Lecture by Alan Chadwick in New Market, Virginia, 1979
Lecture 18.4, Plant Study: Lea Crops, Part 3
An Introduction to Alan Chadwick's Lectures and a Glossary of Terms
Back to the Virginia Lecture Series Index Page
Contents of this Segment:
Melilotus is a very good compost builder. Sainfoin is a perennial. Sow it in spring and keep weeded until established. Sainfoin will grow in poor soils, as opposed to alfalfa which needs a rich soil to begin with. A beautiful crimson flower. Root goes down ten to twenty feet deep, fostering great worm activity. Matures in three years, declines after seven or eight years. Like alfalfa, an excellent livestock fodder and can be cropped five to eight times per year. Sonchus (sow thistle) There are annuals and perennials. Rapid growing, and hardy. It is not a true thistle. Animals and birds love to eat it. Grows practically the whole year. The seed attracts the beneficial birds. (14:57)