In the fall I put alfalfa pellets in the garden and then my usual oak leaves for mulch. I leave the mulch in and now I want to do another round of pellets. Do I need to pull the leaves away from each plant and put the pellets down, or do I put the pellets on top of the mulch?

I would pull the leaves away from the plants and put the pellets down and work them a couple of inches into the soil. If the appearance of the puffed up pallets does not bother you, then you could put them on top of the mulch. I am sure after a few rains they would break down and with the help of the earthworms work their way down into the soil.

Thanks for the help, Larry.

do you have access to alfalfa meal, Karen? ive tried both the pellets and the meal. the meal is much easier to work with in terms of working it into the soil and the time it takes to break down. mix it in and it instantly becomes part of the soil. ive read from a very reputable source (a famous master gardener here in the Pacific Northwest), that the pellets are compressed into shape and held together with a "waxy" substance of sorts. whatever that is? he also says the pellets are a large source of livestock feed, which is why they're in the form of pellets, in which case they may contain undesirable contents meant for livestock and not necessarily plants. not trying to scare you, just thought id give you something to ponder. we use alfalfa meal on virtually everything in our yard that flowers. roses, dahlias, clematis, daylilies, and most other full sun plants and they all respond very well to it. its readily available at garden centers and hardware stores here in washignton. might be worth checking into!

Thanks Jason. How much of that would you put around an established daylily, and how often?
I am all for using what is best for the plants.

for our daylily's we typically use a cup per plant, every six weeks, from the time the shoots are 3 inches tall until the flowering stops. we have 14 day lily's. its a lot of work to say the least, considering we use it on most of our flowering full sun plants. now that's based on the advice i received from the master gardener I spoke about above. last year was the first time we tried it and the flowers seemed to be in bloom for a longer period as well as there being more of them to begin with. but then again, that may be wishful thinking as well! ha

I think the new processing methods for alfalfa pellets now normally use steam in making the pellets and no longer use tallow as a binding agent.
Got this from their website: This is what I buy at Tractor Supply.
"Does Standlee use binders or binding agents in the making of the pelleted forages?
All Standlee Premium Western Forage® pellets do not have any binding agents used in the making of the forage pellets. All pellets are 100% natural forage of choice.""
http://standleeforage.com/prod...

That's the kind I used, Larry, so I guess I am ok

That is the brand I use too, and it does no harm at all. And, it works its way into the ground fast enough for me. I can't be bothered with mixing it into the dirt, because it is too much work. I've had several people tell me that it doesn't appear that you can use too much, which is a bonus, since I don't want to measure, either!

Natalie - ive also heard that you cant use too much. as a matter of fact, I use TWO cups on each of my roses, rather than just one. profuse blooms nearly all summer! dahlias are literally flooded with blooms all summer too.

Jason, we'll be looking forward to pictures!