Red Clover

[Awnry Abe]

I plan on heading to my favorite seed place on Friday to grab some red clover for a myriad of our paddocks. This will be my first go round with seeding clover.

What is your opinion of these options:

Innocuoated or not? (I am pretty sure I will need inoculated on at least one pasture). Effectively the same price.

Basic 2yr variety or a fancier (7% more) 3 year variety?

Broadcast or drill (no point in discussing. I pretty much need to broadcast this time).

Any other dressing?

What about a white clover?

1/2 of our paddocks are overgrazed by the cows, the other half are fine. Invest in both? The overgrazed? The better grazed?

Seeding rate?

[Bearfootfarm]

Seeding rates will vary according to type:
http://www.mbsseed.com/planting%20chart.htm

Clover seed is TINY, so a little goes a long way.

You'll probably have to mix it with a "carrier" to get it spread evenly over large areas

Up to half of the seeds can take two years just to germinate, so I like to plant "heavy" to get a good stand the first time around

If you get enough forage growing on ALL your paddocks, maybe you can STOP the overgrazing by rotating more often

[geo in mi]

Your dealer should have the best varieties for your area, I would think. A soil test would be a must, since your livestock are taking off large quantities of nutrients which will need to be replaced. Innoculation: usually commercial clover seed can be pre-innoculated, and if you don't have any clover in your pastures, that will be a must. Seeding rates will be according to how much forage is already there and what you want in a final outcome, or balance between clover and grasses. You should be opening up the soil now, and amending with the nutrients you need. Overseeding won't do too much good unless you have opened up the sod by discing or drag harrowing to get good soil contact so the seed will germinate. All pastures may be deficient in potassium and phosphorus, and those without clover will probably be deficient in nitrogen too.

Here's something that you may or may not have seen, from your Missouri Extension service that may be of help: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G4638

Some of the dates mentioned are kind of old, but it was last reviewed in 1993........

geo

[farmerDale]

Yes, innoculate. I am not sure why you would choose a legume, and then NOT innoculate the seed, so it fixes n in the most efficient fashion possible.

[fatrat]

The only thing I can think of about red clover that might be considered a minus is that the honey bees seldom ever work it. The flowers are so long that they have trouble getting to the nectar and so if there is anything else to work they will. Red clover produces very little, if any, honey but every other clover or any alfalfa will produce a good honey crop. Even if you don't keep bees someone in your area probably does and you might want to buy their honey. Or maybe you could even work out an agreement with the bee keeper to plant clover on your land and not cut it while flowering in exchange for some honey. If the bee keeper is farther than 1 1/2 miles maybe find a beekeeper who would be willing to put some hives on your land in exchange for some honey. Just seems if your going to plant clover might as well get some honey out of it.

[FarmboyBill]

Couldnt pay me to sow that expensive a seed much less any other.
I only drill in seed. That said however, I got to be DARN careful not to drill it too deep.
I NOW since I have one, always rollar pack my seed ground, and try to get it in after a light rain, and in warm days.

[coolrunnin]

I broadcast a pound or two of legume on my pastures and hay fields every year then run a field roller over it, I seem to keep good stands in these fields with this method.