Wow great advice especially plant it before winter. Micronutrients and K&P and gypsh for controlling weeds. Since i have a sandy land to plant alfalfa i need cow manure pre-plant and of course to use fungicide to control the alfalfa from getting too much water.
@@DIYfoodplotpro The plants stayed small and never produce bulbs or tubers. I only found a couple radishes the size of baby carrots. This was after I tilled in recommended amendments from a soil test. Not a weed or overpopulation issue either
Did you put around 100LBS of nitrogen on it? Without the nitrogen they won’t ever grow very big. You probably did, but I just wanted to mention just in case you did know. Thanks for watching
Great comments. We have been planting alfalfa for about 10 years, and although EXPENSIVE we are getting 5+ yrs out of the fields. The main advantage is of course if you do it correctly as you have stated it remains weed free with just a couple sprayings of RU. As you said you must CLIP it down to 6" before it gets to tall, our you will smother it and kill it if you allow it to grow to tall. The deer LOVE it, good luck. Bob
Yes sir! Great comments! I really like it, and I’m hoping to add another alfalfa plot or 2 to the farms in the coming years. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Inhave about 7 to 10 acres of a new alfalfa field on a farm i bought. I kept asking the seller whats your plan for management of this stuff? Never got an answer so last august i went in and clipped it. Deer loved it based on the trail cam pics but some grass did start poking thru. Yes its roundup ready variety too. Looks like it was planted with a drill based on seeing rows. At one point the lazy deer were actually bedding down in it also last summer standing up and eating it.
@@DIYfoodplotpro from what I think it was a first year crop planted the previous fall. First time I went there to scout before I went to settlement I saw 4 good bucks in one of the 1 to 2 acre fields. It's surrounded by thousand acres of no hunting so the deer see no pressure. I got sick so only hunted it once and rattled in a buck to a decoy. In the summer that stuff was a thing of beauty
@@jerimahjohnson8698 that alfalfa is absolutely the berries during the entire summer and a good bit into fall, depending on what state your in and how far south you are, possibly longer than that. I 100% disagree with the folks that say alfalfa isn’t any good for food plots, hard to find anything that can sustain that amount of browse pressure and something that whitetails love that much.
Well? Is it worth it? Does it make some kind of big difference in antler growth, etc? This is what I was expecting you to address. I was curious about your opinion on this. Not the cost and difficulty of establishing it. I already knew that. Actually I already know the value of raising deer on it too but, was curious what you thought. Bummer. Also, do you read these posts?
Yes I read every comment! I do believe alfalfa is worth every penny! I keep a plot of alfalfa going on my property, as an old field of alfalfa thins, I add a new field and rotate the old field back into another food plot.
Was thinking the other day how it would be good to have some alfalfa in this drought. Like native grasses they got the roots to find water no matter the drought!
@@aarongoeppner413 I don’t use a fungicide, never have had to use one on alfalfa. But it’s not a crop grown much around my area, and also I suspect with the clipping and the deer constantly eating it down that keeps it from getting thick, and tall which would be the ingredients needed for most diseases to start in. Thanks for watching!
Daniel! Thanks for watching the video, really appreciate it. I would only spray as justified by insect pressure, but in my neck of the woods there is a good amount of pressure, especially right at clipping time. Usually for me it was 2-3 times during the growing season. I’ve used a bunch of diffrent insecticides on it, just make sure you 100% always follow the label, make sure that insecticide is labeled for alfalfa as well.
Just wrapped up my first attempt at corn and beans.Sprayed, Limed,, fertilized, and piled on the nitrogen on the corn , planted and cultivated. Need rain now. My only issue was using atv implements I could only get the corn about 1/4 to 1/2 " deep. We are about to find out if this is rocket math.
That’s awesome man, congrats to you on the work your putting in! As long as the seed is covered, your going to be fine! Did you use a planter or did you disk and broadcast the corn and soybeans?
You might be surprised how little soil moisture it takes to get corn and soybeans up and out of the ground…unless your in a severe drought, most of the time there is plenty of moisture in the soil to get them up.
