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alfalfa??

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I believe I asked this before but the thread got hijacked and turned into a private weather discussion before it got answered.....

Anyway, Can an existing pasture/meadoy be overseeded with alfalfa, or does it all have to go and the alfalfa go in alone?

Thanks, Dave
 
Alfalfa seed likes to only be 1/2 inch deep, it likes to be kept damp for a few weeks after it's planted, and it doesn't do well with heavy competition as it sprouts and starts to grow.

Existing sod makes it terrible difficult to make those conditions happen.

You can beat the snot out of the grass - I've gone through it with a field cultivator so it was looking kinda black. Then seeded clover/alfalfa mix. By fall the grass was back to it's old self from the roots, and there were a few strips of clover & alfalfa here & there where they could compete with the sod.

In theory what you want to do can work if the stars line up just right for you. In practice, the sod is going to get a shot of rain, spring to life, and take all the moisture away from your new seedlings, the sod will grow tall while the aflafa stays stunted & dry, and they will die.

How's that for a worthless answer - it might work..... ;)

--->Paul
 
It is noce to break up the weed issues in the pasture - go to a corn or soybean crop for a year, knock down the thistles and such. Then the alfalfa will get a good start, and the grass will slowly come in & take over as a typical pasture mix. Easy to get grass to fill in as alfalfa dies off.

Your way, interseeding into exisiting sod, is difficult. Depends what you will call a success. I was happy with what I got out of my attempt, but I had low expectations. On top of it, I had to bale the pasture for a year, cattle on it would have really killed the young legume off.

So it takes time and effort either way.

Been thinking of trying it again, this all was done 15 years ago. Some of the pasture drowned out, so figure on working up that accre, and interseed the rest after roughing it up. See what I get out of it. But, been too wet; now it's too dry, so probably will put the idea off for a while....

--->Paul
 
It all depends on what you want to end up with. I tripped the drill in my yard and made a coupla passes to check the amount of seed dropping out of the seeder. If I don't mow for a week you can still track the drill in the yard buy the alfalfa after several years. The alfalfa in the yard is not near as thick as in the field where I seeded on bare ground. You would get a better stand it you plow, fit the ground and seed it over. I take it you have no alfala growing now in that field.
I took the picture after seeding the field behind the tractor with a alfalfa pasture mix.

FarmallCwithOliverDrill001-vi.jpg
 
Dave2.........overseed with white or red clover more better 'cuz the seeds don't need to be deep like alfalfa. Just lightly scratch thru yer grass so some mineral soil shows and broadcast. I've even had success feeding clover seed to cows in their feed. The HARD SMALL clover seed is NOT CRACKED by most cattle and is SPLATTED out in fertilizer platters ........Dell
 
I've seen guys get some good Alfalfa stands by burning down the grass with herbicde then putting the alfalfa in with a slit seeder.
 
I don't know what the rotation would be in Germany but in NY it
would be corn after hay/pasture. Beans could be no tilled then the
sod killed with round up but there would be more money in corn.
After the corn you could do alfalfa again. The ground should be
well prepared so it is smooth to make hay on.
 
Never heard that alfalfa seed needed to be planted at any depth. Dad raised alfalfa for many years and he and us after my brother and I were old enough to help, walked thru the wheat fields whipping the alfalfa seed on with a horn. I becaame a bit lazy and have all of my farming years drilled alfalfa on with a drill seeded which drops the seed behind the drill discs on top of the ground. I have always seemd to get good stand. One time I hired my alfalfe drilled on with a no till drill and I did get a good stand however it was not any better stand than I get with the drill seeder.
 
I reseeded my pasture with a pasture mix. It had some alfalfa, clover, and ???. I did it over a period of years, I kept the seed in a big shaker bottle that originally held icemelt, for the sidewalk. Every day, I'd clean out the barn, take the bottle with me out to the pasture, spread the manure out in a little square, shake some seed on it. Next day, I'd move up, do another square. Worked out pretty good, I've got a very nice pasture out there now. Obviously only good for a few acres like mine - about 6 acres of pasture. I did this for at least 10 years.
 
Penn State forage handbook recommends a plowed, disk smoothed and packed seedbed. I plant alfalfa / orchard grass mix. Works well.
 
Plant it deep is a new one to me also. First we planted a cover crop of oats, then set the drill to drop the seeds on the surface and hooked a spring drag behind the drill. Seed contact is important so we then hit it with a compactor.
 
Dave I have frost seeded alfalfa in late winter in pasture land. Some years it works and others you will get nothing. Clover works better.

I would pasture the grass real short than drag a spike tooth harrow over the ground. Teeth set to straight up, rough the ground up a little. Then seed the alfalfa. Roll it with something. I have a cultimulcher with the teeth removed. On smaller patch a yard roller would not take that long. I have done small patch this way and had fair results.

Rotating crops and tillage will get you the best stand. For your horses a alfalfa grass mix would be better than a straight alfalfa anyway. So try try the rough seeding.
 
(quoted from post at 17:45:49 08/16/11) I don't know what the rotation would be in Germany but in NY it
would be corn after hay/pasture. Beans could be no tilled then the
sod killed with round up but there would be more money in corn.
After the corn you could do alfalfa again. The ground should be
well prepared so it is smooth to make hay on.
Click to expand...

Got it!!! Not an option for me then.... this piece of ground is not allowed to be plowed or dug up in any way. Grass is OK but there is a lot of good herbs in it for the horses, would just like to add a little substance to it to increase the hay and still keep the herbs.... I've got some pasture mix seed, I'll scuff it up good with the harrow and scatter some to see what happens..Nice to have some alfalfa hay on hand but it's probably cheaper to just buy a few bales.

Thanks, Dave
 
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