planting alfalfa in 1/4 acre without equipment

I planted fruit trees on one end of my pasture.  I am wondering about converting pasture grass there to alfalfa and make hay with it to feed my goats I bought over winter.  Would that be a good idea and how would I do that without any equipment?  I can't really graze animals here because they're going after trees no matter how much I prune up and trees aren't that tall.

Beth Mouse wrote:I planted fruit trees on one end of my pasture.  I am wondering about converting pasture grass there to alfalfa and make hay with it to feed my goats I bought over winter.  Would that be a good idea and how would I do that without any equipment?  I can't really graze animals here because they're going after trees no matter how much I prune up and trees aren't that tall.

You can plant 1/4 acre by hand pretty quickly.  I can see doing what you want to do pretty easily as long you you have a scythe or some way to mow it.  I have planted grains by both one of those little push cart things that spreads the seeds, and also by just "tossing" the seed out with my hand.  With a little practice you can get fairly consistent coverage even with the tossing method.  You can easily make a small roller by fixing a 55 gal plastic or metal drum to a handle, putting 20 or so gal of water in it, and walking over the planted area pulling it.  An easy way to make a handle is to run a piece of pipe through a hole that is centered on each end, and then tying a rope to the piece of pipe that protrudes from the ends of the barrel.  It doesn't need to be very heavy, just enough to ensure good ground contact with the seeds.  Extra points for doing this shortly before a nice steady rain.