Clover and Alfalfa together

Powder

5 year old buck +
I'm planning on putting several fields in clover next spring but I would still like some diversity. My plan was clover with wr for a cover crop in late summer/early fall. Can I add alfalfa to this mix? I really like the thought of clover and alfalfa together in the same plot after the first season. It would be planted using throw n mow.
 
I like mixing clover, alfalfa and chicory together and that is my go-to perennial mix. I've had good luck planting that mix with tillage followed by broadcasting and cultipacking. If you can kill all the existing competition and broadcast seed on the thick thatch you might get it to grow with some timely rainfall.
 
The perennial side of my mix this year was:

50% chicory
25% alfalfa
25% dutch white clover

My rationale was that the clover will flex up and spread, the chicory will slowly lose ground, and hopefully the quarter alfalfa will at least hold on for a while.
 
I want to echo what has been said before. The alfalfa, clover, chicory combo is pretty solid.

What are the fields in currently? I had incredible success frost seeding clover and alfalfa plots two springs ago. One of the frost seedings was into a fescue mix that I sprayed with clethodim and coming out of dormancy. The other was a soybean field plot with just stubble left from the past fall. I have only ever drilled chicory but will be trying to do some frost seeding with it this spring into two new plots that were drilled last fall. In Northern Missouri at least, the alfalfa is slower to get established than the clover. I would try and get it going as quickly as possible to make sure you don't end up with mostly clover. Consider frost seeding both (or all three if you decide to go with chicory too), but with a higher ratio of alfalfa to clover than what you want to end up with. If I had to choose final stand percentages, I would want 50% alfalfa, 35% clovers, and 15% chicory. But that is based on what I have seen deer prefer in our area and somewhat taking into account the cost of the seed vs. the finished stand quality.
 
These plots are relatively new and haven't had anything in them the past two years. The plots are in Canada, just across the MN border so I wasn't able to do anything the last two summers. The ph was 5.5 the last time I did a soil test. I plan on putting down lots of lime this spring and then spraying this summer to kill everything. It's not great soil but we typically get plenty of rain.

If I were to go with chicory, alfalfa and clover, would I still use wr as a cover crop? Due to the low ph that needs to be addressed, I don't see planting in the spring as an option.
 
These plots are relatively new and haven't had anything in them the past two years. The plots are in Canada, just across the MN border so I wasn't able to do anything the last two summers. The ph was 5.5 the last time I did a soil test. I plan on putting down lots of lime this spring and then spraying this summer to kill everything. It's not great soil but we typically get plenty of rain.

If I were to go with chicory, alfalfa and clover, would I still use wr as a cover crop? Due to the low ph that needs to be addressed, I don't see planting in the spring as an option.
Absolutely WR on the first year. You don't know what kind of fresh hell a glyphosate application may unleash, so you'll want a 2-bushel rate of rye out there ready to choke out whatever may come after the burndown. I also like to let that rye go to at least August 1st (I'm not much further south of you as far as zones go). Keep the goalie (rye) in until the warm season weeds and grasses call it for the year.
 
Your ph needs to be 6.5 before you plant that alfalfa. Also, do not plant it on a dirt that holds moisture. It will develop root rot.
 
Completely different soil here than you, but as a deer attractant, clover and alfalfa are great together!!! That combo has been our heaviest-hammered plot mix. As Nightvision said just above, well-drained soil is best. And SUN. Our best plot production has been on our highest ground, with our best, well-draining soil and full sun. We limed the daylights out of it beforehand.

Our mix has been 25% Starfire red clover, 25% Marathon red clover, and 50% Supreme 2020 alfalfa - all from Welter's Seed Co. in Iowa. No affiliation with Welter's.
 
I know I can frost seed the wr and clover. Can alfalfa be done the same way?
 
I've had great luck frosting alfalfa onto nearly bare soil.
 
I know I can frost seed the wr and clover. Can alfalfa be done the same way?

FYI - Cannot frost seed Winter Rye..
 
FYI - Cannot frost seed Winter Rye..
Most don't but there is a fairly long thread on here about spring planted winter rye.
 
Most don't but there is a fairly long thread on here about spring planted winter rye.

Spring (post frost) would be fine..
 
Spring (post frost) would be fine..
Are you saying that the frost will kill it? I haven't planted it other than in the fall but I highly doubt the spring frost would kill it. If memory serves me SD broadcasted oats on top of snow this past spring and had great results.
 
Are you saying that the frost will kill it? I haven't planted it other than in the fall but I highly doubt the spring frost would kill it. If memory serves me SD broadcasted oats on top of snow this past spring and had great results.

Not exactly cut and dry.. Depends on several factors such as duration of the frost, seedling stage when frost happens etc.. You could lose some part or all of your stand to seedling injury.

Good resource on the topic..


Last point - Spring planted rye and wheat won't produce heads (due to lack of vernalization) and many times they will develop crop rust depending on what all is planted with them.
 
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