New pasture/ What to do?

Since your weeds went to seed, you will be totally under all that weed pressure next spring. Hard to make good alfalfa under weeds. If you plant this fall, the weeds will die out with frost, and next spring the alfalfa will compete well with them. Three cuttings of alfalfa will control the weeds for the most part.

Don"t know why you put grass with the alfalfa, not done much around "here". But I hear others talk of it, so must have it"s place, if that is the custom where you are.

Plow it, spray it, notill it, whatever - any of those things work depending on the equipment you have.

Just, really would help yourself a _lot_ to plant it this fall if you have the clear land to do so now and there is no previous alfalfa growing there now.

As others say, hay/ pasture crops are a long-term investment, you need a lease for 5 years before investing the fert & seed & time to plant a hay crop.

--->Paul

If I do a spring planting anymore it will be Roundup ready Alfalfa...

FYI...I am still a novice at this haying thing...

You're way ahead of me, 'cause I've never done this in the fall before. But, tomorrow morning, I'm gonna give 'er a robust go, 'cause I think the ground is just dry enough to work.

I'm gonna smack 'er once again with the disc to get a last weed/volunteer wheat kill, drill the alfalfa and then roll it with the packer. Does that sound like a plan?

Average frost here is the 10th of Sept.

Allan

Someone mentioned removing the tubes to let the seed fall to the ground. You doing this??

FYI, I had an acre get drowned last summer so I replanted in the fall. I couldn't tell the difference between that and the prior springs planting by first cutting this year...

Never could stand the look of alfalfa in "rows". I take the tubes clear off.

Allan

Then for best results, you must kill the alfalfa & let it sit for 3 months of good growing weather before trying to replant alfalfa. Old established alfalfa plants are toxic to new alfalfa seedlings most of the time, and this effect will last in the soil for a time. Some say it doesn't matter, some say you need a different crop for a whole year, but mostly 3 months of seasonable weather & you are good to go.

Otherwise:

Spray glysophate (Roundup) to kill the peranual weeds like thistles, and you can typically plant about 40 days before first typical frost and get a great start on next year.

Or work & level the ground now, and plant next spring with an oats cover crop.

To plant, there are notill drills so you don't have to touch the ground after spraying; to plow, disk, harrow several times, spin the seed on, and harrow again. And many different plans in between. Which do you prefer, what do you have available?

--->Paul

casey