Thin red clover stand

[Hoover]

As it says, my red clover field is thin this year, I walked it this evening and man, more bare ground than clover. Not sure if winter kill or last years drought. I will say, the last cut last year I let go to seed in hopes of a good seed bank this year.

We have finally received some rain this last week, but to little to late, most everything has gone to seed with very little tillering.

I'm now looking for suggestions, I have a bag of moxie teff seed. I also have access to oat seed. This is only 4 acres or so but I will need the hay. So to plant teff I'd imagine I'd need to kill everything in the section, what about oats. Can I use my old JD seed drill and pretend to no till then, there is plenty of moisture in the ground.

I can't see teff and clover being a good combo with the possibly different rates of dry down. But oats and clover I have baked before, and this will be square baled, the field is not to weedy either. Any other real world experience and suggestions are more than welcome

 

[anewcomer]

Leave your red clover pasture alone. Contract as early as possible for the hay volume that you expect to need. Graze your red clover pasture as available. You will be money and nutrients ahead of any other recommendations.

 

[Hoover]

To clarify, this red clover is hay ground, no fences no water. We used to plant oats for harvest then bale it. We planted this to brome and clover but never could get much out of it. I sprayed round up and plowed it under. The next spring we planted oats again, bales them when ready and the clover took off. Last year was great for the clover baling, but won't be this year

 

[kenny thomas]

Its late for oats but they make good square bales. The planting of the oats might disturb the ground enough to get the clover to sprout more also. Clover seed will lay in the ground for years and when disturbed it will sprout.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Be looking at warm season stuff. With the rain ya got you'd think the seedbank would start waking up. Any chance you have crabgrass seed already in the soil? Might could scratch ground with a disk and wake things up. I wouldn't erase the clover you do have.

If it is as thin as you say. Drilling the teff into the clover should be a potential success. I've never seen nor touched Teff though.

 

[Silver]

Any red clover I have used is considered a short lived perennial, or a biannual. How old is this stand?

 

[Hoover]

This would be year 2 on the clover.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Well, your oat option is tried and true for you, and even within this field. It may be a little late, but you said you still had moisture in the ground. Also if i recall correctly from what Ive heard/experienced in the past, one good rain, and only one is needed, is all it takes to produce a decent oat crop. However, if you are looking for a drought tolerant crop that will have some volume on your small area (not saying this will be a drought year) a sorghum-sudan BMR planting could fit your bill quite nicely.

 

[farmerjan]

I like feeding oat hay.... trying to talk my son into some oats for next year. I would plant the oats ASAP..... cut with the seed heads in soft dough will make some very nutritious hay and our sheep used to eat it like candy and the cows will clean it up too....
Drill it right in with the clover like @kenny thomas said.

 

[Caustic Burno]

This would be year 2 on the clover.

That's about all you get here!
If you had ten acres last year be five this one.
The seed bank just doesn't hold to the deposits for some reason. Been that way all my life, something off in crimson clover life cycle environmentally that effects the germination.

 

[Hoover]

We sowed the oats in, I used my old John Deere drill, piled the kids and wife on it and away we went. They had a good time. I noticed yesterday they had come up some, most at 3" tall.

I wanted to do sudan but we have a couple horses that run with the cows in the winter. Heard that's bad news for them