Alfalfa / Lucerne

Plant family

Legumes (Fabaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Low

Seeding distance

5 cm

Row spacing

15 cm

Seeding depth

1 cm

Instructions

Description

Alfalfa is a perennial herbaceous plant and overwinters green. It reaches a height of 1 m and its root system can extend up to almost five meters. This gives it the ability to survive dry periods well. It also accumulates nitrogen in the soil and is therefore popular as a green manure. Alfalfa blooms from July to September in various shades of purple and attracts bumblebees almost exclusively. It can reproduce by seed as well as vegetatively.

Growing tips

If the soil is very poor in lime, additional liming is recommended, as lime promotes the activity of nitrate-forming bacteria. Since alfalfa grows very slowly, an early sowing date is preferable so that it can grow in well until winter.