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Over 25 Years of Providing Earth Friendly Products, Advice and Services for Eco-Friendly Living.
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Your Home for Safe Natural Products for Land and Hearth
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Organic and Conventional Alfalfa Seed
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted, long-lived perennial with wide adaptation. Alfalfa has the highest yield potential of the perennial forage crops. Yields in excess of 8 tons of dry matter and 4 tons of total digestible nutrients per acre have been obtained regularly. No other perennial crop is equal to Alfalfa as feed for livestock, as a cash crop, or as an energy-efficient crop on soils where Alfalfa is adapted. Alfalfa can be used as a cover crop and tilled under, or as a high protein forage and hay combination. It's deep roots can help break up hard pan clay soil and fix nitrogen into the soil.
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Alfalfa Seed Type
Download a general Planting Guide including lbs per acre chart by clicking here.
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General Planting Rates
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Stand alone 15-20lbs/acre
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In mix 6-15lbs/acre
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1 Acre=43,560sq ft, 4840sq yards or 160sq rods
Wholesale Pricing and Freight Call 802-385-1064. All the seed on this page is preinoculated.
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50lbs
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2/50 lbs
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Certified Organic VNS Alfalfa(variety not stated)
Offered as a less expensive alternatives, Certified Organic VNS Alfalfa is the variety not stated Alfalfa available for organic growers. It's disease resistance and winter survivability is similar to the common Vernal Alfalfa. This is not for sprouting in the kitchen. It's farm and garden seed.
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$225.00
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$429.00
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Roadrunner Alfalfa - Organic
Roadrunner has excellent leaf to stem ratio and has very good disease resistance and excellent winter hardiness. It has 16% better yield than Vernal in 2 year Iowa test, and ranked 11th of 24 varieties. The fall Dormancy is 4.0. A mix of Roadrunner Alfalfa and Niva Orchardgrass won the World Forage Analysis Competition in 2010. *Roadrunner is offered with Apex Green seed coating.
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$275.00
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$540.00
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Rum River Alfalfa - Conventional
Rum River is conventionally grown, nonGMO and pre-inoculated with an inoculant organic farmers can use.
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$205.00
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$399.00
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Certified Organic Galaxy II Multileaf Alfalfa
NEW!
Certified Organic Galaxy II Alfalfa is a high yielding organic alfalfa with exceptional forage quality and excellent disease resistance.
In preliminary yield data, Certified Organic Galaxy II produced over 6 tons of dry matter per acre with a relative feed value of 148.
Certified Organic Galaxy is dark green, dense, has a 98% multileaf expression and a higher leaf to stem ratio than other alfalfas, thus allowing dairy and beef farmers more milk production and weight gains.
Certified Organic Galaxy II Alfalfa also has an excellent disease and survivability package. Certified Organic Galaxy II boasts a 30/30 DRI, a winter survival rating of 2.1 and a fall dormancy rating of 4. This strong combination gives producers the added benefit of a longer growing season, excellent plant health and top qualtiy yields.
Certified Galaxy II is known for growing in a wide variety of soil types and conditions and has exceptional persistance. Add all these benefits up and you will see that Certified Organic Galaxy II Alfalfa is a superior alfalfa offering many benefits over other varieties.
Certified Organic Galaxy II Alfalfa is pre-inoculated with OMRI approved INTX Pre-Vail inoculation.
Inoculation is a rhizobium bacteria that should be applied to all legumes. Rhizobium bacteria promotes nitrogen fixation.
Organic seeds are grown by organic growers that adhere to the strict organic practices that are required by organic producers. No chemical fertilizer, insecticides or herbicides are allowed in producing this seed. Genetic purity is maintained throughout the production and processing of this seed.
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$289.00
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$550.00
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| * Apex Green seed coating is a carefully formulated mix of minerals and carefully selected strains of rhizobia bacteria. Apex Green is specifically designed for legume seed, is virtually dust-free, and bonds to each seed in a dense durable coating. The coating provides for a protected germination zone to ensure seed to plant survivability and to stimulate vigorous growth in young seedlings |
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Establishment
- Use a soil test measure as a guide to check your pH and nutrient status several months before seeding. Apply lime and fertilizer as needed. Your pH levels should be 6.5-7.0.
- An ideal soil bed is moist, fertile and firm. Alfalfa prefers crumbly silt loam to sandy loam textures but Alfalfa will grow well on most deep, well-drained soils with adequate internal and surface drainage. Alfalfa will die if the soil is saturated for an extended period. Plowing will result in a clean, firm seedbed, but you have to plant when the soil is not too dry or too wet.
- Plowing may bring rocks to the surface and the field would be more subject to soil erosion.
- Discing or harrowing requires less time than plowing/tilling, but may not rid the seedbed of weed seeds, diseased plant parts or herbicide residues.
- No-till seeding can be completed on a wider range of soil conditions and rocks are left below the surface and the field is far less susceptible to soil erosion. You also save time, fuel and power requirements
- Plant Alfalfa 1/4"to 1/2" deep on medium to heavy textured soils and plant at least 1/2" on sandy soils either in the spring or late summer-early fall.
