Transplanting Alfalfa 



fOME alfalfa enthusiasts have laid considerable emphasis on 

 transplanting. The plan is briefly as follows: 

 Sow alfalfa in the spring in rows three feet apart. Cultivate 

 several times to keep down weeds. Dig up rows of plants in fall. 

 Cut back central roots to six inch length and transplant individual 

 plants in checks 3 feet by 3 feet. The following year cultivate 

 several times to keep out weeds and blue-grass. (See Fig. 39.) 



Is this a practical method of growing alfalfa on our fertile farms 

 here in Wisconsin? Have we time and can we afford to grow a hay 

 crop like we would cabbage or strawberries? That transplanting 

 under average conditions is a laborious, costly and impractical 

 method of growing alfalfa is a statement not necessary to make 

 to those who are farming for dollars and cents. In parts of 

 the arid West transplanting has proven quite successful for seed 

 production with hardy varieties. In Wisconsin there may be special 

 soil conditions, such as the sandy soils where this transplanting 

 method might be of some value, but this matter is entirely in the ex- 

 perimental stage and as yet no one has demonstrated its practicability. 



Cossack vs. Grimm 



Cossack alfalfa plants and seed have, in some sections, been wide- 

 ly if not wildly advertised and sold at fabulous prices for trans- 

 planting. 



We have had the Cossack alfalfa under trial now for three years. 

 It is a variegated strain like the Grimm and Baltic. We have found 

 it an excellent variety but so far in no way superior in hardiness and 

 yields to the Grimm or Baltic. A neighboring experiment station 

 has tested out the Cossack and arrived at this same conclusion. We 

 hope that future tests may show it to be even better than the Grimm 

 or Baltic. 



With all its excellent qualities we would not see fit to generally 

 recommend Cossack alfalfa in Wisconsin if the seed were to cost 

 $2.00 a pound. For the most part alfalfa seed production in Wis- 

 consin has not been a commercial success due primarily to our abun- 

 dant rainfall which favors stem and leaf growth far more than seed 

 setting. If it were the initial cost of the seed it would not be a ser- 

 ious matter because we could raise our own supply and sell the sur- 

 plus at a fancy figure, such as we were required to pay. With our 

 humid conditions we are for the most part dependent upon the more 

 arid West for our supply of seed. For this reason we have been 

 very cautious in the past not to recommend any variety of alfalfa 

 until we were assured our farmers could secure genuine seed at fairly 

 reasonable prices. We believe Grimm will continue to become lower 

 in price as time goes on and as the production out West increases. 

 Cossack alfalfa seed is quite scarce, but it too, will become cheaper 

 as the production increases. 



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