing Steve.
So we just went visit my wife’s family for thanksgiving, and they live out in the country on a nice piece of land. We were walking around checking it out and just stumbled on a turned over box full of seed potatoes. Her grandpa is getting up in age and I guess he was getting rid of them. Idk what kind they are but I have a bunch of seed potatoes now. I’m going to plant them for the heck of it, but I wish I knew what to do with all these taters that are ready to plant lol
I use hay discard (what my ridiculously picky goats drop, and won't eat), plus barn and chicken bedding between my toes in the summer. Then till it in in the spring with other compost. I have a full bag of beet pulp cubes the goats wouldn't eat. Thinking about spreading that around as soon as the snow clears to let it break down before tilling
Sounds like you have a nice diversity of nutrient sources! Your soil is surely appreciative!
Buena Mulata is one of the prettiest and most prolific hot peppers ever!
It's looking great for us so far!
I am one of the Alfalfa skeptics. It being pelletized grass leads me to believe it'd need to be pretty thick (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch) before tilling and then allowed to break down. At that point, I'm feeling very minimal effect, and that I should have went to my buddy's and just got a load of chicken manure compost ... But, to each there own and live and learn. 😁😁😁
Hard to beat chicken manure compost. No doubt about that. We're just using it for comparison sake. We have the chicken tractor, we have the composted no-till plots, composted tilled plots, and now the alfalfa pellet plot. Should be a fun comparison.
@@LazyDogFarm I really want to see those results. Do we really gotta wait 3 to 6 months. Can't you do some of that UA-cam snap your fingers and it is here magic??😁
@Jeffery Barron, FYI alfalfa is not a grass. It's a perennial in the legume family. A nitrogen fixer among other things. It's inexpensive if you buy it from a feed store. I use chicken manure as well but alfalfa can be used any time of the year. Cheers.
No not at all. I use it with everything I grow. You do not have to put that much down. It is dry and compressed, when you add water it doubles in size. 3 big coffee cans full are what I turn into the soil with beans. I also add a can of hardwood sawdust pellets for grilling. I nearly tripled my green bean production by doing that plus testing soil Ph, and 2 Dixie cups full of bone meal for the 30 foot row. I will never grow green beans any other way now.
@@joeyl.rowland4153 Thanks for your advice. I will check my soil pH and add some bone meal. I used a lot of leaves for carbon with the alfalfa. Cheers.
30 pounds is plenty for a 35' x 30' plot providing the soil is already in good shape. 80 pounds won't do any harm. Consider it a 50 pound bonus for the soil biology.
Watching your videos has been great. I appreciate the information. I’m further South and always behind y’all 🤣 but my wife and are are only a couple years into this. We started our tomato’s and peppers a week ago and I had every intention on having them in the sun during the day and inside at night. But the weather had other plans. So I purchased a 5 shelf wire unit and grow lights so they can stay inside until our temps increase a bit more. We have a 30x30 plot of onions doing well and 30x30 of lettuce and kale that has struggled from the beginning. Well the direct plant onions didn’t do well. I planted everything a day before we got a couple big rains and that heavy clay soil makes a hostile environment for seeds. When we left Iowa for Texas, we should’ve brought a train cart full of dirt 🤣
Sounds like you could benefit from a heavy application of compost in that clay soil.
@@LazyDogFarm that’s the truth. We have been working on our compost for a couple years now. Our biggest hurdle is water. We get enough to grow a crop generally but not enough to support good microbe activity to break organic matter down.
I used alpha pellets last year. My garden is pretty sany, so I used it to add organic matter. I think it worked ok. I am going to use more this year as well. I also have chicken manure compost I plan to add to my corn plot. I have to pull my winter crops and get the plots covered for spring.
Getting close to that time! We're busy harvesting and getting plots ready for the next month or so.
One of the brands that is common at Tractor supply does use herbicides and pesticides in their alfalfa pellets.herbicides Sencor (metribuzin), Select (Clethodim) or Raptor (ammonium salt)
What's the name of the brand?
@@LazyDogFarmI used Standlee pellets from TS two weeks ago (organic wasn’t available)and I’m sick to my stomach about what I did to my vegetable garden.
