580 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



years, periods of drought have been occasionally encountered in different 

 parts of the state, which have more or less seriously interfered with getting 

 a satisfactory stand or a sufficient amount of growth before winter. To 

 insure success, it therefore, seems wisest to sow somewhat earlier. Seed- 

 ings made in April or May, on the other hand, are so liable to be troubled 

 with weeds that such early seeding is not advisable, even with the use 

 of a nurse crop, unless the ground is known to be free of weed seeds. 

 On this point we would especially caution farmers, as few realize how full 

 of weed seeds the soil really is. Trouble with weeds has caused more 

 alfalfa failures than any other one thing. 



On account of the danger of trouble with weeds in spring seeding and 

 the liability of interference by drought in late summer seeding, it is 

 undoubtedly safest and best, where it can be done, to spend the spring in 

 ridding the ground of weed seeds and then sow the alfalfa alone about 

 the end of June or early in July. In this case the ground should be 

 plowed in the spring, turning under some manure if possible and then 

 harrowed every ten days or two weeks until seeding time. Each succes- 

 sive harrowing will ki'll the weeds that have started and put a fresh lot 

 of seeds in position to germinate until, finally, all weed seeds near enough 

 to the surface to grow will be sprouted and killed. 



When spring seeding is to be practiced, a light seeding of oats or beard- 

 less barley, about a bushel and a half per acre, may be used as a nurse 

 crop. This nurse crop should usually be cut for hay soon after heading 

 and removed from the field. With summer seeding a nurse crop should 

 not be used. 



PREPARING THE SEED-BED AND KILLING WEEDS. 



Preparation of the soil for alfalfa should usually be begun with the 

 preceding crop, applying any needed lime at that time. What the pre- 

 ceding crop is does not seem to be important so long as it will permit of 

 thorough soil preparation for the alfalfa. A corn crop which can be 

 given clean culture will usually be best, though for summer seeding any 

 spring sown crop which can be removed early in the summer may be 

 used. Early potatoes, peas for canning, clover and small grain crops can 

 all be used to precede summer sowing. In any case, a fine, mellow seed-bed 

 with a firm sub-surface should be prepared and weed seeds killed by re- 

 peated harrowing, as directed in preceding paragraphs. Extra deep plow- 

 ing is not advisable. Where alfalfa is to follow peas or early potatoes, a 

 good seed-bed can usually be prepared without plowing. 



METHOD AXD RATE OF SEEDING. 



Probably the best method of sowing alfalfa seed is with a drill, as by 

 this means it may be covered most uniformly. When a nurse crop is 

 sown with it, as in the case of spring seeding, the alfalfa seed should be 

 put into the grass seed attachment and dropped ahead of the drill 

 shoes. In the case of summer seeding, without a nurse crop, drilling the 

 same as wheat, with the drill set to run as shallow as possible, will 

 usually be best. If the drill cannot be adjusted to sow small amounts, 

 enough coarse corn meal may be mixed with the alfalfa seed to increase 



