# Redmond Minerals on alfalfa



## toddhandy (Jun 20, 2014)

Has anyone used Redmond Mineral on alfalfa? I ran across some info and there are some good reviews. Here is some info below.

http://www.redmondnatural.com/

Reports on Adding Redmond Minerals to the Soil

The same benefits on the field are much the same as in livestock. Many think "why would I use Redmond Salt on my field?" What is interesting is how much goes on with the use of chemical fertilizers. Lots of potassium chloride is used. Many Midwestern and eastern farms that have not used chemical fertilizers for a few years find that their soils need more sodium and chloride. But the magic is in the trace minerals. When the salts and traces are together in nature's balance, good things happen, and the same synergy that makes a healthy gut and digestion works in the soil too. The other thing is that it doesn't take much of the salt to get the benefit. When anywhere from 20 to 200 lbs. per acre is used in dry applications, it's just enough to enhance energy and microbial activity and not even close to enough to be overwhelming. Foliar applications are only 3 or 4 lbs. per acre because of direct application to the plants. But spoon feeding plants this way requires repeated applications.

The clay colloids of Redmond Conditioner are very useful as well. As mentioned earlier, the nutrient exchange capacity, or cation exchange capacity is huge. Clay colloids hold water and minerals in the soil and offer exchange when needed by microbes and plants. Here are some of the reports we have seen so far:

· Microbial activity increases dramatically
· Brix levels increase dramatically
· Disease and pest challenges decrease
· Livestock preference to grazing treated crops increases
· Livestock performance increases
· Even yield increases are reported

(1) Fertility From the Ocean Deep by Charles Walters.
(2) Sea Energy Agriculture by Dr. Maynard Murry.
(3) Salt & Trace Minerals for Livestock, Poultry and Other Animals by Larry L. Berger, Ph.D.


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

Unless, Unless you have a good fertility bank in your soil you are better off whizzing on your fields. Been there done that. If you use Redmond get ready to spend half a day cleaning your sprayer, it's dirty. If you want to spray sea salt use sea-90 or some other sun evaporated product. Redmond is mined. Don't get me wrong, if give it to my cattle and they love it, but it's in the mineral feeder. I do believe if sprayed on pastures or hay fields right before turn out or harvest the forage will absorb some of the minerals, but to build soil get ready to spend some serious cash. Remember when you read what great things sea water does to farm land it's either in a very small area, a garden, or greenhouse environment, or the aftermath of a Tsunami where billions of gallons of water have been in the run-up zone and soaked in. I'm not saying there are no benefits to it, but don't expect your alfalfa to grow to your armpits before it's time to cut, and sometimes the hype makes it sound like the magic bullet. I've tried this on 20 acres of Bermuda on top of 3.5 tons of poultry litter for 3 years and cannot see any difference in stand quality or hay consumption by the stock. Just my buffalo nickels worth.


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## toddhandy (Jun 20, 2014)

I was thinking of having it applied with a floater by the local coop. They recommend 200 lbs per acre the first year and 50 lbs each year after. I agree with you on the hype and your other points. I think Ill try 20 acres and see what happens. I am definitely going to try it on my Whitetail food plots.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Now That is interesting.

West Texas Alfalfa growers irrigating out of the Pecos River should be getting rich with all the salt they pump out of the river along with their irrigation water.


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