Hello from Chesapeake VA. I'm so happy i found you and your Daddy Hoss. I've actually learned real techniques. FYI: until y'all i didn't know Onions were so sensitive to amount of Sunlight.
I've told my Daddy about you Fellas. He's in Sauicer MS. I have to buy my whole family the "Oh-Kree" shrits. Awesome stuff! 👌
Cool, thanks!
Really like the way you try so many different things for comparison. Most products are advertised as "the best", "amazing results", etc. Seeing how they actually turn out for you, without the sales hype, is a great help! Your "pavers" must be related to the frozen meat sales guy with the deep freeze in the back of the pickup that's always "going out", and he needs to sell the last of it "before it thaws".
Haven't ever seen the frozen meat guy around here, but have heard of him.
I was rewatching one of the Rusted Gardener's videos on this subject just the other day. He recommends 2-3lbs per 100sq ft. He's got a couple different videos on using the alfalfa pellets. I'm going to give it a go myself. Happy gardening and keep those conmen down in South Ga, we don't want nor need them up here in NW Ga. Hahaha!
Haha! I saw that same video after I filmed this one. Gary has some good info on his channel!
That was really interesting! I have been humming and harring about alfalfa pellets ( I worry about rodents) but now that I see they dissolve with water I’m thinking I will incorporate some into my beds before planting this spring. I like to sow seeds in the same cell that will hold them until planting out. I follow the same thinning as you, I feel this step can help you get the strongest seedlings in your garden as you thin any week specimens in the cell!
Klaus
I think the key for you would be to wet them well right after applying so they dissolve and the rodents don't get to them.
Great video travis. I always enjoy learning from you.
Awesome! Thank you Casey!
plant on valentines day harvest on mothers day.. also i got a question my seed potatoes came in today and it looks like they have pest damage on the potatoes do i need to be concerned about eggs inside the potatoes?
I'd have to see a picture of them to tell. But assuming your'e going to cut them anyways, you should be fine.
Someone gave us a 40lb bag of old rabbit feed pellets. Would it be a good idea to use them in a new raised bed? I’m going to fill the 4x8 bed with raised bed/potting soil and will be planting hot pepper seedlings in this bed. By the way, I bought a 30” Dramm watering wand at Ace but with the plastic nozzle, and it saves your back. I’m going to look for the metal nozzles. Thanks for another great video!
The pellets will provide some long-term nutrients for the soil. They might not break down fast enough to feed the peppers immediately though. So just keep that in mind.
@@LazyDogFarm I’m going to throw them in the compost pile and use them next season, so they’ll break down. Thanks for the help!
Hey Travis I have a thought for you. My thinking is the alfalfa pellets are going to raise you nitrogen levels. Wouldn't it be wise to add some hardwood sawdust pellets for grilling the pellets of course contain carbon? Not only would it give you a carbon nitrogen balance the pelleted sawdust will slow release a vast array of minerals to your garden.
As far as how much I have always worked by the rule of thumb of more is better but you need to wait before introducing plants. I wait about a week.
80 lbs of pellets that are 2% nitrogen means that we're only putting a few pounds of actual nitrogen on the entire plot -- about the same as compost. So I don't think it's going to be too much.
Very good video. Travis, any conclusions regarding the alfalfa? Thanks for any update(and forgive me if you have updated elsewhere and I missed it).
Seems to be working very well. Our determinate tomato plot looks great and we’ve hardly used any supplemental fertilization.
What is your seed starting calendar? Do you have it online?
Here's a video we did a few months ago where we talked about our tentative seed starting schedule: ua-cam.com/video/cWsNW3_IXpk/v-deo.html
There you go again besmirching those upstanding transitory visitors to the area! :) Sure you don't need some asphalt work done, I've got a piece of a load left over.....??! Lots of good stuff on this episode! I was really counting on a bit better show with the windy tarp deal!! I just about got airborne last weekend myself with that 26x40 tarp. That dude is a handful!!
I was fortunate in the direction the wind was blowing. It could have been a lot worse as I'm sure you know.
I've always used vermiculite on top of my cell trays because of fungus gnats. Will be trying perlite this year
Lots of folks use vermiculite instead of perlite. I've never tried the vermiculite, so can't speak to the differences. But let us know if you test them against each other.
