Hay planted last year isn't growing

Last spring I planted 30 acres of hay (70:30 mix of timothy/alfalfa) with oats as a cover crop. It had beans on the year before. The oats came off in September and were quite weedy, and what I was left with underneath was embarrassing.

I had drilled in about 16lb/acre, but did not roll it afterwards (my neighbor said it was not necessary). Big mistake - I was left with dried clumps, some rocks, etc., that just didn't take. Some of the alfalfa started, but the timothy did not.

So I stepped out this spring to have a look and it looks like a barren wasteland. Almost looks like all I had grown was oats. The outside edges have some decent alfalfa growth, but there's no timothy anywhere, and I would say about 65-75% of the fields are barren - no growth from anything except weeds.

This is where I need some advice. My plan was to disc the fields lightly to get things work and break up chunks, drill (IH 5100) in another 20-22lb/acre, then roll it afterwards. I could broadcast the seed but my spreader doesn't calibrate properly so I'd have to buy a new one.

What do you think? Will my idea work, or should I just start fresh and disc everything under?

Don't put on alfalfa this year - alfalfa is
autotoxic. It needs a year with no alfalfa before
it can be planted. Other grasses or legumes should
work. I don't think you need that much see though.
I put on 10 lbs. per acre, but I use a Brillion
Sure Stand. Even without the Brillion, I'd think
12-13 lbs./acre would suffice.
I don't know your location or weather, but I also
had rotten luck with seeding this last year...as
most did around my area. Just the way it goes
sometimes.

Alfafa will not grow where you disk up growing alfafa. Something in the roots of the established alfafa kills the greminating seed. I have grown hay for many years, rolled it in sometimes and not rolled it in other years. I could never tell a difference.

The timothy likely won't fill in and amount to much til next year. Same thing with brome.

I know planting alfalfa is a waste because it will kill itself, but I'd be seeding into fields that it didn't catch on so I figured it would be OK.

I have heard timothy is slow to grow. Maybe I'm being too impatient with last year's planting of it? I just don't have much faith in looking at a field and seeing barren spots everywhere when it was planted a year ago. Somethings just not right.

I went to brome instead of timothy. Like I said,that takes a year or so too,but when it does come on in the bare spots,you get some good tonnage. But if the whole field is bare,that might be another story. Sometimes alfalfa just fails.
I think you made a mistake listening to the guy who told you not to cultipack it though. Alfalfa is some awfully small seed. You need to firm it in pretty good to get good seed to soil contact.

My guess is there is something toxic to the alfalfa in the soil. Was alfalfa in there the year before it went to beans? I've been told you need to wait three years following old established alfalfa to re-seed alfalfa because of the autotoxicity problem. In your case the alfalfa you seeded last year didn't get old enough to cause you a problem with a new seeding this year. If you had rain the alfalfa should have come up. When dad was farming he would work the alfalfa in with a harrow and it did grow, but I can't testify to what the actual stand was compared to rolling. I roll in all small seeded plants like Alfalfa, brome, bluegrass, etc. I make sure the seedbed is worked soft and level first, then I use an ancient old culti-packer type roller to roll it in, sometimes rolling it twice using an old light weight tractor that doesn't sink in and make tracks. Jim

It had beans the past few years, and probably many years since it's been hay.

I honestly think the biggest problem is that I didn't roll it after, so a lot of the seeds just sat on clumps of clay, never germinated (which my neighbor said would disappear... not so much!).

My preference was to have timothy/alfalfa mix since all this is going to horses, but is there any good grass alternative to mix in with timothy that will grow faster? I'd like to get a crop off this year. Orchardgrass?

I'm thinking since he said he had a good stand around the outside of the field,that there was more traffic out there when he was fitting it,so it was firmer,the clumps were broken down better and thus,better seed to soil contact. I think 3 years might be a little longer than you need to wait. I always go two and haven't had a failed seeding in decades.

Have you tested any soil samples recently? If the ph is low alfalfa will not do well. Could be short on other nutrients also.

Why did you wait until September to take the oats off? Was it all matted down? If so, it proably choked out the alfalfa before it had much of a chance to grow under it all.

Oats needs to come off as soon as it's ready. If it's all matted it'll wreck the new seeding underneath it in a hurry. We ussually have our oats combined in early part of August. Sometimes July.

Donovan from Wisconsin

When is the last time it was limed? Soil ph is key for getting grass and legumes growing. Also, maybe it was drilled too deep. Grass seed and alfalfa only need to be in the ground an inch or so. just some thoughts