Fixation clover spring plant??

[skeeterbit]

Hello. First post. Request input from anyone who has a plot of annual Fixation Balansa clover that has been allowed to re-seed itself. Anyone have any experience with a spring plant with this clover? If planted now, will have time to bloom and seed itself before it dies. Is it a fall die or winter die? From what I gather it is normally a fall plant.
Can plant with Ladino and do a test plot with the Balansa but the Balansa is better suited to the low ph of the soil. Website looks great and I like what it says but will it do what they say.
Plot is a 4ac. A Barco 920 Forestry Mulcher cleared part of a 13yr old cutover to make the plot. This will be the 3rd year of planting. Looking to plant maybe 2 ac that are hillsides and harder to get to. Thanks

 

[Bill]

Never heard of it but you're post peaked my interest.
More info on it here https://greencoverseed.com/species/1088 they say it can be spring planted and it "likely" to reseed.

I see two problems.
First it's slow to get started which can be bad for spring planted clovers as the cool season grasses are not slow.
Second, up 1/2 the seed is hard which means it won't germinate until next spring.

But for $ 4.35/lb. it's comparable to other clovers. Give it a small try and post your findings.

 

[Native Hunter]

I threw in some FBC I my fall planting last year. We went into a drought and I saw very little clover of any kind last fall. The cereal grains and brassicas came on well and gave a good plot considering how dry we were.

So I'm expecting to see lots of FBC this spring. I will post pictures later on if any comes up.

 

[Tap]

I fall seeded it in 2015 and had a wonderful plot last year. I did frost seed a little last year and this year as well.
I allowed last years crop to run full cycle. I never mowed it until well after seeds matured. The plants withstood heavy deer use and grew tall and thick. I had countless honey bees on the flowers, too. It didn't have many weeds in it until later summer when the balansa was slowing down and getting eaten down. Then I had pockets of canada thistle which I already had been battling in that plot for years. But the clover did out-compete weeds until later summer.
So, this will be the 1st year to see how well it re-seeded on it's own. I'm anxious to find out. If it's everything the Welter catalog says it is, then Balansa Fixation will be part of my plotting scheme for years to come...fingers crossed.
I think I like the stuff. Time will tell.

 

[Tap]

Never heard of it but you're post peaked my interest.
More info on it here https://greencoverseed.com/species/1088 they say it can be spring planted and it "likely" to reseed.

I see two problems.
First it's slow to get started which can be bad for spring planted clovers as the cool season grasses are not slow.
Second, up 1/2 the seed is hard which means it won't germinate until next spring.

But for $ 4.35/lb. it's comparable to other clovers. Give it a small try and post your findings.

That's the 1st time I've read that description on the Green Cover Seed site. Very informative and thorough. I experienced a lot of what is in their write up.
But I didn't see where it said Fixation is slow to start...did I miss that?
If I was going to grow only one thing in my plots, it would be some sort of clover. It's the single best year round forage on my place. If Fixation re-seeds like they say, then I'll be totally pleased with the stuff.

 

[Bill]

But I didn't see where it said Fixation is slow to start...did I miss that?.

You missed it because it wasn't there. It was mentioned on another discription I read. guess I let everything run together. And again for the record I only know what I've read, so in the real world, I'm clueless.

"balansa clover is quick to germinate, however the first stage of growth is spent in forming a multi-branched rosette emerging from a single taproot. During this stage balansa is somewhat vulnerable to competition as the branches are close to the ground. Survival can be increased by sowing into a clean weed-free seedbed or by grazing/mowing competing species."
https://www.smithseed.com/seed/legumes/balansa-clover/balansa-clover

 

[skeeterbit]

