Alfalfa is a rather rare visitor to a private garden, but there are good reasons to grow it. As green manure on exhausted beds, for example, or to enrich our menu. What role does so-called seed strength play in their cultivation?
Alfalfa is sown very densely
What is seed starch anyway?
Every plant needs sufficient space and light for healthy growth. In addition, it must find enough nutrients and water in the soil with its roots. If several specimens are grown in one area, the other plants are neighbors and competitors at the same time. When is the ideal density given so that all plants thrive and people are satisfied with the harvest?
The seed rate is the determined sowing quantity that promises an optimal result. It is usually given in kg per hectare. Of course, it can be calculated for any area size.
The calculation of seed strength
Three factors play a role in calculating the seed rate:
- the thousand grain mass (TKM)
- the germination
- the desired stocking density
On the one hand there is the thousand grain mass (TKM), which indicates the weight of a thousand grains. This is a reliable value that gives an indication of how many plants could theoretically sprout from a kilo of seed. Furthermore, the germination capacity of the seed is taken into account, because not every seed will sprout. The last point is the desired stocking density.
Seed strength in alfalfa
The seed rate of alfalfa is given by experts as 25-30 kg per ha. This recommendation applies to pure lucerne planting in spring. For you, we have broken down the seed rates for smaller cultivation areas:
- 250 to 300 grams per 100 m²
- this corresponds to an area of 10 x 10 m
- approx. 60 to 75 grams per 25 m²
- this corresponds to an area of 5 x 5 m
- approx. 2-3 grams per 1 m²
If the alfalfa is sown together with other plant varieties, the seed rate is reduced considerably. For the private garden, however, these numbers are less important than for the commercial cultivation of alfalfa.
buy seeds
You don't have to become a math genius to start growing alfalfa. It is sufficient if you measure the size of the area that you want to sow with alfalfa and then calculate the size of the area. With this number you can go in search of seeds. The sales packaging usually states the area size for which the filled quantity is sufficient. You can hardly go wrong with this.