Yes you can leave it laying there or if available you can harvest for hay….i don’t harvest because I feel like I’m losing alot of my fertilizer if we bale it and take it off. Thanks for watching
Yes sir! Alfalfa 100% cannot stand wet soils. It can take droughty soils, but it absolutely cannot take poorly drained soils! Thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!
@DIYfoodplotpro Love the chickory Alfalfa and clover mix frost seeded into a nurse crop of Radish Turnup and oats, the Oats and Turnips really supress the weeds. But if your frost seeding, make sure it's the second week in Febuary that's the best time. You can drill it to in the fall, I prefer drilling or frost seeding to broadcasting.
@@carrollsanders9376 good deal, I will have to try some chicory, I haven’t heard a ton of reviews on it but what little I have had been very mixed, people either love it or hate it, is the way it sounds to me.
Can't wait to show y'all the new Alfalfa Plot this coming fall....Anybody else thinking about planting Alfalfa this fall???
Great information! We really appreciate you for taking time to thoroughly explain the costs and issues.
Thank you Nathan! Glad you liked the video and hopefully it was helpful! Appreciate you watching and commenting! Have a great Friday!
Wow great advice especially plant it before winter.
Micronutrients and K&P and gypsh for controlling weeds.
Since i have a sandy land to plant alfalfa i need cow manure pre-plant and of course to use fungicide to control the alfalfa from getting too much water.
Sounds like you have got a solid stand of alfalfa on your place! Good luck with the plots and thanks for watching
I have sandy loam soils here in Upstate Michigan.
I cannot grow turnips or radishes in it but it grows a lush stand of perennials.
Including alfalfa.
Alfalfa is an awesome plot, I really like it! What happens to the brassicas, they just burn up???
@@DIYfoodplotpro The plants stayed small and never produce bulbs or tubers.
I only found a couple radishes the size of baby carrots.
This was after I tilled in recommended amendments from a soil test. Not a weed or overpopulation issue either
Did you put around 100LBS of nitrogen on it? Without the nitrogen they won’t ever grow very big. You probably did, but I just wanted to mention just in case you did know. Thanks for watching
Great comments. We have been planting alfalfa for about 10 years, and although EXPENSIVE we are getting 5+ yrs out of the fields. The main advantage is of course if you do it correctly as
you have stated it remains weed free with just a couple sprayings of RU. As you said you must CLIP it down to 6" before it gets to tall, our you will smother it and kill it if you allow it to grow to tall. The deer LOVE it, good luck. Bob
Yes sir! Great comments! I really like it, and I’m hoping to add another alfalfa plot or 2 to the farms in the coming years. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Inhave about 7 to 10 acres of a new alfalfa field on a farm i bought. I kept asking the seller whats your plan for management of this stuff? Never got an answer so last august i went in and clipped it. Deer loved it based on the trail cam pics but some grass did start poking thru.
Yes its roundup ready variety too.
Looks like it was planted with a drill based on seeing rows.
At one point the lazy deer were actually bedding down in it also last summer standing up and eating it.
Jeremiah, that is awesome! It’s definitely a heavy use plot throughout the U.S. Any idea how long the alfalfa had been there?
@@DIYfoodplotpro from what I think it was a first year crop planted the previous fall. First time I went there to scout before I went to settlement I saw 4 good bucks in one of the 1 to 2 acre fields.
It's surrounded by thousand acres of no hunting so the deer see no pressure. I got sick so only hunted it once and rattled in a buck to a decoy.
In the summer that stuff was a thing of beauty
@@jerimahjohnson8698 that alfalfa is absolutely the berries during the entire summer and a good bit into fall, depending on what state your in and how far south you are, possibly longer than that. I 100% disagree with the folks that say alfalfa isn’t any good for food plots, hard to find anything that can sustain that amount of browse pressure and something that whitetails love that much.
