Medicago sativa Perennial legume cover crop.
Low desert areas of the West, San Joaquin Valley in California and Southern Texas and Gulf coast states. Zones 9-11. Popular hay plant great for cover cropping on fertile soils (alfalfas do not like acidic soils) with fair to good drainage.
- Application Rate: 0.5-1 lb/1000 sq ft or 25 lb/acre
- Inoculant: None needed, seed is nitrocoated
- Germination: 5-10 Days
- Plant Height: 18-24″
- Uses: Beneficial insect habitat, bee forage, brings subsurface minerals to the surface, hay, pasture, green manure.
- Facts to Note: Plant shallowly in early fall or spring. Can fix 200 lb Nitrogen/acre if given adequate Phosphorus, Calcium, and Sulfur. Yields up to 10 tons of organic matter per acre. Suitable for 3-5 year rotations. Requires summer irrigation and produce the most growth in warm weather.
Note to Certified Organic Growers: All our cover crop seed is untreated, non-GMO seed. This is conventional seed, but all seeds are coated with Nitro-Coat Organic, which is an OMRI listed coating. This coating uses all organic ingredients: the proper rhizobacteria, a Calcium Carbonate coating that is naturally water absorbing to speed seed germination, and an OMRI listed organic adhesive.