Thanks. Company websites are great but my reality is my deer plot conditions are not in the ideal soil. Rocks, stumps and rotting wood slivers have been a 3yr project. The https://greencoverseed.com/species/1088 is a great site and gives useful insight . Never seen it before and it answered most of my general questions but feet on the ground experience and feedback from habit managers extremely beneficial . Last years drought caught everyone off guard. I planted early and was lucky to received enough rain that my plot was established before the drought hit. What kept it alive was the low dew points. Soil temp in middle Tenn now is 52d at 4". Have talked to a Fixation rep in Oregon. They mirrored pretty much what the green website said but never mentioned about the hard seed. For my application believe hard seed would be extremely beneficial since I want to let it go. If the germination takes 3 days and 45 days of dormancy to grow a 18" taproot then it takes off as described I am willing to take a chance on it. Don't know about the 17" of rain. Just need a couple of summer showers, not a drought. The price I am getting it for is
"FIXATION"-BALANSA FORAGE CLOVER-NEW (PLANT ONLY 10# TO 12#/ACRE-WILDLIFE,FORAGES,COVER CROP) www.fixationclover.com $2.50 /#- $110.00/50# bag. http://www.clemmonshamnerseed.com/products.html. I have no affiliation with them so nothing intended. In the long run it may be cost beneficial, greenchop and the protein levels may help compete with the white oak acorn mast. During the mast the deer left my plot during the day and became non-existent only to return at night and walk thru and never touch a beautiful oat plot to graze on a crimson plot. This lasted for about 3 weeks. During the mast I went to zero hunting light pics. Goal is to get a plot started early and the deer become adjusted well before the season starts. Any pics??? Did you plant a companion seed or straight run? Did the deer eat the leaves/stem or both. I would like a fast spring companion seed during the dormancy stage to give it a chance.
I have a new appreciation for the farmer. I realize after this 3yr project I have taken too much for granted. Thanks

 

[Tap]

I look at the hard seed trait as a good thing.
I also didn't realize that Fixation can withstand heavy and wet soil. I have some areas where that will be a definite plus.
I did mix in some cereal rye, a little oats, and some other clovers, but this plot was dominated by the Balansa, which was fine with me.
Here's some pics of it before the flower stage. It got much taller until it couldn't support itself, then it grew horizontally. And yes, the deer ate the entire plant. Even the stems are succulent and low in lignin. There was a lot of tonnage in this 1 acre plot.
The Fixation is easy to identify by the jagged leaves.


Lots of browsing going on at this point. This is about half the height it got to until it started growing horizontally.



The stems are soft and hollow. The entire plant is highly digestible.


There were also some reds and white clovers in there as well.

 

[skeeterbit]

Very nice. Will put mine in the ground as soon as it dries up. Can see where they went deep into the stem. Do you remember what month it was that the deer were no longer interested in it? Did you see any new growth before winter?

 

[yoderjac]

I tried using it last year for the places I'd normally use crimson. I wasn't particularly impressed, but we will see what happens when things green-up this spring.

By the way, $4.25/lb is nuts. Welter;s sells it for between $2.30 and $2.50 depending on whether you want it coated.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tap]

Very nice. Will put mine in the ground as soon as it dries up. Can see where they went deep into the stem. Do you remember what month it was that the deer were no longer interested in it? Did you see any new growth before winter?

Deer never lose interest in clover here. It's a 12 month forage unless it's buried in deep snow (which we have not had here in 2 years).
They eat clover, any clover, (and ALL of the clover including the entire stem) until it's pretty much gone. The turkeys compete for it, too.

 

[Tap]

I tried using it last year for the places I'd normally use crimson. I wasn't particularly impressed, but we will see what happens when things green-up this spring.

By the way, $4.25/lb is nuts. Welter;s sells it for between $2.30 and $2.50 depending on whether you want it coated.

Thanks,

Jack

What aspects did you find unimpressive?

I got mine from Welters.

 

[yoderjac]

I frost seeded it in a couple new plots and got very little growth with that technique. I mixed it with medium red and that did a bit better. Crimson doesn't frost seed well, and I was hoping fixation would. I also surface broadcast it into standing beans in the fall as part of my cover crop instead of crimson. With crimson, I usually get some growth in the fall but it really takes off in the spring. We will see what this spring brings, but I did not find it a good substitute for crimson so far. Got mine from Welters as well.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[skeeterbit]

Fixations in the ground now. Planted 3/09 with temps in the 70s just to get slammed by snow and lows in the lower 20s. Hopefully it will be fine. Tap, I thought the Fixation matured and died back early summer and re-seeded itself. Are you finding the mature plants do not die early summer, just slowed down enough that the deer browse caught up? Did the deer browse allow you to observe when the Balansa actually died back? Maybe the low lignin levels still make it a desirable food source after it has reached its cycle and you never would see a brown dead plant...

