I remember as a kid near Roswell NM that the farmers would plant alfalfa and let it go fallow for the year, then plow it under in the fall to give nutrients back to the soil for the following year. They grow a lot of chile out that way and chile can take a lot of nutrients out of the soil. But never was up close to an alfalfa field, so never really saw it. And I didn't think it was clover because, while the leaves look vaguely clover-like, they were too spread out to be clover. I have wild clover that pops up in my yard.. now THAT'S an evil taproot! But the honest-to-worst taproot I've ever seen on a non-tree has got to be buffalo gourd. It was my job as a teenager to keep our 5 acres as free of that plant as possible - mainly because it smelled like rotten armpits. So I'd have to dig them out whenever I saw them. One plant I missed for an entire summer. So, armed with a pickax & 2 shovels, I went at it. I finally said to HELL with it when I dug a hole big enough that I jumped in.. and was completely covered! The hole was almost 6' deep and I *still* hadn't gotten to the tip of the root. Damned root was about 5" thick at the top, too. Biggest thing about this was I didn't even get a Thank you from my parents.. more like, "why did you stop digging?" I showed them the hole, going so far as to jumping in and showing that it was as deep as I was tall, and my mom picked up the shovel & threatened to start burying me! I scrambled out pretty quick...
