Gardening Tips
by Mike Hibbard, Minnesota Horticulturist

Composting

Use Alfalfa’s Secret for fast fall leaf composting. Layer 6″ to 8″ of leaves with 2″ to 3″ of Alfalfa’s Secret; repeat these layers until fall leaves have been used up.
Add a little water to the compost pile keeping it moist but not soggy wet. Turn pile weekly for best composting results.

• Apply Alfalfa’s Secret to all garden and landscape beds to reduce moisture loss and suppress weeds.

• Alfalfa’s Secret adds natural organic material to your soil and helps build populations of microbial organisms that benefit all your plants.

•  Mulch garden beds after a soaking rain or when the area has been irrigated. Moist soil under a layer of Alfalfa’s Secret will retain the moisture making it available to your plants.

• Alfalfa’s Secret is best applied in thin layers of 1/2 inch to an inch per application. Apply these layers no more than once a month, making no more than 3 layers per growing season.

• When applying a fresh layer of Alfalfa’ Secret gently work up existing layer incorporating the old layer with some of the garden soil.
This allows the new layer to make contact with the natural soil microbes.

• Keep all seasonal mulches 2″ to 3″ away from the stems of garden plants.

• Alfalfa’s Secret will smother the seedlings of annual weeds. Perennial weeds need to be weeded out of the garden before applying Alfalfa’s Secret.

• In the fall just before the soil freezes up, apply 4″ to 6″ of Alfalfa’s Secret to the vegetable garden and till it into the soil to a depth of 6″ to 8″.

• Continued seasonal use of Alfalfa’s Secret will break up heavy clay soil turning it into a rich loam. In sandy soil, continual season use will build superior water retaining soil
great for growing all types of plants.

• Alfalfa’s Secret benefits the growth and health of Roses, Perennials, Annuals, Vegetables as well as all landscape plants. Use it as an additive in planting and as soil cover mulch.

• Alfalfa’s Secret provides slow release nutrients that will increase flower and vegetable yields.

• New planting beds need organic Alfalfa’s Secret to improve existing soil, which insures a successful landscape job. Till 4″ to 6″ of Alfalfa’s Secret into any new planting bed.

• To suppress weeds around fruit trees, first remove any perennial weeds around the trees up to 6′ from the trunk and add a layer of Alfalfa’s Secret. Keep a thin layer around the base of the tree and increase the thinness as you move away from the tree. At about a foot away from the trunk the layer can be about 3″ thick. Add a thin layer of Alfalfa’s Secret to the raspberry patch to suppress weeds and retain moisture.

• For container gardening add 10% Alfalfa’s Secret to any potting soil. This rich mixture will help retain moisture and provide a slow release natural fertilizer that will boost growth and increase flower production.

• Alfalfa’s secret can benefit new perennials, dig the hole remove the perennial from the pot. Fill the empty pot with Alfalfa’s Secret and pour it onto the excavated soil. Mix Alfalfa’s Secret and excavated soil, use this mixture to plant the new perennial. This technique can be used with any addition to the landscape.

House plants and container gardens will thrive with Alfalfa Secret’s Alfalfa tea.

Supplies:

Alfalfa’s Secret

24″ X 24″ cheese cloth

One gallon glass jar

Boiling water

Lay out the cheese cloth add three cups of Alfalfa’s Secret to the center of cloth, pull up corners of the cloth and tie to make a sealed ball of Alfalfa’s Secret. Place ball in the jar and fill the jar with boiling water. When the water cools cover the jar with the lid and place the jar in a sunny spot for three days. Remove bag and use tea when plants need water. Mixture keeps for a week.

If large quantities are needed use a clean 5 gallon bucket and 5 bags of Alfalfa’s Secret.