Broadcasting clover seed?

[cowsrus]

I would like to establish some Ladino clover in my hay meadow . I understand now is the time. I don,t have access to a no-till drill. Our county used to have one they rented out, but they got rid of it because they said the maintenance was too high. Anyway would I be wasting my money just broadcasting the seed? The grass is good and thick and is probably 4 to 6 inches tall and I don,t have any cattle on it.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I would like to establish some Ladino clover in my hay meadow . I understand now is the time. I don,t have access to a no-till drill. Our county used to have one they rented out, but they got rid of it because they said the maintenance was too high. Anyway would I be wasting my money just broadcasting the seed? The grass is good and thick and is probably 4 to 6 inches tall and I don,t have any cattle on it.

Yes it would be a waste of seed.
In my country you would only get a catch in areas where the grass is stressed - - such as shady spots or lanes.

 

[hillrancher]

I sew clover on top of snow in February or early March and have very good luck, the two times I have done it. My neighbors did this is where I came up trying it.

 

[dun]

The key to not waasting your money on clover seed is to get soil contact. Tall grass and broadcasting don;t go together. Frost seeding, assuming you have enough freeze/thaw dasy and adequate soil moisturee when it happens, really works well. But, the grass has to be short enough or sparse enough that the seed can work it's way down to the soil. Any type of drill, doesn;t have to be a no-till, that can get the seed to the soil will work out ok.

 

[pdfangus]

don't know a thing about Oklahoma but in Virginia we Broadcast clover in the winter. I reccomend between Feb 15 and Mar 15 around here. If it can be done when it is snowing it works well. Same with Lespedeza.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The key to not waasting your money on clover seed is to get soil contact. Tall grass and broadcasting don;t go together. Frost seeding, assuming you have enough freeze/thaw dasy and adequate soil moisturee when it happens, really works well. But, the grass has to be short enough or sparse enough that the seed can work it's way down to the soil. Any type of drill, doesn;t have to be a no-till, that can get the seed to the soil will work out ok.

Dun said it better - - you are wasting your money regardless of the time of year if you spin seed into thick grass.

 

[donnaIL]

We have had good luck with clover, both red and ladino and seed each year (broadcasting, drillling and snow seeding by hand)our fields are 4yrs old. Having the seed mixed with the fertilizer and broadcasting in Feb works good(usually on wheat).

Some of these clover field have been quite impressive, even in the drought we had this year. We want something more than the orchard and timothy and native grasses & the red clover seem to yield more here.

I read somewhere that clover seed is in the soil until conditions are right. Check your soil conditons...I now have lots of clover and alfalfa coming up, even in drought conditions due to soil changes...As always I am hoping for a great year next year...The best for you also. Donna

 

[backhoeboogie]

I over seeded Hubam clover in dense coastal on the flood plain last year. The irrigation system was used to wash it down to the ground. It worked. Perhaps it was pure luck, based on the responses in this thread. It was my one and only experience with clover.

Pulled the cows off of it to let it go to seed. The clover grew to as much as 8 foot tall. Most of it was an average of 5 feet. I was very pleased with it.

The irrigation system is not even on the flood plain this year. It has been extremely wet. I was considering overseeding it again during a rain. Now, based on the info here, I am second guessing.

 

[jfont]

If you do broad cast it, I would run a bush-hog over the pasture afterward. You don't have to cut it short, it's mainly for the vibration of the grass to help more seeds work their way down to the soil. It's not as good as tilling or drilling, but it's better than just throwing it out there. I've had pretty good stands doing this with ryegrass.

 

[garseer]

With all this being said. When is the best time to spread???

 

[backhoeboogie]

With all this being said. When is the best time to spread???

"Texas Farm and Seed Planting Guide" says "Sept - Nov" "Feb - March" for Hubam and says to plant it "0 to 1/2" in depth. (I went zero, overseeding dense coastal, and got lucky).

Button Clover - Sept - Nov - 1/4" deep

Arrowleaf Clover Sept - Nov - 1/2" deep

Madrid Yellow Clover Sept - Oct / Jan - Feb 0 - 1/2"

Subterranean Clover Sept - Nov 1/2" deep

White Dutch Clover Sept - Oct / Jan - March 0 - 1/2" deep.

Melilotus Indica (Sour Clover) Sept - Nov 0 - 1/2" deep.

Don't have any info for other states.

 

[Nowland Farms]

In an effrot to help with spring grazing, I broadcast 150lb of Dixie Crimson Clover over 6 acres of a costal bermuda/mixed grass field.

This 6 acres was cut and baled about 2 weeks ago. The grass was cut short and we have not had any rain.

My question is - I have a 10' chain harrow, would it be worth the effort to drag the chain harrow over it today? We are expecting 1/2" of rain tonight.

 

[alabama]

In an effrot to help with spring grazing, I broadcast 150lb of Dixie Crimson Clover over 6 acres of a costal bermuda/mixed grass field.

This 6 acres was cut and baled about 2 weeks ago. The grass was cut short and we have not had any rain.

My question is - I have a 10' chain harrow, would it be worth the effort to drag the chain harrow over it today? We are expecting 1/2" of rain tonight.

The drag may help if the clover has not started germinate. how long ago did youplant it?

 

[Nowland Farms]

alabama,

I broadcast the clover seed this morning around 10am so it hadn't quite had time to germinate :lol:

I went ahead and drug the field with the chain harrow. It couldn't hurt since all it really cost me was an hour or so of time and a couple of gallons of fuel.

Even though it has been dry here this year, this is the 1st step toward my goal of not having to feed hay in the wintertime. As I have said before my cows eat the fescue hay until the middle of February when I pull them off to get the fescue ready for the spring hay season. I am trying to get something for the to eat from mid February until the costal greens up around mid March. I have about a 4 week window that I either feed hay or have something else growing they can eat. If we would have had rain this fall I would have drilled rye and clover.

 

[alabama]

it is not too late to drill Rye or clover. I think if you drill rye you will have just what you want come March. It is hard to get anything to grow in Feb. But i have been getting some grouth out of rye in Feb. I think you will like it.

 

[farmerdude]

cowsrus,
broadcasting is OK, most of the time.
I would wait in your case. The rule of thumb for broadcasting clover in February/March, is that one must be able to see the sole of his/her shoe while standing in the grass.
If you get some grazing animals, they will likely take the grass down to that level, and then broadcasting clover would pay off.

Seed must contact soil...bottom line.

I've had very good luck overseeding clovers in late winter. But my grass was short.

Good luck.