Where alfalfa is much sown on soils well supplied with humus, and on the
soils which prevail in the Rocky Mountain region, many growers sow the
seed with the grain drill, and before sowing they first mix the seed
with some material, as earth, some kind of coarse meal, bran or other
substance to make it feed out more regularly. In some instances one-half
of the seed is sown the first time the drill is driven over the land,
and the balance is sown by driving again over the same at right angles
to the drill marks previously made. When thus sown, the plants are more
evenly distributed over the soil, and produce, it is thought, a more
uniform quality of stalk. This method meets, in part, at least, the
objection sometimes made to drill sowing, that it does not distribute
the plants sufficiently in the soil.
In the Northern and Atlantic States, also west of the Cascade Mountains,
and in some parts of the South, alfalfa is frequently sown with a nurse
crop, and under favorable conditions the results are usually
satisfactory, if the nurse crop is not sown too thickly. The best nurse
crops in the areas named are barley and winter rye, but oats will answer
also, if sown thinly and cut for hay. It has also been sown quite
successfully along with winter wheat in the spring and also with spring
wheat. When sown with winter wheat or winter rye, it is usually
advantageous to cover the seed well with the harrow. In many instances,
however, even in these areas, it is thought better to sow the seed
without a nurse crop, in order that the plants may have all the benefit
from moisture and sunlight which it is possible to give them. This is
specially desirable when the fear is present that they may succumb the
first winter to the severity of the weather. As weeds grow rapidly along
with the plants, the mower should be run over the field from one to
three times during the season. If the mowing is done at the proper time,
it will not be necessary to remove what has been cut off by the mower.
It may be allowed to lie as a mulch on the land. But should the growth
of weeds be excessive before the mowing is done, it would then be
necessary to remove them, in order to avoid smothering the plants. The
clipping back of the alfalfa plants is helpful, rather than hurtful.
When not thus clipped back the leaves frequently assume a yellowish tint
on the top of the plants, which gradually extends downward until the
greater portion of the leaves may be thus affected. Such condition
frequently betokens a lack of nitrogen, but it may also be induced by
other causes. When it does appear, the mower should at once be used and
also as often as it appears. As soon as mowed off the plants usually
stool out, sending up fresh shoots more numerously. They thus form a
crown, somewhat like the crown in clover plants. Root growth is also
strengthened, and the plants are thus made much stronger for going into
the winter. Each clipping during the season, of course, cuts down weeds
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