Clovers and How to Grow Them

by Thomas Shaw

The subsoiling of lands not sufficiently open below will be greatly helpful to the growth of alfalfa. This may also be true of lands not over-retentive naturally, but made so by the treading of the animals for successive years on the soil under the furrow when plowing the land. In some conditions, without subsoiling thus, the growing of alfalfa will not be successful, but in doing this work, care should be taken not to bring up raw subsoil to the surface. In subsoiling for alfalfa, usually the more deeply the ground can be stirred by the subsoiler, the better will be the results that will follow. Subsoiling is particularly helpful to the growing of alfalfa on many of the clay soils of the South.

In the far West, toward the mountains, and probably within the same, are areas in which excellent stands of alfalfa may be obtained by simply sowing the seed on surfaces stirred with a disk or with a heavy harrow weighted while it is being driven over the land. The implements should be driven first one way and then the other, and, of course, the seed is harrowed after it has been sown. Where the soil is sufficiently level, this plan of preparing will prove satisfactory, more especially where water can be put upon the land, but it will also succeed frequently in the absence of irrigating waters. In some instances the disking and sowing are both done by the same implement, which is driven both ways across the field.

Alfalfa is sometimes sown, and with profit, on steep hill sides which are inclined to wash. When set on these it tends to prevent the washing of the land. In such situations it is better to sow with a nurse crop, which will help to hold the soil until the alfalfa becomes rooted. Where land is so loose as to blow and irrigation cannot be practiced, only as much should be sown each season as can be covered with stable litter and well-rotted straw drawn out at the proper season.

Sowing.—The best season for sowing alfalfa will depend upon such conditions as relate to soil, moisture and climate. On rather stiff clay soils, the other conditions being right, the most satisfactory results are obtained from sowing the seed in the spring, and on land that has been plowed in the autumn and exposed to the mellowing influences of winter. But to this there may be some exceptions. On lands so light as to lift with the wind, that season should be avoided in sowing, if possible, when lifting winds prevail. Such winds are common in some localities in the spring, and may uncover the seed in some places and bury it too deeply in others.

Where moisture is deficient the seed must be sown at those times when it is most plentiful. This may be in the autumn, but more commonly it is in the quite early spring. In some of the mountain States the best results have been obtained under semi-arid conditions from sowing the seed in the late autumn, so that it would be ready for germination at the first commencement of the period of growth in the spring. Under some conditions the too dry character of the weather may preclude the sowing of alfalfa in the summer and autumn months. Where moisture is plentiful all the season of growth, alfalfa may be sown almost any time, except the early spring or late autumn. Where irrigating waters are plentiful, the only hindrances to sowing alfalfa at any season of the year are such as may arise from climate. Far South in very mild areas it may be sown almost any time.

Where the temperatures are low in winter, the best results are obtained from sowing alfalfa in the spring and early summer, otherwise the plants do not become sufficiently well established to withstand the rigors of the winter following. Under some conditions, sufficiently satisfactory results follow sowing in the early summer, even in Northern latitudes. Where the winters are sufficiently mild and the moisture is sufficiently plentiful, early autumn sowing, as in August or September, according to the locality, is, all things considered, the most satisfactory, for the reason, first, that it follows, or may follow, a crop grown the same season; second, that the plants are less hindered in their growth by weeds when they are young; and third, that they produce crops of soiling food or hay the first season after sowing. Many weeds do not grow in autumn and winter; hence, the less injury done by them to alfalfa plants, since the latter are so strong by spring that they overshadow the weeds in their effort to grow. When alfalfa is sown at such a time, the growth of one year virtually is gained by the process.

North of parallel 40°, that is, north of the latitude of Columbus, Ohio, and Denver, Colorado, speaking in a general way, alfalfa is more commonly sown in the spring, but not usually so early as clover, lest the young plants, which are more tender than clover plants, should be nipped by spring frosts. This danger is frequently present in the region of the upper Missouri. East of the Mississippi it may usually be advisable to sow in the spring some distance south from the latitude named. West from the same are areas where early autumn sowing is frequently the best. In much of the Southern and Southwestern States, early autumn sowing is considered better practice than spring sowing, but to this there are exceptions. Under some conditions alternate freezing and thawing of the land near the surface tend to throw out young plants, as, for instance, those autumn sown, more readily than plants from spring-sown seed.

Alfalfa is usually sown much the same as medium red clover (see [page 75]), but there are the following points of difference: 1. Since alfalfa is more commonly sown in dry areas, it is more important, relatively, that the seed shall be buried more uniformly and deeply in the soil in such areas. 2. Since it is liable to be more injured, relatively, by a nurse crop than the clovers, it is more frequently sown without one. And 3. Since it is expected to furnish food for a much longer term of years than any of the clovers, it is relatively more important that the seed shall be sown with a view to seek a uniform and sufficient stand of the plants.

Whether the seed is sown by hand, or by any of the hand machines in use, the results will usually prove satisfactory, but in climates where moisture is deficient, decidedly better results are obtained from sowing the seed with some form of seed drill. A press drill is preferred in soils so light and open as to dry out easily or to lift easily with the wind. Under conditions of ample moisture, a light covering with a harrow will suffice, but under conditions the opposite, more covering is necessary. In areas where spring and early autumn showers are frequent, the roller will provide a sufficient covering, especially where the soils are well charged with a clay content. On other soils, as those which cover much of the prairie, the seed should be buried from 1 to 2 inches deep.

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.