Planted alfalfa last fall, most did not come up until early November, due to being dry until end of October. Most did not survive the winter maybe 5,000 plants per acre. Field also has a decent amount of wheat in it, almost no other weeds.

I know it is best to plant alfalfa in the fall, but do not want to wait until 2025 to have alfalfa.

When is the best time to plant in the spring?  I have heard people say on here to plant some oats with the alfalfa. How many pounds of oats?  I am thinking that I will spray field with clethodim or roundup to kill the wheat.(alfalfa that I planted last fall is not roundup ready) If I go with clethodim to save what alfalfa is there, does that mean that the oats would be a no go?  I know that the label says 30 days to wait before planting a non labeled crop, any experiences planting sooner after clethodim?

Seems like it would be nice to have something in the first cutting besides weeds which I think oats would provide.