This hardy plant grows up to one meter high and transforms the bed into a sea of green. But much more important than the beautiful sight is what follows. We can derive three benefits from the cultivation of alfalfa.

In the garden, alfalfa is mainly grown as green manure

When is it worth planting?

When growing alfalfa in your garden, you can expect the following bounty of:

  • nitrogenous green manure
  • a loosened soil
  • fodder for animals

tips

Alfalfa are also edible for humans. Young leaves enrich salads, so-called alfalfa sprouts can be grown from seeds.

location for cultivation

As a green manure, you can plant this lepidopteran in areas that could use a replenishment of the nitrogen depot. Thanks to its deep roots, even compacted soils can be loosened up again, if necessary through cultivation over several years.

If you want to grow alfalfa as food for yourself or as feed for animals, you should offer them a sunny and dry place. The soil should also be thoroughly loosened by digging and enriched with compost.

The ideal sowing time

If you want to harvest the alfalfa in the same year, you should sow the seeds early in the spring. This is already possible from March. With green manure, on the other hand, you can take your time. The cultivation date may be postponed until the end of August at the latest.

seeds and sowing

If you don't already have seeds, you can buy them inexpensively in stores. The recommended seed rate is 2 grams per m².

  • Scatter seed over a wide area
  • Work approx. 1 cm deep into the soil
  • water thoroughly
  • cover until germination (to protect against birds)

To harvest

Harvesting is possible up to four times a year by cutting the alfalfa for fodder. If your cultivation is planned for several years, the plants should be allowed to flower once a year.

Young, tender leaves can be picked at any time for salads, soups or sauces, while mature seeds can be harvested some time after flowering.

Use as green manure

If the alfalfa are only used as green manure, they are left standing over the winter. In the spring, the plants are buried completely in the ground, where the stored nitrogen is released as they rot.

Category:

Vegetable garden