Harvesting For Hay
Category:
ALFALFA
Alsike clover is ready to harvest for hay when
the plants are just beginning to pass beyond the meridian of full bloom.
Some of the first blossoms will then have turned brown and some of the
smaller ones will still be deepening their tints, since the season of
bloom is about the same as for timothy, and since alsike for hay is more
commonly grown with timothy than with any other grass, both may be cut
when at their best, especially when intended for cows and sheep. But
when the hay is intended for horses, it should stand a few days longer
than the stage indicated above, in order to have the timothy in the
condition best suited to feeding horses. But the alsike, in the
meantime, would lose something in digestibility.
If grown alone for hay, the process of harvesting would be much the same
as in harvesting medium red clover. (See page 95.) But since the stems
of alsike clover are finer than those of the medium red, less time will
suffice for curing it. It will also cure more quickly along with some
other grass than if alone, since it does not then lie so closely in the
winrow or in the cock. Grasses, as a rule, cure more quickly than
clovers, and this also has a bearing on hastening curing in clover when
the two are grown together; and also in lessening the degree of the
fermentation after the crop has been stored. Ordinarily, when the
weather is bright, alsike clover along with timothy may be cut in the
forenoon, tedded once or twice soon after cutting, raked into small
winrows the same evening and stored away the following afternoon. When
thus managed, the hay loader may be used in lifting the hay from the
winrows. Alsike clover growing alone could not be cured thus quickly.
Nor would it be wise in showery weather to try and cure the crop without
putting it into cocks, whether grown alone or with some other crop. When
properly cured, the heads retain much of their bloom and the stems much
of their greenness.
The yields of hay vary greatly with the soil. On dry, sandy uplands the
yields of cured hay may not exceed 1/2 ton, while on rich loam soils it
may exceed 3 tons. Ordinarily, on good soils a combined crop of alsike
clover should yield from 1-1/2 to 2 tons per acre of very excellent hay.
Some authorities speak of getting two cuttings per year, but this is not
usual. Under quite favorable conditions it would be possible to get two
cuttings for soiling uses, providing the first was taken when the plants
were coming into bloom. Usually, the growth of the aftermath, when the
hay has been removed, is very moderate.
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Securing SeedPrevious:
Pasturing
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