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Perennial plot

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Forestryguy

Member
Looking at putting in a perennial plot of clover and/or alfalfa. Can I mix these two? I would also like to put in some beets in the same plot. Should I seed the beets at the same time or wait till later and lightly disk them in? Thanks.
 
Clover and alfalfa will do great together. The clover will actually attach to the deep roots of the alfalfa and pull water from them during dry weather. If you want beets mixed in too.....plant all 3 together in the fall. The beets will come in strong and be great this season, and then the clover/alfalfa will take off in the spring.
 
Boonervilleusa said:
Clover and alfalfa will do great together. The clover will actually attach to the deep roots of the alfalfa and pull water from them during dry weather. If you want beets mixed in too.....plant all 3 together in the fall. The beets will come in strong and be great this season, and then the clover/alfalfa will take off in the spring.
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Great advice, the only things I did different was I planted all of my clover with rye in the fall last year and I had minimal weed issues this spring and the rye has been great fawn cover.
 
Beets are spring or earlier summer planting. R u meaning turnips & radish? Those u can do July 10-August 10 for example. I Personally would do the turnips & radish seperate than the clover aa mix. Good luck!
 
Not sure how big a plot you are planting but alfalfa is high maintenance for a food plot if you want to keep it desirable. Either thru heavy enough grazing or cutting and removing the stand on schedule.
 
Sligh1 said:
Beets are spring or earlier summer planting. R u meaning turnips & radish? Those u can do July 10-August 10 for example. I Personally would do the turnips & radish seperate than the clover aa mix. Good luck!
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I meant turnips or radish.

If I remember right alfalfa just needs to be mowed, then disked and reseeded every 3 years?

Could I seed in the turnips or radishes every year?
 
U can't reseed alalfa every 3 yrs unless u get at least one yr of a total kill of old stand before reseeding. No living alfalfa there, rotate for yr then reseed it. Clover u can reseed or interseed any time. Alfalfa is more maintanance just because it can't tolerate junk on top like clover can. If u can't bale it- which most plotters can't - just cut higher and more often so u don't choke it out. Alfalfa is more fussy about fertilizer & micronutrients as well. For example, guys often add Boron to fertilizer while making sure p&k is right with right PH. Last- it's a touch harder to plant.... Likes more of a firm seed bed and doesn't like wet feet like some clovers can tolerate. But yes- it's a great addition if u do it right. It's not incredibly complicated but for sure more to it vs clover.
 
Sligh1 said:
U can't reseed alalfa every 3 yrs unless u get at least one yr of a total kill of old stand before reseeding. No living alfalfa there, rotate for yr then reseed it. Clover u can reseed or interseed any time. Alfalfa is more maintanance just because it can't tolerate junk on top like clover can. If u can't bale it- which most plotters can't - just cut higher and more often so u don't choke it out. Alfalfa is more fussy about fertilizer & micronutrients as well. For example, guys often add Boron to fertilizer while making sure p&k is right with right PH. Last- it's a touch harder to plant.... Likes more of a firm seed bed and doesn't like wet feet like some clovers can tolerate. But yes- it's a great addition if u do it right. It's not incredibly complicated but for sure more to it vs clover.
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^^^ very good info to know
 
Autotoxicity is the reason you can't seed alfalfa into standing alfalfa. You need a minimum of 6 months between. We keep our fields 3-4 years but even though it will thin some they can go as long as 10 yrs. For the best hay quality cut first cutting early before it buds, (many other signs to look for as well) then cut at 28 days, 30/days, than about 32 days. Weather can play a huge role. Best to remove what you cut. Its not grass and leaving all that lay will hurt the stand over time.
 
Oct-Lull said:
Autotoxicity is the reason you can't seed alfalfa into standing alfalfa. You need a minimum of 6 months between. We keep our fields 3-4 years but even though it will thin some they can go as long as 10 yrs. For the best hay quality cut first cutting early before it buds, (many other signs to look for as well) then cut at 28 days, 30/days, than about 32 days. Weather can play a huge role. Best to remove what you cut. Its not grass and leaving all that lay will hurt the stand over time.
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As someone who has considered planting an acre or so to alfalfa for the express purpose of feeding deer and who does not have raking and baling equipment...is it feasible to only mow it? I could theoretically mow it twice to mulch it up some so it doesn't clump up on top of the still growing alfalfa. (I do have a quality brush hog mower.)

Also, since this small plot would be in CRP acres, I am not allowed to harvest it or let a farmer take it, etc.
 
Daver said:
As someone who has considered planting an acre or so to alfalfa for the express purpose of feeding deer and who does not have raking and baling equipment...is it feasible to only mow it? I could theoretically mow it twice to mulch it up some so it doesn't clump up on top of the still growing alfalfa. (I do have a quality brush hog mower.)

Also, since this small plot would be in CRP acres, I am not allowed to harvest it or let a farmer take it, etc.
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I mow mine...but....the deer keep it nipped pretty short.....plus I don't plant a hay alfalfa. It's a grazing alfalfa that doesn't get very tall in comparison
 
Thanks for the information everyone. I may just go with clover, since it is lower maintenance.

With that in mind, is a clover/oats/beet or turnip mix a good way to go? Then seed in turnip/beet yearly?
 
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