Show TEN essentials IN GROWING ALFALFA V apts IM e W 41 A vw aw baling alfalfa hay direct from windrow on 1400 acre farm near she sherman texas prepared by the united states state department of agriculture alfalfa one ot of the oldest and most widespread of crops can bo be grown in this country as far as climate la is concerned in every state but in the humid sections it la is very exacting in the character 0 of soil and treatment required the following alstot list ot bonts don ts published by tile the U S department of agriculture in farmers bulletin no will therefore be of interest ten donta for the alfalfa grower dont fall to provide for ample in ocul atlon dont sow poor or weedy seed dont sow on a weedy soil eoll dont sow now on any but a sweet well limed sell boll dont sow on poorly drained soil boll dont sow BOW on any but a finely pre pared well settled seed bed dont pasture the first or second year dont lose the leaves they constitute the best part of the hay bay dont seed a large acreage to begin with experiment on a small area first dont give up many prominent alfalfa growers finally succeeded only after many failures the first essential as these bonts don ts show is proper soil A deep fertile well drained soil rich in lime and reasonably free from weeds Is indispensable pen pene sable able and it Is useless to attempt to grow alfalfa on any other kind of land the lack of any one of these qualities Is very apt to be the cause of failure especially in the east and south where at best alfalfa la Is produced with some difficulty the plant Is a deep feeding one and usually sends its roots down many feet to obtain food and moisture which are out of reach of the shallow rooted crops on soil that lacks depth alfalfa is unable to utilize its deep feeding roots and Is therefore less able to withstand the attack of surface feeding weeds an exception to this seems to be found in the case of soils that are by limestone at a depth of some eighteen inches or two feet weeds are in fact one of the greatest enemies of alfalfa the young plants are tery tender and are apt to be killed during their early stages of growth for this reason it Is good practice to raise some cultivated crop on the ground for two or three seasons before alfalfa Is plant ed it if this Is not practicable some such crop as cowpeas cow peas which naturally prevent the growth of weeds can be seeded alfalfa sown in the spring la Is especially susceptible to harm from weeds and spring seeding therefore should be avoided wherever possible it Is however preferable in Mintie minnesota sota wisconsin and the dakotas where any but spring or early summer bummer stands are very apt to winterkill ter kill in general the principle underlying der lying the time of seeding Is to sow as far in advance as possible of what promises to be bethe the most trying season for the young plants in the east and south a late summer seeding la Is usually best beat this enables an earlier crop to be removed from the land and gives alfalfa ample time to make a growth before the winter sets in a fact which gives the plants a good start in the following spring and aids them successfully tores to resist the inroad of weeds the conditions that determine the time for seeding alfalfa indirectly de also the crops which should precede it where late summer seeding is practiced a truck crop which matures early will enable one crop to be secured that season and still allow time for the preparation of the land for alfalfa under such circumstances the fertilizer demanded by the truck crop will probably be sufficient for the alfalfa another method which has the advantage of ridding the soil of weeds althOU although it Is not so eo economical in its use of land I 1 is to plant a clean culture crop such as corn cotton or tobacco these crops also require heavy applications of manure and the culture given them will destroy any weeds that may have been introduced with the manure mal Lure ordinarily it Is impossible to get thesa crops off the land tn in time for late summer seeding of alfalfa and it Is consequently good practice to seed a green manure crop such as hairy ha I 1 ry letca or clover which can be cut for hay in the following spring the stubble plowed under and the land then prepared for alfalfa the efficiency of green manure crops in increasing the humus content of the soil makes them especially valuable as a preliminary crop for alfalfa it the sell boll Is not fertilized in this way or does not obtain the benefit of manure used for previous cash crops well rotted barnyard manure ur or commercial fertilizers must bo be employed if tile tho best results are hoped for it must always bo be borne in mind that alfalfa requires rich boll it can not bo be grown on any kind of land that happens to ile ho handy for the farmer on the other hand band with proper conditions and care its yield will be to justify tho the use of the richest and best drained land on the farm in the east it Is usually best to develop the fertility of somo BOMO of tile the high rolling land and e seed eed that bottom lands should be avoided not only Is the danger from weeds on such soils greater but alfalfa absolutely sol requires leq ulrea well drained land overflows from streams are usually fatal to it during its growing period in tact fact it la is unusual for it to survive more than 24 hours of corn com plate submergence although during its dormant period in the winter it Is less susceptible not noi the least difficulty that the alfalfa grower must face la Is the necessity for thorough inoculation of tho soil in regions where the proper bacteria are not supplied by nature throughout tho the western halt half of the united states inoculation in general does not appear to be necessary but lit in the east the grower who neglects this precaution Is practically certain to lose his time there ar are 0 two methods now in general use the bacteria may be supplied elt either ler by scattering the soil boil from a successful alfalfa held field or by cultures tho the artificial cultures are supplied by tile the united states department of agriculture and their uso explained in detail in the printed matter which accorn canles the bottle of culture A after ft t or being mixed with the clean writer water and certain chemicals these cultures are applied to the seed which Is then dried in a shaded place and sown eown as soon as possible when ahen this method Is successful at all it appears to be fully as much so as the scattering ot of soil for some reason however which has not yet been definitely determined complete failures occasionally occur more frequently in fact than when inoculation is practiced by the transfer of soil in the latter case from to pounds of soil per aero acre should be used care should be ba taken to obtain the soil boll only from healthy stands known to be free from noxious weeds or plant diseases to secure and handle such quantities of soil Is necessarily a somewhat burdensome and expensive business and it Is therefore desirable to obtain the soli soil from as near by as possible when no good soil la is available in the immediate vicinity it Is best to seed a very small area the first season and to use this soil boll for inoculating larger areas later on where only a small quantity of soil Is available very satisfactory is results can ordinarily be obtained by mixing the seed with an equal quantity pound for pound of the alfalfa soil mashed free from even small clods cloda this mixture may be run through a drill or sown on a cloudy day or after sundown jt if it must be seeded broadcast in the sunshine scatter the mixture directly iq front of the covering harrow it la Is also possible to reduce the quantity of soil needed for inoculation by thoroughly mixing it with several times its weight of ordinary earth in such cases from to pounds per acre may be found sufficient the grower however who attempts to skimp in the inoculation of his land like the grower who attempts to use any but the best land Is apt to find that alfalfa instead of a profitable is a losing crop |