Alfalfa hay as mulch?

As i looked for straw on craigslist i found a guy who has old alfalfa hay. It's not that far away and i could borrow a trailer from my neighbor and bring some for our gardens.

I' need it for growing potatoes as much as the rest of the vegetables.

I also would like to make more of the garden available for vegetables next year.I'm thinking 'd cast oat seeds on the ground without tilting and cover it with (that old alfalfa)mulch..

What do you guys think?

A small warning that it may be moldy, that can cause issues with animals, for example goats get really sick for eating moldy hay. That would be my caution.

+ It is a slow release nitrogen source.
+ It is usually weed seed free.

- It can be GMO and sprayed with round up.
- The mold can be an issue for some plants

Make sure it wasn't sprayed and you are probably good.

My wife uses alfalfa when we can get it. Just put flakes around to cover up the soil. Don't worry about the mold, you aren't feeding it to horses. If it's free try to get it all and stockpile what you don't need. If it isn't, just get what you can afford. It is probably the best mulch we've ever used.

Alfalfa is a great fertilizer - go for it.

I have three 4 x 4 by eight bales of alfalfa that got wet year before last, and it is not appropriate to be fed. Everybody is saying that it is high in nitrogen when used as a mulch. My concern would be is there a possibility of burning tender vegetables? Would you just apply it in the rows or also around the plants thanks!

if i had (square?) bales, i’d flake off a two- or three-inch slice at a time and just use those nice dense pieces for mulch. as noted upthread, alfalfa is relatively high in nitrogen but it takes some time to break down, especially when left compacted, so it’s a pretty slow-release. i wouldn’t hesitate to put it fairly close to plants (but obviously not right against).

I agree with Greg, when I have spoiled alfalfa from the rabbits it goes in the garden as mulch. Never had an issue with burning.

I use unsprayed spoiled hay as mulch in my garden. It's great! You can put bales down to occult the ground, planting stuff directly into the bales the first year, and then the second year, break them into flakes and use them in other spots of the garden.

My hay guy doesn't cultivate a clean field, so it's not just alfalfa, but that's at the core of his very weedy mix.