Has anyone ever broadcasted ladino clover in with fertilizer, on grass pasture, in the spring or fall and got good results?
Adding Clover
- Thread starter Chuckie
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jkwilson
Well-known member
Chuckie":99v5ah8x said:
I don't know about ladino, but I've broadcast red clover in the spring when the pasture is full of hoofprints and had good luck. As to fertilizer, it will work against the clover by favoring the grass.
It's a little late to get really good results, unless you're in the frozen north that still has another month or so of freezing and thawing.
We've done it, but it semed like we didn;t get a good stand until the second year. With frost seeding we got a good stand the first year.
dun
We've done it, but it semed like we didn;t get a good stand until the second year. With frost seeding we got a good stand the first year.
dun
skyeagle
Well-known member
Do it in the fall and like Dun says 2nd year you will be surprised.
OP
OP
I would like to sew some clover in a bermuda pasture. I have a feeling that it will not take hold since the bermuda gets so thick and might totally choke it out. I am trying to decide what I want to for pasture and hay. I like orchard grass real well since it lets clover grow well, but it seems to slow down in the hot part of the summer. I used a mixture of orchard grass, red clover, white clover and lespedeza one year. The lespedza really kicked in once it got hot. It kept the animals up and then some. Seem they stayed full all the time and hung out in the shade. I had to mow to keep it from getting too high. The clovers did create bumble bee nests under the barn floor. Then the bermuda, it is tough as long as it is growing, but doesn't allow clover to mix in as well. Has anyone had success with combining bermuda and clover? I would like to up the protein of the bermuda pasture and hay.
G.Marc Renwick
Active member
We have had good success with both fall seeding and frost seeding Ladino(white) clover on dormant bermuda or thin Fescue pastures.You will see very little growth the first year.We prefer frost seeding because there is less thatch or dead bermuda.We have broadcast,drilled and fed with loose mineral to establish stands.We think clover remains one of the most under-utilized cattle resources or values today.Even at $2-$3 per pound.
OP
OP
G. Marc Renwick, All the studies I find show clover as being one that really makes a difference on the weight gain. I have had orchard grass, red and ladino clover, and lespedeza pasture. It was excellent pasture and held up well. When it got really hot, the lespedeza kicked in. I will duplicate that again and one field of bermuda and durana clover. I am anxious to see how the durana does once it gets established.
rwtherefords
Well-known member
I used that method about 3 years ago. I put the fertilizer on quite early in my area with Landino mixed in. Clover needs to go in when the frost is still "tilling" the surface of the soil. Like Dun said, I didn't see a good stand until the second year, but it worked. I have all kinds of clover in my "fescue pasture" now.
There are also those that mix clover seed into the loose minerals and get spotty stands of clover, but it does spread. I see that as a solution to no clover in the pasture or the clover has almost completely died out. The trick is that you need to leave the clover alone, i.e. no grazing or cutting, until it has a chance to set and shed seed every couple of years.
dun
dun
OP
OP
I agree. I am going to sew the cool grasses this fall. I will let them establish first if I decide to put cattle on it. I will cut hay from these fields, if it gets tall enough. I am hoping that the clover will reseed. I have been checking on the Durana clover and it is sold out until this fall. I guess I will need to get my order in early.
bigbull338
Well-known member
the latest to plant is dec jan in alot of areas and doing so would get 4 months of grazing an then get a cutting of hay to boot scott
