My uncle's lucerne garden.
Lucerne is the best fodder. The grass has 20% protein. It is a good compliment to maize. It is leafy and low in fibre, breaking down rapidly into small pieces in the rumen. It quickly passes out of the rumen, allowing a greater intake of forage.
Image showing various stages of a cows digestive system. From the rumen, grass is expelled into the the mouth via the oesophugus for further chewing.
Lucerne is suited to naturally alkaline and free-draining
soils. It is severely restricted on soils with pH below 6.2. Chalk and limestone soils are most
suitable and waterlogged soils should never be sown to lucerne.
Generally, it is best to plant lucerne from March-May to minimize competition with weeds. The grass has a deep root system and is exceptionally drought resistant.
Nutrients found in lucerne are phosphate, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.
I am surely going to kick start this project!
Purchase those standard Lucerne seeds from Agra Namibia. But they from Agri-gro Namibia (Pty) Ltd.
Wish me luck!...
Where will you plant the seeds. Won't it require a lot of water to grow?
ReplyDeleteAre the seeds 100% organic? Its just that nowadays a lot of seeds have been genetically modified to suit certain climatic conditions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the questions.
ReplyDeleteLucerne requires a minimum rainfall of 350mm. Responds well to moisture but can also withstand drought conditions. It can tolerate high temperatures. Planting it during the rainy season will ensure that the grass gets sufficient rain. Experience will be my best teacher here. Will see with time how the grass reacts.
Verdiana. The seeds are 100% organic (I hope). They cannot be genetically modified. My concern will be the pesticides they spray on the grass for pest prevention. If its an organic pesticide its OK. Its hard to track this factor as seeds come from different suppliers. But il find out more from Agri grow. Its a very valid and important question. Thanks