I usually plant a 6 way mix I get from the Aliceville coop but want to add some clovers to a few spots. That mix has some clover but I really never see it do much either in the fall or spring.

I have several plots that are 4-15 acres and would like to try to do half in clover and the other half in the mix or maybe just a wheat or cereal rye.

I searched for threads on getting the clovers going and there are threads all over the place. Does anyone know of a site with a faq or a thread on here where I can find this information? I am hoping for a good informative one like CNC's throw and mow thread, but for clover.

What is your soil Ph? Perrenial clovers like a soil ph of 6.5, crimson will do well on a 6. This could be why your clover is not doing well. Do a soil test. Follow the directions of the soil test by amending your soil. Durana is one of the best perennial clovers out there, but is slow to establish, that's why some people will plant patriot clover with it, becauses it establishes more quickly. I really like yucchi arrowleaf as an annual, if you can find it. Once you have your soil where it needs to be, getting clover started is as simple as sewing it. Maintaining perennial clovers can be challenging come spring because of weeds and grasses, that's why I believe its very important to begin with a weed and grass free field in the fall by spraying ahead of time before weeds and grasses have seeded out.

Soil test from last spring were all 5.9-6.6

Soil is black (which is rare for my area with so much limestone). These fields have been in cotton, soybeans, corn and hay for over 125 years). I think the soil is the best in my area.

All our areas were mowed 2 weeks ago and we plan to spray them this weekend if weather permits and soil is not too wet. We usually plant a couple weeks after we spray and kill everything. Out spraying usually consists of just roundup, would you recommend our adding anything else to it? Such as 2-4d?

You could be burying your clover seed too deep if your disking it in with the cereal grains......

Roundup kills most weeds, but not all. Without knowing what you have in your fields, that's hard to answer. If you can, add some 2,4,d. Do you plan on disking? If so, that will bring up dormant weed seed that will sprout with a vengeance next spring. IF your looking for a really clean field come spring, then wait a couple weeks after you disk and spray anything that is coming up, and then plant, without rediscing. The problem with starting this late in the year, is that some weeds and grasses are starting to go dormant and may not resprout, in a few weeks. I would try and plant some annual clovers in the lower ph plots and try to get those up to mid 6 range. I know this is a lot of trouble, but a little hard work now will pay off big time come spring. I don't disc anymore so I don't have to worry about that part of it. I use the throw and mow method, really saves a lot of time. In mid April, if grasses start to show up, hit them early with clethodim before the grass goes to seed.

Well the clovers in the same bag. I use a cultipacker and that might be the problem. I am thinking about spreading the wheat and any other large seeds and cultipacking. Then put out the clover hopefully right be for a rain without covering or cultipacking.

I like the idea of not disking and I am open to that but it wont work this year (too late). But I will give it a try next year.

I also have 3 new 10 acre plots that had either cows or hay in them for the last 20 years. That made a lot of compacted soil and an enormous weed seed bank. I planted RR soybeans in them this year with the thinking I could spray it 2-3 times a year and keep the seeds at bay. I tried to spread out my spraying so that I allowed the weeds to sprout but kill them before they produce seed. I hope that will reduce the quantity of the weeds in a couple of years.

CNC,

You wrote this in the T&M thread.

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I have a high deer density so I like to sow my cereals at 100 lbs/ac. You could go as high as 125-150 if you wanted to. Some other folks go with 75 lbs. Tailor it to your situation. Mix in 10 lbs of crimson clover.... 1-2 lbs of turnips.


Edited by CNC (02/12/16 08:11 AM)
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I know that thread is about T&M but would that work for this year? I will be disking this fall but will try T&M next year.

I was also thinking of adding some Yuchi to it for the spring...

PER ACRE
125# wheat (instead of cereal rye)
10# crimson clover
2# purple top turnips
10# yuchi clover
50# 21-0-0 (ammonium sulfate) at planting
100# 21-0-0 six weeks after germination.

It's a touch heavy on the clover but you'll be fine.

Good point, Harold about planting the clover too deep. 1/4" is as deep as you want it. I always top sew mine and walk away. Yea, that's heavy on the clover, especially crimson. I think 12 lbs/acre planted alone.

As I stated I will have to disk this year but will try T&M next year.

Would I be better off sowing the wheat and fertilizer then cultipacking. Then spreading the clover and PTT seed and not do anything else?

If my clover is a little heavy what rate would either of you recommend?

I think so. Spread wheat, cultipack, then top sow small seeds on top of the firm seed bed.

This ^^^^^^......About 15 lbs total on clover is fine although I don't think over doing it is really gonna hurt anything with clover.

I agree with Yelp. I would just drop it down to about 5 lbs each. In most mixes, clover makes up a small percentage of a 50lb bag, usually like 1-2% of each clover.

I just looked it up and both yuchi and crimson show 10-15 lbs/ac broadcast as proper seeding rate.......

Those are plant alone rates.

Yep.....those are full rates.

Question-

If you are going to all this trouble, why not perennial clovers? With fields your size you could dual crop sections of the fields and have perennials too.

Would the crimson and yuchi not reseed themselves and be perennial?

Yes they will reseed, but are annual clovers, not perennials. Durana, planted in the fall will be slow to establish because it takes several months to establish it's root system, but will take off come spring, as will other white clovers and will be there all year, as long as adequate rainfall is available. Soils that don't hold moisture very well and are east/west oriented with no shade, are not prime candidate's for planting durana. Durana is more drought resistant than most other white clovers.The stem count of durana per square feet is amazing and it spreads very well.