Management
For maximum yields, it is important to have 20-30 plants per square foot during the seedling year for protection against weed competition. Do not harvest Alfalfa seeded in late summer until the following spring. Allow new seedlings to start to bloom before the first harvest. Cut Alfalfa three-four times a year when stand is 25% flowered. Certified 4241 Creeping works best under rotational grazing, however under continuous grazing it is best to graze at about a 6" stubble height.
FROST DAMAGE INFORMATION:
- If plants appeared to have died, wait 3-5 days after frost and re-examine plants.
- At least one set of leaves must have escaped frost damage for the plant to survive. If there are at least 20 plants per square foot, the stand will survive in good shape. If there are 15 or less plants, topseeding Alfalfa (if stand was planted the fall prior) is recommended. (if stand is 1+ years old, rotate in another crop to avoid Alfalfa autotoxicity.)
- If less than 30% of stem tops show wilting/browning, do nothing, enough stems remain to provide good growth, first cutting may have yield reduction, but should recover well by the second cutting.
- If most of the stem tops are damaged and less than 10" tall-do nothing. There will no advantage at this height to mowing. If stand is 12" or taller, mow existing top growth. The growing points may have been killed, but the plant will form new buds at the lower points. The first cutting will be delayed and there will be some yield loss, but recovery should occur.
- If all stems on a plant are frozen back to the ground, the plant is dead.
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Characteristics of Multileaf Alfalfa
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Multi-leaf alfalfas are characterized by larger leaves and darker green color.
Multileaf Alfalfa is a strong stemmed, lodging resistant variety of alfalfa. This is valuable because when alfalfa begins to lodge, several inches of stubble often remain in the field after cutting. With multileaf alfalfas you obtain more tonnage because it resists lodging and provides season long tonnage.
Multileaf alfalfa has a fall dormancy rate of 4 with excellent winter hardiness characteristics.
Establishment
Use a soil test measure as a guide to check your pH and nutrient status several months before seeding. Apply lime and fertilizer as needed. Your pH levels should be 6.5-7.0. Alfalfa adds nitrogen to the soil through nodules on the roots so they make excellent crops for soil improvement. Plant alfalfa tow or three years ahead of planting corn to add nitrogen to the soil by natural means.
An ideal soil bed is moist, fertile and firm. Alfalfa prefers crumbly silt loam to sandy loam textures but alfalfa will grow well on most deep, well-drained soils with adequate internal and surface drainage. Alfalfa will die if the soil is saturated for an extended period.
Plowing will result in a clean, firm seedbed, but you have to plant when the soil is not too dry or too wet. Plowing may bring rocks to the surface and the field would be more subject to soil erosion.
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Planting Rates lbs/acre
Stand alone 15-20
In mix 6-15
Resistance
Anthracnose HR
Aphanomyces Root Rot HR
Bacterial Wilt HR
Fusarium Wilt HR
Pea Aphid R
Phytophthora Root Rot HR
Spotted Alfalfa Aphid R
Verticillium Wilt HR
HR = High Resistance
R = Resistance
MR = Moderate Resistance
LR = Low Resistance
S = Susceptible
Indexes
Disease Resistance 30.0
Fall Dormancy 4.0
Winter Survival Index 2.1
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Please include complete delivery address and phone number in your e-mail if you're writing for a shipping quote on large orders of forage and grain seed. If you don't see the variety you want, call. We have a long list of organic seed available that are too numerous to list. The varieties shown on the web site are those I believe will fit most any requirement but, I know there are nitch environments and *special needs out there.
1 Acre = 43,560sq ft, 4840sq yds or 160sq rods
When ordering seed, plan as far ahead as possible and know as much about the seed you wish to buy before you order it. Each farm has different soil, climates and equipment constraints, and you know best what you need. If you don't, call us and we'll help you make a selection to to the best of our ability. Thanks, John
- A soil test is recommended before planting. Click here for resources for that.
- GMO crops are contaminating some farmer's lands and the corporations are tying them up in court preventing them from producing new seed. Download By Clicking Here. Save as much of the organic seed you have as you possibly can and replant it every year.
- *In addition to our general liability statement relating to uses of the products on this web site we also want to emphasize, when it comes to seed and it's application, we do not make recommendations about what to feed livestock. that is not our area of expertise. We do our best to provide accurate descriptions of the seeds we have available and those are provided to us by the seed houses that bag the product and when we fell it's necessary we post information provided by university extension services about planting rates, climates, growth habits etc but who eats what and how much is not something we get into. It is our expectation that the buyer understands those issues before they purchase the seed and plant it. Fortunately most sate universities have an extension service that will provide people with free or very low cost consultations about animal husbandry and agronomics for every region of the country. They are a great resource and we highly recommend people take advantage of it.
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Closed December 23-25th
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Customer Service - 10:00AM - 4:00PM Mon-Fri 802-385-1064
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Ordering: 10:00AM-4:00PM Mon - Fri 877-213-3828
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Wholesale - 10:00AM - 4:00PM Mon - Fri - 802-385-1064
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DIRT WORKS
1195 Dog Team Road
New Haven, Vermont 05472
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General purpose liability statement: Any liability for any damage, injury or failure in performance from the use of any product on our web sites for any purpose beyond or apart from it's stated use is the responsibility of the person who purchases or uses it for such other purpose.
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