The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1911-05-27
SEEDING OF ALFALFA
Must Be Done in the Spring in
the Humid Sections.
Farmer Cannot Always Secure Stuff
eient Moisture to Insure Germina-
tion In August-Does Better
With Nurse Crop.

In central Nebraska and west. the
farmer Is in manner compelled to
SOW his alfalfa in the spring, for the
reason that he cannot always secure
suincient moisture to insure germina-
uon In August seeding. He must
therefore SOW In April. May or June,
when conditions are such as to insure
fun stand. says Wallace's Farmer.
A half stand Of alfalfa is practically
no stand
In the humid section we do not rec.
ommend spring seeding at all. AL
though some men have been successful
with 1t, 1t is altogether better to seed
IN August when, with proper care, the
farmer In the humid section can be
reasonably certain of supply of mois-
ture sufficient to terminate his alfalfa
seed. Where farmers In the humid
section still insist on sowing their al
falfa in the spring, however. we ven
ture to make some suggestions:
There are but two ways of sowing
Alfalfa In the spring, either with a
nurse crop or without. We would not
care to sow alfalfa without a nurse
crop until we had In some way sprout-
ed and killed the annual weeds which
come up and grow with such luxuri-
ance in the spring.
IL we were intending to sow alfalfa
In the spring we would begin treat
ment as early IS possible, as If we
were preparing for corn. We would
disk as soon MS the ground was in
working condition We would pillow
after disking. and harrow after
blowing, and harrow whenever we saw
the weeds starting until in May. We
would then seed to alfalfa, giving it
the full use of the land.
II weeds grew, we would not bother
with them, but allow them to grow
with the alfalfa, and then cut the crop
when 1t was beginning to throw out
buds from the crown. This will get
rid OF the annual weeds. There are a
class of weeds, however, that come up
later. and these will give you trouble.
IL Is the custom of good many farm
ers, when weeds begin to spring up
and threaten to smother the alfalfa,
to clip them back. The trouble with
this is that this clipping does not help
the alfalfa but hurts it, for the reason
that alfalfa is not accustomed to being
cut until it throws out buds from the
crown, or the root, near the ground.
The weeds keep growing right along,
however, even if cut back; and in our
experience we have found that this
method of clipping alfalfa before it is
ready to throw out buds is a positive
disadvantage.
II nurse crop is used we would
select the earliest; winter wheat. If
the stand Is not too thick, or, better
still, winter rye. BY sowing alfalfa
on winter wheat when it Is two or
three inches high, and then narrowing
1t as you would clover, you will kill a
vast number of the annual weeds that
grow in the spring. You will also
have conserved moisture by breaking
up the crust; and as your wheat will.
In the latitude of central Iowa. be off
about the first week in July, the alfalfa
will scarcely have made stuff cient
growth to be cut when the wheat is
moved. The wheat itself will tend to
prevent weed growth. Rye would usu-
ally be better than wheat, because it
does not usually lodge, and can there
fore be cut high, thus avoiding cutting
back the alfalfa before 1t is time.
If neither of these are available. we
would use early oats or barley, seeding
not more than bushel and a half to
the acre. We would prepare the
ground thoroughly, continuing the
preparation week or two longer to
get rid of the weeds, and then seed
We do not advise this practice of
spring sowing; but If 1t is adopted,
then we think the conditions above
outlined would be most favorable for
securing a stand