The best time to cut alfalfa is just when new shoots are starting out at the crown. This will give the greatest yield of hay during a season, and the hay will be much more palatable than if the alfalfa is permitted to get well into the blossoming period. The leaves, which are the best part of the hay, also remain on better than if the stems are older. If a person does not care to take the trouble to find out whether the new shoots are coming out or not, he can approximate the time to cut fairly well by waiting until a blossom here and there appears, cutting immediately. It would be difficult to tell on paper exactly when alfalfa was properly cured, as that is a matter of individual judgment. It is usual to cut in the morning and rake into windrows in the afternoon. With the usual weather in interior California that stage of the curing is completed by that time. The next day it can be gathered into cocks and gotten ready to move. That is about all the curing that is done. The size of the windrows depends upon the amount of hay, as thick hay should be put up in small windrows to give plenty of circulation of air. It is considered better also to build the cocks on raked land, otherwise the hay lying flat at the bottom will not cure properly and cannot be gathered up clean.
Which Crop of Alfalfa for Seed?
Which cutting of alfalfa should be left for seed bearing?
Which cutting is best for seed depends, of course, on the way the plant grows in your locality. Where it starts early and gives many cuttings in a season with irrigation a later growth should be chosen for seed than with a short season where fewer cuttings can be had. The second cutting is best in many places, but O. E. Lambert of Modesto after threshing about 30 lots in one year tells us that some growers had left second, some third and some fourth cuttings for seed. He found the second cutting very poor both in yield and grade, much of it not being well filled and the seed blighted, as the growth of hay was too heavy. The seed on third cutting was good both in grade and yield. Much of the seed on fourth cutting was not matured. For good results the stand should be thin. Our drier, heavier lands give the best results, sub-irrigated lands not seeding. All irrigation should stop with the previous cutting for hay.
Siloing First Crop Alfalfa.
How about putting first cutting of alfalfa and foxtail into the silo? Do you think there is any danger of fire in a wooden silo, and do you add salt and water when filling, and how long after it is cut would you advise putting it into the silo?
Put it through the silo cutter as soon as you can get it from the field. Do not let it cure at all, and be sure to cut and pack well. If at all dry, use water at the time of filling, and some salt then also, if you desire. There is no danger of firing if you put it in with good moisture, and by short cutting and hard packing you exclude the air. If you do not do this you will get a silo full of manure, and possibly have a fire while it is rotting.
Soil for Alfalfa.
What kind of soil is best for alfalfa on a dairy ranch?
An ideal soil for alfalfa is a deep well drained soil into which the roots can run deeply without danger of encountering standing water or alkali. Still we are finding that alfalfa is very successful on soils which are not strictly ideal, providing the moisture is supplied in such a way that the soil shall not be waterlogged nor the water be allowed to remain upon the surface during the hot weather, because this kills the plant.