Dun clover question?

[mwj]

What type of clover do you frost seed into existing pasture? I want to frost seed some in the next month or so and wonder what you use. I have a lot of redclover but it comes on later in the year. Have a lowgrowing white clover that comes early that the cows hunt for relish The big prob. is that there is not enough volume to do much as far as being feed! I am zone5 and clover and alfalfa both do good. There are a few seed sources but not much first hand info on selection. Thanks in advance as I value your point of view :cboy:

 

[dun]

We use almost strictly red clover, under our rotation it seems to persist better then Ladino. Those are the only things we've tried, Ladino and one of the generic red clovers.
There are different cultivars of red clover that mature at different times. We're south of you and the red clover really hits it's stride about the time the fescue is growing the best. The thing that RC does that makes it work for us is that it flowers multiple times a year, in our environment. We also have what could be classified charitably as shallow soil and Ladino just doesn;t seem to like to only have a couple of inches to set it's roots.

dun

 

[mwj]

Thanks Dun, ladino clover was what my old tired brain was trying to remember! I can relate to your shalow soil as my late fatherinlaw raised cattle for years at Rolla mo. I remember the fun with a rockbar to put in corner posts and driving split oak or cedar for line posts :shock: We have clay soil but only a few rocks to deal with. I will do a little research on the ladino and check on some of the early cultivars of red clover.

 

[Stocker Steve]

What type of clover do you frost seed into existing pasture? I want to frost seed some in the next month or so and wonder what you use. I have a lot of redclover but it comes on later in the year. Have a lowgrowing white clover that comes early that the cows hunt for relish The big prob. is that there is not enough volume to do much as far as being feed! I am zone5 and clover and alfalfa both do good. There are a few seed sources but not much first hand info on selection. Thanks in advance as I value your point of view :cboy:

White clover (Dutch/Ladino/Improved Other) will tolerate close grazing and likes damp soil. Does not do well when it is dry since it is very shallow rooted. Works well with blue grass.
Red clover will yield more lbs/acre than white clover but is less persistent unless you let it go to seed. Seed is cheap and it is vigorous. Best choice for learning how to frost seed. Works well with reed canary grass.
Alfalfa will yield more than red clover if your ph is above low 6s and is the most productive in dry weather due to deep roots. Not as vigorous as red clover so I would include it in a renovation but not a frost seeding.
Kura clover is being experimented with in your area. I would go on a couple pasture walks before I tried it.

 

[mwj]

Thanks Steve for the info. The ladino looks like what I will try. We have had good luck over the years frost seeding and do not have the erosion prob. from working the ground. We used to have a nieghbor that would put clover seed on his cattles grain and harow the manure in the pastures as the cows ''planted'' it.