You can make alfalfa pellets into a tea along with seaweed if you have it. Leave it soaking in 5 gallon buckets (or whatever you have) for a few days then use as a drench around your plants.
Do not cover any alfalfa concoctions because they can ferment and go ka-boom.
Good Luck with the Alfalfa pellets. I tried them last year and ended up sick that I did. Also some plants developed mosaic virus.
Oh goodness. Let's hope that doesn't happen here.
Travis, you help me so much! You are a couple of weeks ahead of us so I’m following your lead. We are in Lagrange.
Thanks for joining us Gail! Hope you have a great garden this year!
Yes. I have also had those thieving groups stop by our place and had to run them off. A few neighbours have had dealings (mostly new people to the area) with these people with very bad results....
It's a shame that folks continue to fall for their tricks.
G-IPSY is probably the nicest word that can be use for people like that.
I agree!
@@LazyDogFarm I always thought it was just ridiculous that someone carried on about using the term in the first place.
Do you have a video on the alfalfa results? I used alfalfa on my lawn and it greened up but not so much. I was told with organics you don't need to apply a lot to get results idk.
I know we covered it, but not sure what video it was. It works as a soil conditioner and will provide some pre-plant nutrients. It's slow though, and it's not going to provide all the nutrients most plants need. Think of it as a pre-plant booster, not as a complete solution.
We get the fly-by-night contractors in hail season during August for re-roof project scams. Calling them Irish Travelers is just old school racism. I'll be picking up one of those spray wands. My plan is to lay down alfalfa pellets with an even heavier hand, so we'll compare results. Soil microbes are said to love the stuff plus it contains triacontanol, a plant growth hormone. I hope that Pueblo Chile scores well in your trials. It's the Mosca cultivar that Colorado uses to compete with the popularity of New Mexico Hatch Valley Anaheim types. Muy Sabrosa.
Now you have me thinking that I didn't put down enough, but I won't add more just to see what happens.
Glad that tarp didn't whip you in all that wind, ask me how I know 😬. Going pick up some seed potatoes at the local nursey tomorrow, they just got in Yukon Gold, Kennebec White and forgot the red ones name. 5lb minimum $0.95 a lb. Love my local nursey!!! ✌
That's a great price!
Yup, it's tater time here, too. I've never tried alfalfa pellets, except the recycled ones. We had a 20 acre alfalfa hay field we baled for horse hay every summer. Then we used horse poop in the vegetable garden. Ah, the circle of sustainability :^)
Yes indeed! Nothing wrong with a little horse poop in the garden.
I use the alfalfa pellets in 5 gallon buckets and raised beds this past spring and I can say idid see a lil difference in the forage. I was surprised so this year going to add to a small plot that I will be growing watermelons in. The price did go up this year, I bought the bag from tractor Supply.
My best raised garden bed was composted horse manure and alfalfa hay in layers, nothing else.
I think the tomato growth was so fast because it was manure from race horses 👍🤣🇦🇺🇺🇲
Where did you get the 30 inch watering wand and also the brass mister
Greenhouse Megastore
I saw this video but can’t find where or if you told how the alfalfa worked. Did you like the alfalfa pellets and do you think it was beneficial and worth the time and money?
I do think it was beneficial. We'll actually be talking more about them on next Friday's video.
If you used both bags of alfalfa pellets on your 30 x 35 sq ft plot, my math tells me it cost you about 4 cents per square foot in material. That's quite inexpensive, and I hope it gave you some good results.
It did. Very pleased.
You mentioned not keeping up with a seed pack with some seeds left in it. So, do you buy all new seeds for the growing season every year then? Just curious how other growers do. I have seeds for several seasons. Hmmmm, interesting.
It just depends. If it's a pricier seed variety and there's enough left in the seed packet for another planting, I'll save them in the fridge. I did this for instance with the Supremo cucumbers that I purchased last year and will plant again this year from the same packet. But if it's a cheaper seed packet, like some of the heirloom tomatoes we're growing, and there's only a few seeds left, I'll just double plant the seed tray cells because a few seeds isn't going to do me much good next year anyways.