 

[Tap]

Fixations in the ground now. Planted 3/09 with temps in the 70s just to get slammed by snow and lows in the lower 20s. Hopefully it will be fine. Tap, I thought the Fixation matured and died back early summer and re-seeded itself. Are you finding the mature plants do not die early summer, just slowed down enough that the deer browse caught up? Did the deer browse allow you to observe when the Balansa actually died back? Maybe the low lignin levels still make it a desirable food source after it has reached its cycle and you never would see a brown dead plant...

I only have a little more than a year's experience with Balansa Fixation so I can only describe what mine did last year...
The flowers matured and died by early August (and I assume produced a huge seed bank), but the rest of the plant was alive and well. Browsing remained heavy. Durning the 1st week of September, I wanted to experiment with some throw and mow in it. I broadcast about 100 lbs of rye into it and then mowed. I got a decent stand of rye and also the other clovers in the plot were "released" and I ended up with a nice fall plot.
This year will be the 1st year following a full year of Fixation development. I'm assuming that there are many pounds of seeds that were produced last year. I'm anxious to see how the plot naturally develops this year.

Welters claims that Fixation can withstand some fairly cold temps...sub zero if there is snow cover. We've had a fairly mild winter here. I don't think we ever hit zero and not many nights in the single digits. I wonder if any of the Fixation over-wintered?? I need to go out and look closely to see if I can find any that's alive now. I'll do that a little later today.

 

[Tap]

Welters claims that Fixation can withstand some fairly cold temps...sub zero if there is snow cover. We've had a fairly mild winter here. I don't think we ever hit zero and not many nights in the single digits. I wonder if any of the Fixation over-wintered?? I need to go out and look closely to see if I can find any that's alive now. I'll do that a little later today.

I looked at my plots to see if there was any Fixation that overwintered and it's really hard to tell for sure. I think I can find a little here and there, but my clover doesn't have much left to it by this time of the year except for stolons, runners, and tiny leaves. It's hard to identify all the varieties that I've planted over the years when all the leaves are eaten down to the root. I took some pics but there isn't much to see. No sense posting them unless somebody wants to see them.

But the real test for Fixation will come in a couple months when I see how well it reseeded.

 

[Tap]

I forgot to mention that I also had an experiment with Sucraseed High Sugar Perennial Ryegrass in that same plot. I planted it 3 years ago (if I remember correctly) in a few different plots. The 1st 2 years, as it developed, deer use was extremely light. I thought it was a bust. But then last year they seemed to have discovered it. Now, they are in it every afternoon. I really like that it out competes weeds, the deer like it, and mostly that it's really durable all the way through the end of winter. I'm sure it's great for protecting my soil from the overwhelming hoof traffic. It stands up to winter time trampling better than cereal rye and clover. And it's perennial.
The way things played out last year was...the Fixation out paced the Sucraseed until fall when the Fixation got eaten down to nothing, then the deer turned to the (released) Sucraseed and have eaten on it all winter. The Sucraseed really held up to the high deer traffic whereas my other forages don't protect the soil as well.
Could a mix of Fixation and Sucraseed be the ultimate low-maintenance plot mix?? I'll let you know.

 

[skeeterbit]

Balansa starting to show. Working to get plot ready for Tyrone soybeans. Have to do some research on the Sucraseed. Everything I have been told is perennial ryes don't do to well in my area. Might be worth a try. I like the ultimate low-maintenance plot theory. I can fish every day until bow season.

 

[yoderjac]

I frost seeded it in a couple new plots and got very little growth with that technique. I mixed it with medium red and that did a bit better. Crimson doesn't frost seed well, and I was hoping fixation would. I also surface broadcast it into standing beans in the fall as part of my cover crop instead of crimson. With crimson, I usually get some growth in the fall but it really takes off in the spring. We will see what this spring brings, but I did not find it a good substitute for crimson so far. Got mine from Welters as well.

Thanks,

Jack

I just wanted to follow this up with an update. The Fixation did much better than I originally thought. It is just a bit later than Crimson for me. I got pretty good germination when surface broadcast as part of a cover crop in place of crimson. The germination with this application was at least as good as with crimson. I think I may use it again for this application.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[shawnv]

For anyone that spring planted do you plan to mow it at all this summer?