Alfalfa Help

[Gizmo36]

Any one on here ever planted any Alfalfa and had good luck with it. I am think of put about 29A in the ground . I know a lot of people get it to grow about 5 years and some just 1 year. I put a ton of line to the acre so for. need all the help I can get .

 

[HTWT]

Take a soil sample. Go around your field and take small shovel of dirt numerous places around the field. Mix up the dirt and take about a pint of dirt to a testing place. Look in the yellow pages, ask a farmer, or where you buy your seed to have it tested. Around here in Michigan, the stores that sell sell, fertlizer, and chemicals to farmers also have seeders that you can rent. The seeders will do the best job of seeding.

 

[kubota7800]

Put it down at 18 to 20 pounds per acre. Soil ph needs to be 7.0 and you need good potassium levels in the soil. If the soil isn't well drained the alfalfa won't last regardless of how good you ph and Kcl levels are.

 

[Gizmo36]

kubota7800 do I need to subsoil it , I can down about 3ft . Do I need to use the turn plow or just cut it.I know Alfalfa is hard to grow and the seed cost a lot so I want to do it right the first time.

 

[Gizmo36]

HTWT are you talking about a hand seeder or a spreader or a grain drill. I put my winter oats in with the grain drill.But don't think it would work on the Alfalfa.

 

[js5020]

Alot of the grain drills in my area are equiped with the grass seed boxes for sowing hay, I agree with the other posts, get the ph up, keep the weeds down, and don't plant in poorly drained soils.

 

[kubota7800]

kubota7800 do I need to subsoil it , I can down about 3ft . Do I need to use the turn plow or just cut it.I know Alfalfa is hard to grow and the seed cost a lot so I want to do it right the first time.

I would moldboard plow it. This will give you the best weed control. Alfalfa roots are natural subsoilers so I don't really see the need to do deep tillage.

 

[HTWT]

We usally spray roundup to get the crabgrass under control. As sj5020 stated seeders I used had a small bin for hay seed(alfalfa).

 

[rambler]

First you need your ph right - not just guessed at. Alfalfa is very fussy about that.

It wants enough P (& K as well) so as long as you are getting soil test for ph, get the P & K tested as well.

Add the lime you need as soon as you can. Add up to 4 years worth of P (if you can afford it, can run $50 plus an acre) to be there for the alfalfa.

Alfalfa wants to be planted 1/4 inch deep, firm - very firm - soil packed around it (but not compacted - just firm!), and it wants to be kinda wet until it gets a good sprout & growing. It does not like wet roots tho so not in wet type soils. It also does not like sand - partly because P doesn't stay in the sand.

Boron is a micro nutrient it likes, that can be figured out on the soil test as well & added with the P fert.

Typically one can plant early in spring, or early in fall & get a good stand of alfalfa. Either time is typically right before a rainy period. Do not plant in the heat of summer.

Old alfalfa plants in the field needs to be killed deal for at least 3 months of good weather - prefer a year. Alfalfa puts out a toxin in it's roots that kill young seedlings. This is for real.

Spring planted, typically weeds come up and get you. Also erosion if you are on any hill at all. It is good to plant 2 bu or so of oats along with the alfalfa as a nurse crop. It will sprout up & hold the soil from water or wind erosion, keep down the weeds a bit. You can cut the oats before boot stage for an early hay crop, let the alfalfa go to town after that. Can often get 1 cutting of alfalfa if you harvest the oats for grain; 2 cuttings of alf if you cut the oats off early.

You can seed without a cover crop, might need to spray for weeds and there aren't so many good sprays for weeds. Alfalfa will come through a bit stronger tho if you don't have erosion problems.

Fall planting, get it planted 30 days or a bit more before first frost. Less weed problems, often less erosion chance as well. Don't harvest in fall.

Firm seed bed, very shallow planting, moisture after it's planted, and enough P are some keys to a good long stand of alfalfa.

--->Paul

 

[deereguy]

I would think renting a Brillion Seeder would be an excellent way to plant the seed, I believe it would help firm the bed as mentioned above. They come in 10'-12' models and could be rented from local equipment dealers (if available). We will be planting some 30 acres of alfalfa in the fall of 2008, if all goes as planned.

Good Luck!