"Travellers" is the current name for the group you're talking about. They live in Murphy Village, South Carolina. Well known for doing roofing, asphalt scams, etc.
I have another name for them as well, but it's not nice. lol
I pull my extra tomato seedlings early like you , I replant them and the ones that make it I give to my neighbors and they love my OCD plant growing technique lol
Great that you're able to share with the neighbors!
I couldn't help noticing how easily you tilled your soil. One handed. Were you tilling lightly? I wish I had a tiller like yours. I too purchased alfalfa but not the pellets but the fine stuff. I wasn't sure how much to use either so I just spread it lightly. I probably will have to go back and add more. I like your videos. Keep it up.
That Grillo tiller is nice because it drives really straight once you get it pointed in the right direction. So I can basically steer it with one hand. I do till lightly though, on the most shallow setting it has.
Is that Grillo a G85 or G85D? I see you have the Yamaha engine. I have a G85, but with the Honda engine. Turning is tough on a non-D model, but going straight is easy.
@@davidwho8215 It's a G85D. The "D" makes it easy to turn and doesn't tear up the grass as much either.
Have you ever opened a bag of alfalfa to find that it is moldy? I have. The bag was exposed to moisture outside and some larvae are inside aswell. What would you recommend? Throw the whole bag out? or salvage what I can?
I have not. I'd try and salvage what you can. Assuming it's just fly larvae, it shouldn't hurt anything.
That’s the nature taking over. Mold is part of the decomposing process. I wouldn’t feed moldy pallets to the animals, but you could definitely mix it with your compost or a garden soil, and let the nature finish the rest.
Good luck with your projects !
Oh, my, yes about the "g"s!!!! Several years ago they rolled through our neck of the woods (20 miles from y'all) and were painting old metal barn roofs with aluminum paint. Today, you can tell who they "got" because the runny aluminum paint jobs all look the same!
They offered to paint my roof the last two years.
Maybe it works out better for the smaller gardener. They can supplement each plant with it. Whereas with you, you have to apply it to the whole field.
IMO alfalfa pellets are more of a soil treatment than a plant treatment, although they could be used per plant.
Any findings or conclusions on using alfalfa pellets? I'm thinking about using them. Cheap. Organic. A little on the fertilizer. Super easy to apply. Any noticeable bang for the buck using them in the garden Lazy Dog Farm, Inc? I can't help thinking how is it any better than just applying some fresh grass clippings? Maybe the pellet form makes it ideal to mix and distribute in the garden.
It worked very well. Just published a video last week showing us doing it again for our upcoming garlic plot.
@@LazyDogFarm Thanks Chief. I might use the OMRI certified ones. Scared that they may use that animal safe(?) herbicide on that. I'm scared of straw now too.
By the way, I commented about you growing garlic on a recent video by Hollis & Nancy. Hollis says you’re a good ole boy! Lol! I agree! I’ve watched Hollis & Nancy off & on for about 5-6 years….
Hollis is an OG of the UA-cam gardening game. He knows his stuff!
Would you use alfalfa pellets on an existing lawn?
Sure you could.
I am happy that you have a outlet to sell your excess produce gardening is a costly thing both time and money to just give your produce away
We enjoy gardening and there are many more expensive hobbies than gardening. But we do enjoy helping Abram sell the veggies when he wants to do the veggie stand.
I don’t get it. You can grow outside when it gets cold at night. Is the greenhouse heated? Will they handle a 24 degree night? I know it’s on a heat mat but I’m trying to figure this out. Thanks
We use an electric heater in the greenhouse on the cool nights. We turn on the heater in the afternoon so it can get toasty in there and some of that warmth will be preserved throughout the night. We got down to 24 one night, but had two electric heaters running in there which kept the temps in the greenhouse closer to 50.
Just got the same pellets today then stumbled on this video. Gonna be using them for a 15 bale straw bale garden. Looking forward to seeing your results. I think we're both gonna be suprised! Do they see to have broken down or decomposed yet?
A little water will get them broken down pretty fast. Hope they work well for you.
Looking forward to spring and summer harvest!
Us too Karsyn!
We get them every year here in northern Louisiana
Thanks
What model is your green house?
