Has anyone had any luck planting alfalfa ? If so, what are the do's and don'ts? We have tried several spring/summer plots and was told alfalfa would be something to try for a good protein source.. Opinions...

I've got 4 acres of it. It's done exceptionally well since planting in the spring of 2013. I planted a Roundup Ready variety. If your pH isn't 6.0 or above I would not plant it this year. If you use a RR variety, plant it in the spring, if you use a non RR variety plant it in the fall. I put out 300 lbs of 10-20-20 per acre at planting.

I live in an area with a very low deer density. This past summer, I could not find one stem in the whole field that had not been browsed on. Deer will travel to eat alfalfa. I wrote that to let you know if you have a small area to plant and a moderate to high deer density, don't waste your time.

Fur, did u get any hay cuttings off yours, if so how many?

I got my bag in today. I had talked myself out of it but now I guess I'll go ahead on with it. I'll plant mine at 15lbs per acre. Disk then pack it. Spread seed and fert and pack cross ways again. Like Fur said keep Ph in 6.0 to 6.8 range.

I think you stand a better chance of growing it in N Alabama than you do in the southern part of the state. From what I read about it , it likes cooler weather.

I'm pretty sure in the summer time it's not an average of one degree cooler in N Alabama than it is S Alabama

Bulldog 805 is for Macon, Ga south to the Fla pandle. Ph and soil condition is very important for success. I'm going to try some this year and see how it goes. Sent my soil sample yesterday and think it will good for alfalfa. Good looking black blackbelt soil, don't think I'll even have to lime, but will know in a few days.

You are Probably right if your talking July and August but spring and fall are a lot different and how much snow and ice did you get this past week

I could cut mine 4-5 times per year for hay but I don't have a Mo Co and I'm not buying one for 4 acres of Alfalfa. I cut it when we cut the bermuda field it joins. April-June it will be ready to cut again 3 weeks after it's cut. It's amazing how fast it grows when it's treated right.

MY field goes dormant when we get some low 20's for a few nights. I don't know about the varieties for LA, but the variety I planted probably would grow all winter down south.

But if I lived down south I'd be hard pressed not to sprig perennial peanuts

I think this picture is from the 2nd summer. You can see some weeds. I spray it with Roundup twice per year. It's knee deep in the picture.

Man that looks good!!!

That's what I was thinking

Did you use an innoculent on it when you seeded it that helps it feed itself

Thanks Matt and Mirage. I spared no expense when I planted it. I did it as right as I know how to do it.

rothirsch, the seed came pre-innoculated.

That does look awesome and I know it is or will be a deer magnet. My point about growing better in N Al was that if growing alfalfa was easy, every dairy and beef cattle farmer in the state would be growing it for hay. Plus the horse folks would be all over it. You see it in Tn and Ky but not so much here. Maybe they have come up with some new varieties that like warmer weather.

coach, IMO, it's not the growing it problem, it's the curing it for hay problem. It will grow here fine but it's hard to cure here and bale without getting bleached by the sun. I guess our humidity is to blame. Bleached out alfalfa hay won't sell like the pretty green alfalfa grown up north.

I've also heard the army worms are tough on it .

On the farming aspect, Alfalfa is over rated IMO.. Its good, just not good enough for the upkeep, on the farming aspect of it. With that said, Im trying to get a small patch good enough for the PH to handle it.