How to keep a perfect stand of alfalfa.

HayDR · Sep 6, 2004

To extend your growing season you can No-Till a Winter Rye into your hay field. You can either pasture this Rye or make haylage from it in a fall cutting. We even no-till a winter rye into our pastures starting in Sept. & Oct. hold the cattle off it for a month and put a little Ammonium Nitrate on it to get it growing.
Ohio State study on Winter Rye for Extending the Grazing Season

CountryJoe · Sep 6, 2004

Can cattle get sick eating alfalfa that has been burnt by frost ?

cowboydoc · Sep 7, 2004

Absolutely not. This has been a rumor quite awhile. Actually after a frost is the safest time to graze cattle on it. We always leave our last cutting and after the first frost turn the cattle in it until it's about 4" and then take them off. You want to leave about 4" to protect from freeze kill over the winter. The only time you need to worry about alfalfa is if you graze it while it is rapidly growing. Even then just put out some bloat guard. We have grazed our cattle on the hay fields for 30 years and never had one problem with it.

cowboydoc · Sep 7, 2004

<font color="green">To extend your growing season you can No-Till a Winter Rye into your hay field </font> j

This is an excellent tool for rotational ground, esp. with cornstocks and pasture. You wouldn't want to do this with a good stand of alfalfa though.

cowboydoc · Sep 7, 2004

<font color="green"> What is a safe height before getting hit with frost? </font>

We like to see about 10". When planting in the fall you usually plant it with a covercrop. The cover crop will grow up and protect the ground from erosion and then the alfalfa will start to grow in the spring. If you plant too early you usually don't get a good enough stand and the roots don't get established. Then you will have quite a bit of winter kill. Even on a well established field we like to leave a minimum of 4" to protect against winterkill. When planted in the spring or when the alfalfa has all summer to develop a root system. Especially when it gets dryer the roots on alfalfa will start chasing the water down in the ground. This gets a very well established root system that won't be hurt by freezing.

rambler · Sep 7, 2004

In town when they dig up old basements to put up new houses, where no fields or anything other than lawn has been growing for 100+ years, there is always a flush of button weed, foxtail, and morning glories & thistles. These seeds live in the soil for decades. You will not get a 'clean' field unless you do the black fallow you are doing for several years...

Alfalfa does a pretty good job of choking out the weeds in it if you establish a good thich well balanced stand and over summer harvest it every 30 days as you should. Weeds don't like those conditions.

It will look a little ragged this first year with the early weeds. Usually the weeds can't mature any more this year? Do what needs to be done to prevent the weeds from going to seed, but otherwise the alfalfa should outgrow them next year.

You can spray for the grasses pretty easily, but getting rid of broadleaves can be pretty touchy.

--->Paul

plumboy · Sep 7, 2004

Cowboydoc,rambler and all thanks guys.Couple of more questions.Should I sow some rye on it now?If so I can get a seeder for my fourwheeler,how hard do you think it will be on 2" seedlings.The most of my stuff is just swollen seeds 'in the crook'.Also In the glyco instructures it mentioned wiping.Is this a tool for killing taller weeds or do you walk around with a sponge?

cowboydoc · Sep 7, 2004

No way I'd sow rye on it now. You are just going to disturb the plants that are growing. Also it is very, very dangerous to spray for grass the first year. The alfalfa usually isn't established enough to take the hit and survive.

rambler · Sep 7, 2004

Glysophate is a contact herbicide, if I understand you right yes you can 'wipe' the taller weeds and kill them, not disturbing the plants below. They do have hand wands, and there are up to 30' tractor/ pull type wipers.

Probably the best thing you can do is see what it looks like next spring after green-up. Just forget about the field now. I'm cutting established afafla today, but I'm already intot he danger window for my location - you should _not_ cuit alfalfa between 1 & 5 weeks before the first killing frost. If you do, the plant will use up it's stored reserves regrowing, and does not have time to re-establish those reserves. Thus it will starve over winter into spring.

If you have lots of time before the first frost, you can bush hog or clip it to get the weeds down - but, sometimes it's just best to walk away & not even look at it - just let it be.

--->Paul