Right here: atlasgreenhouse.com/greenhouses/hobby-houses/easy-grow/
If you call them for a quote, tell them Lazy Dog Farm sent ya.
Where did you say you ordered the new watering wand, and do you find the different water heads there as well? Thanks
Got them from Greenhouse Megastore's website. They have the nozzles as well.
@@LazyDogFarm thanks
Alfalfa is the main ingredient in rabbit pellets. I wondered if rabbit poop was safe for my plants. It seems to be.
I had to change my chicken feed because the plants that I planted on the chicken coop space did poorly a few years ago.
So I switched to Organic Chicken feed. It is twice the price for a smaller bag. But at least my plants are growing..
Which greenhouse is that? What’s the size?
10x16' Easy Grow Greenhouse from Atlas Manufacturing
Hey bud watch what you are saying about the asphalt pavers I was in the asphalt business for 25 years!!! LOLOL!!! But we were not those gypsies!!! and yeah you hit those con men comment right on the head!! You are exactly right on how they do their con!!! We did lots of roads,parking lots,Walmarts and airport runways!!!
Haha! We have a reputable asphalt company down the road from us and they do a great job. Hate to see the local businesses losing customers to these con men.
@@LazyDogFarm The local law enforcement will have a warning in the newspaper every so often.You can always recognize them by the one small dump truck,a small paver and a small roller.
I think I will try the perlite trick. Maybe the alfalfa too. but on a flower bed. thanks for sharing 😀
Always good to test in small spots before going "all-in" on something. Hope it works for you.
What is that on the top? The white pellet lookin things. Fertilizer?
That's perlite. We top the seeds with perlite instead of more seed starting mix because it helps with draining and helps the seedlings emerge easier.
@@LazyDogFarm thanks!
Yes it does very well
Hey Travis do have any links for your mister nozzle, watering wand & your pellets, didn’t see them in you description box, unless I’m blind . Thanknyou
Here you go:
Wand - www.greenhousemegastore.com/equip/irrigation-watering/hand-watering-hoses/handi-reach-handle
Shower Nozzle - www.greenhousemegastore.com/dramm-170al-aluminum-water-breaker-wa--dr--170al
Mist Nozzle - www.greenhousemegastore.com/equip/irrigation-watering/hand-watering-hoses/fogg-it-nozzle
@@LazyDogFarm thanks Travis
What’s wrong with tilling alfalfa hay into the soil? Hay is readily available than pellets
Nothing wrong with doing that.
Hey Trav I wanted to mention you have some dirt or something on your lip 😂
So y'all got those people to! One came by my brothers house and told him the government was paying for him to get 200+ channels on his TV.. He didn't open the door but talked to them through the screen, but told him that he wasn't interested. That guy wanted to get in the door and Lord knows what he was planning to do. Little did the guy know there was a gun aimed somewhat in his direction. Thankfully the man left peacefully. My brother is going through chemo and his yard isn't being kept up, so that guy thought he had an easy target.
I've already put a few potatoes in the soil for a experiment. I'll let you know how it turns out.
It's the stranger danger molestache lol jk
@My Urban Garden Mary Thank goodness he left peacefully. Keep us updated on the early tater planting ...
Yes it does work!!!
Good deal!
Did you do a video on your test plot with the alfalfa pellets on the end result if it improved your plot?
Can't remember exactly, but both the plots where we used the pellets performed exceptionally well this spring.
I’m from Augusta and the Irish Travelers aka g word live right across the river in SC….we are very familiar with the shenanigans
We got them same people up here in Alberta but their name up here starts with s and ends with windlers.
Dang. Didn't know they made it that far north.
For my pricey pepper and tomato seeds, I start them sprouting in a paper towel in a large plate on the top of a Hot water tank, covered with several towels,bottom heat, monitor closely when tails show I pop them in the starter mix. Be alert, 3-5 days and into starter pots, I put them in Solo cups right from the getgo.
It’s a great method if you have 5, or 10 plants. I normally start about 200-300 plants from seed. 10 20 trays are much better choice for starting seeds than Solo cups
Good luck with your projects !
