Alfalfa has to be cut four times a year. It makes wonderful hay, but Cliff decided he could do without all the work, not to mention the stress of hoping it wouldn't rain while the hay cures. He is such a perfectionist, he worried himself silly every cutting, until that alfalfa was in the barn: Was it too dry? Too dry means the leaves fall off when you're feeding it and you lose nutrients. Had it cured long enough? If not, the hay bales might mold in the center. That isn't too dangerous for cows, but it wastes hay because they won't eat it.
My husband resolved never to plant alfalfa again.
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| This is what red clover looks like. |
Last spring with all the seeds came up, we were surprised to find very little red clover and a LOT of alfalfa plants. Someone must have mixed up the seeds. The peculiar thing is that the alfalfa came up and thrived so well, because you do NOT sow alfalfa on the snow in wintertime; you sow it in August or September.
Last year Cliff mowed it a couple of times and then let the cows graze it. He did not intend to be slave to four cuttings of alfalfa a year.
Of course, I am counting my chicks before they are hatched. We could still get a hard freeze that would destroy the whole crop of alfalfa. It happened once before.
