What to do with this 6 acres

Winter wheat always froze out for us, & you are north.... Rye is a good crop, but got harder to sell around here.

Good times to plant alfalfa are April with a cover crop, or August straight seeded (cover crop if you have hills). Those catch our rainy periods.

I was planning on planting 1/2 acre to an alfalfa & hay mix a week ago - we got 4 inches of rain, and this was a damp spot. So I'm going to try planting it next week. But, could easily be worthless. We will see.

Sounds like you are planning a spring seeding. Probably the safest at this time.

--->Paul

Now, I'm just jesting with ya, okay?

But, what is this fixation you have with that darned plow? :>)

What are you turning under anyway?

Allan

--->Paul

Yes, Kelly enlightened me on the heavy cover. I guess I just didn't realize he had that much to turn under.

The reason I was quizzin' him was that I was remembering an old embarrassment from many years ago and I notice that some of the younger guys have a hair-trigger to hitch to the plow.

My dad had told me when I was just a lad to get out there and get the spring plowing done.

With a youngster's enthusiasm and knee-jerk reactions without first thinking, I figured I would just plow the whole darned place from fence to fence since we had to plant it all anyhow.

Well, you guessed it, that first 30 acres was open bean ground & I plowed 'er anyway.....took me about 3 years to live that one down. Not only from my dad, but all those laughing neighbors as well. :>)

'Course I know Kelly has more sense than that.

Thanks,

Allan

--->Paul

Just my 2 cents because your growing season is the same as ours.

Smack 'er with a field cultivator and drill it to winter wheat. Time to plant, right now.

Allan

Pardon me while I say this: "Two words that just DO NOT go together are: Kelly C and ignorance".

There, got that out of my system. :>)

I'm tellin' ya, if it was me, I'd take a gamble and drop that alfalfa right in with some winter wheat.

That way, you haven't totally wasted this year and with a little bit of luck, you'll already have your hay field a shootin' out of the ground as soon as you take the wheat off in July.

But, ya gotta hurry. It's gettin' late.

And, leave that plow and disc set. Hit it with a shallow-set field cultivator or rod-weeder; just enough to kill the weeds. Small grains just do not do well in loose soil plus the fact that you want a somewhat firm hay field next summer.

Now, if it is already overgrown with tall standing weeds, you are screwed as far as any respectful wheat yield goes & you are forced to use the disc, but you can still take what you get on the wheat and get that alfalfa established.

Drop the alfalfa at a rate of 12 to 15 lbs, cross your fingers, and hope for a minimal winter-kill.

Your only other option, as I see it, is to disc it down this fall to knock down the weeds and then let it lay over, planting your nurse crop and alfalfa next spring.

Just my view and stated as such,

Allan