Quote:
Originally Posted by Lagniappe
O.k., a friend just explained to me that the analysis would be derived from the end product of decomposition. Is this correct? I would certainly have thought that a product containing 15% protein would yield much more nitrogen than a puny 2% (over time).
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The 2% includes the nitrogen-hydrides in the protein molecules.
Alfalfa meal (or more often, milled whole alfalfa) is viable for tuberous row crops and some fruiting row crops because small plants have a smaller capacity for nutrients. But as you are noticing, it is not viable or even tractable to meet the capacity of a single fruit tree with alfalfa meal alone.
The price paid for fresh alfalfa is currently at record highs -- as our companion
Harveyc will point out. Why would anyone use it as a side dressing fertilizer? The answer is that within certain production limits, the profit made for growing a combination of alfalfa and certified organic carrots is greater than the profit from the same acreage combination of alfalfa and regular carrots. This production-optimization question is typically (and easily) solved on an annual basis by the Simplex method.