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Grains from TSC

Posted: June 3rd, 2018, 7:21 am
by gregt848
Good morning, I want to make the switch from synthetic over to a hybrid of organics and synthetic. Have not done too much of the Organics and grains.
I have a tractor supply store close by, the cracked corn is pretty straightforward but some of the Alpha pallets there are many different choices and brands. Should I go with a rabbit feed ?
Thanks

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: June 3rd, 2018, 1:58 pm
by rydaddy
some of the alfalfa for horses has less 'filler' (vitamins, etc.) and more actual alfalfa. However, some of the pellets do not feed well through all spreaders. You may want to start with just one bag...

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: June 3rd, 2018, 7:04 pm
by gregt848
Thanks! I did just grab one bag to give it a shot. How often can I spread Organics? I really want to try a few different products

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: June 4th, 2018, 10:03 am
by HoosierLawnGnome
You can spread organics typically as fast as your soil will process it. Applying something like kelp help may help speed unthe break down some.

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: June 4th, 2018, 5:16 pm
by Dchall_San_Antonio
You can apply organics any day and every day. There are people here who have tried to overdose with organics by feeding heavily every week. The result was the grass got better.

In my feed stores the rabbit chow is more expensive than "regular" alfalfa pellets. I go with cheap, but if I can't get cheap, I'll get rabbit chow. The additional vitamins and minerals are not going to hurt and may help the soil microbes.

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: June 5th, 2018, 1:58 pm
by Pdrizzle
gregt848 wrote:
June 3rd, 2018, 7:04 pm
Thanks! I did just grab one bag to give it a shot. How often can I spread Organics? I really want to try a few different products
Keep in mind grains work really well, feeding a lot will result in a lot of growth (above and below the soil) which will equal more mowing, etc. I went nuts with Alfalfa pellets last year and have been wrestling with thick green fast growing lawn all spring...thank goodness the weather is warming up here in Utah and I can temper the growth by withholding some water! Good luck with your conversion.

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: October 10th, 2018, 10:11 pm
by craigdt
rydaddy wrote:
June 3rd, 2018, 1:58 pm
some of the alfalfa for horses has less 'filler' (vitamins, etc.) and more actual alfalfa. However, some of the pellets do not feed well through all spreaders. You may want to start with just one bag...
Any tips on picking an alfalfa pellet that might flow through a spreader?

Any particular ones to look into?

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: January 8th, 2019, 1:22 pm
by Dchall_San_Antonio
I use rabbit chow. I have seen chinchilla chow which appears to be the same/similar size. These are still pellets and would require fairly large holes in the spreader to flow. They would not flow through a drop spreader but would flow through a broadcast spreader.

There is nothing wrong with vitamins. Soil microbes probably created the vitamins, but they might need them, too.

Re: Grains from TSC

Posted: January 19th, 2019, 2:02 pm
by Chris LI
craigdt wrote:
October 10th, 2018, 10:11 pm
rydaddy wrote:
June 3rd, 2018, 1:58 pm
some of the alfalfa for horses has less 'filler' (vitamins, etc.) and more actual alfalfa. However, some of the pellets do not feed well through all spreaders. You may want to start with just one bag...
Any tips on picking an alfalfa pellet that might flow through a spreader?

Any particular ones to look into?
If you have a real problem with the size of the media you are applying, there is another solution. Earthway and some other manufacturers produce high volume spreaders for rock salt, ice melt, etc. I have purchased them at work to apply pelletized seeding mulch (and for their intended use). They have a large single orifice/gate to allow larger particles to flow through. The spreaders from Earthway are easily recognizable by their blue color.