Well? Is it worth it? Does it make some kind of big difference in antler growth, etc? This is what I was expecting you to address. I was curious about your opinion on this. Not the cost and difficulty of establishing it. I already knew that. Actually I already know the value of raising deer on it too but, was curious what you thought. Bummer. Also, do you read these posts?
Yes I read every comment! I do believe alfalfa is worth every penny! I keep a plot of alfalfa going on my property, as an old field of alfalfa thins, I add a new field and rotate the old field back into another food plot.
Was thinking the other day how it would be good to have some alfalfa in this drought. Like native grasses they got the roots to find water no matter the drought!
Thanks for watching! Yeah alfalfa is great plot to have in a drought….only problem alfalfa has in a drought is when it’s first getting established.
Great video!!!!
Aaron thank you!!! Also Thanks so much for watching, and subscribing, I really appreciate it.
@@DIYfoodplotpro what fungicide do you use on yours?? Where do you get it?
@@aarongoeppner413 I don’t use a fungicide, never have had to use one on alfalfa. But it’s not a crop grown much around my area, and also I suspect with the clipping and the deer constantly eating it down that keeps it from getting thick, and tall which would be the ingredients needed for most diseases to start in. Thanks for watching!
@@DIYfoodplotpro ahhh I meant insecticide
@@aarongoeppner413 do you have your certified private pesticide license?
Great video Wes. What do you recommend for your insecticide and do you spray it every month from may - oct?
Daniel! Thanks for watching the video, really appreciate it. I would only spray as justified by insect pressure, but in my neck of the woods there is a good amount of pressure, especially right at clipping time. Usually for me it was 2-3 times during the growing season. I’ve used a bunch of diffrent insecticides on it, just make sure you 100% always follow the label, make sure that insecticide is labeled for alfalfa as well.
Do you have your certified private pesticide license?
Just wrapped up my first attempt at corn and beans.Sprayed, Limed,, fertilized, and piled on the nitrogen on the corn , planted and cultivated. Need rain now. My only issue was using atv implements I could only get the corn about 1/4 to 1/2 " deep. We are about to find out if this is rocket math.
That’s awesome man, congrats to you on the work your putting in! As long as the seed is covered, your going to be fine! Did you use a planter or did you disk and broadcast the corn and soybeans?
You might be surprised how little soil moisture it takes to get corn and soybeans up and out of the ground…unless your in a severe drought, most of the time there is plenty of moisture in the soil to get them up.
@DIYFoodplotpro I disced and seeded with a spreader then ran a cultipacker over it.. I don't see anything on top of the ground
@@royguidry1311 awesome man!!! Great work! Hope it’s a killer plot for you.
When I clip with a brushog should I just leave it laying there?
Yes you can leave it laying there or if available you can harvest for hay….i don’t harvest because I feel like I’m losing alot of my fertilizer if we bale it and take it off. Thanks for watching
Thank you.
If your planting a wet area Berseem clover is a way better Idea than alfalfa. Rotate it annually with summer annuals.
Yes sir! Alfalfa 100% cannot stand wet soils. It can take droughty soils, but it absolutely cannot take poorly drained soils! Thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!
@@DIYfoodplotpro We combine Alfalfa with chicory both grow on simular soils under simular conditions.
@@carrollsanders9376 do you like the chicory? That is a plot that I have never raised, but am planning on trying a plot of it soon.
@DIYfoodplotpro Love the chickory Alfalfa and clover mix frost seeded into a nurse crop of Radish Turnup and oats, the Oats and Turnips really supress the weeds. But if your frost seeding, make sure it's the second week in Febuary that's the best time.
You can drill it to in the fall, I prefer drilling or frost seeding to broadcasting.
@@carrollsanders9376 good deal, I will have to try some chicory, I haven’t heard a ton of reviews on it but what little I have had been very mixed, people either love it or hate it, is the way it sounds to me.
too big of a payment for most people....they can keep the truck and I will keep my cash
Definitely is a costly plot, wanted folks to be aware of the cost before jumping in. Thanks for watching