@@mar1video this spring I started over 300 tomatoes, 100 pepper plant this way, it is like starting in a plug tray, but doesn't take the massive amount of room.
But the solo cups sure need lots of space.
Hi Joe, I found a table spoon of hydrogen peroxide to 1 or 2 litres of water to wet paper towels or perlite get seeds germinated fast.
Hi. I'd really like for you to do a test one of these times about hilling versus just planting your potatoes deep in the soil and no hilling and then comparing yields. That would be interesting. Thanks for your videos. I learn a lot from you.
I'm planning on doing something like that this year. Someone mentioned that they just put their potatoes on top of the soil then cover with straw. Was thinking of trying that vs. hilling with soil to see what the differences were.
@@LazyDogFarm That would be great, too! I really appreciate your scientific approach.
@@LazyDogFarm Ruth Stout method. Very old school!!
All the ipsygee people around here in south AL have pickups with SC license plates.
Yep. There's a decent-sized contingent of them in Traveler's Rest, SC.
What made you switch to perlite topping? I found a hoss video and you was still using potting mix
We noticed that the commercial veggie plant growers around here use it, so we gave it a try and liked it. Been doing it for several years now.
@@LazyDogFarm I live in a super small town 100 miles from KC and for the life of me I couldn't find any last yr I wanted to try and to add to my compost. Don't have much need to get out of town much and should have ordered online. I've seen you can get a huge bag for cheap ill give this a try this yr. I sometimes have that top crusting thing happen
I'm using alfalfa pellets on my garden this year.
Let us know how they worked when you get some conclusive results.
Irish travelers is the recognized term in my line of work...but gypsy is we call them lol
ua-cam.com/video/2R57PlZFAeM/v-deo.html
@@LazyDogFarm Borat...One man Kazakh Defamation League.
Would Vermiculite been fine also to top seedlings?
Yes it would. Many folks use that as opposed to perlite. Should give you the same benefits.
Great information on the swindlers, I hate to say we have them out here in California too. Thanks for the reminder.....
Not ever a good idea to let an "out-of-town" operation do work like that for you. Thanks for watching.
Plz take us to the farm stand soon
It's not a farm stand in the traditional sense. It's just a couple tables that we put in our second driveway. It's not a permanent setup, but we'll try to film it next time we do it.
Try Shishito peppers! They are served in high class restaurants. Baker Creek sells the seed.
I've heard good things about those. I do need to try them.
My sister in Calif. turned me on to them. They are SO GOOD just sauteed in a pan with some olive oil and salt. OMGosh! I grew my own last year and they were perfect--very prolific. Toward the end of the season, though, I was finding some pest pressure. When I had some over-ripe ones that I cut into to take the seeds out I found bugs in them. I didn't eat any late in the season because it is gross to eat a whole pepper (which is how you cook them) if you are thinking that some of them might have bugs inside. (At least it is a total turn off for me.) But the early peppers looked undamaged and they were wonderful.
We are chittn taters in NC now. Pontiac, La Soda, Kennebec and Yukon
Awesome!
Starting my big zack tomato today hope to get it going real soon!!
Nice! Hopefully you can grow a big one!
@@LazyDogFarm what’s that hashtag again for the contest on Instagram?
Oh man, the Irish Travelers? Lived with them in Memphis for a while. Brother, heard.
Bless your heart. I couldn't imagine living close to them.
Yep, we know about the ones from Memphis. They would come in to the Piggly Wiggly on Winchester and cause a ruckus on one side of the store while another group would steal them blind. We saw this in the 80's.
A friend lived in Hornlake at a trailer park with a group of them. He told us some stories.
I also like summerpick going to try sunsugar this year did sungold last year good but splits easy
Sungold does split easily. We'll see if that's an issue with Toronjina or not.
Oh, you are going to LOVE Sun Sugar! It doesn't split, holds on the vine, tastes fabulously, looks beautiful, and will probably be the longest producer you have. I first learned about them compared to Sun Gold from a video Curtis Stone did. He said he chooses Sun Sugar over the other because it never kinds of runs out of the great taste as the season wears on. That is so true. No splitting, big producer, beauty, and consistently excellent taste is exactly what I was looking for. Congratulations on a great pick and I hope you like them!