Foggy47
5 year old buck +
OK.....so I keep hearing suggestions about some clovers or other legumes that may be a "better" choice for me. I'm in zone 3. We have cold winters. I would like to plant some legumes in late summer / fall that could be there for my deer in spring. So far....I am only convinced that red clover(like medium red) and white clover( Ladino varieties) will over-winter here. I'd sure like to plant crimson clover, frosty beseem, or fixation balansa in FALL......but they are not rated to overwinter for zone 3 .....and I would love to hear some great experiences with these varieties in my zone. So I am looking for any other alternative Legumes I can plant that can stand zone 3 winter temps. Looking for candidates that are reasonably priced and will provide nutrition in spring when I really need it....then provide the N for the next crop in July when I plant my Brassica Mix. Advice is appreciated.
Here is a short list I got of the web. My comments in parenthesis.
Perennial Legumes
Here is a short list I got of the web. My comments in parenthesis.
Perennial Legumes
- Alfalfa. Alfalfa is the most frequently grown forage legume and the highest-yielding perennial forage crop grown in many countries. ... (too long to establish and costly)
- Birdsfoot Trefoil. ... (hard to terminate and difficult to drill seed into)
- Red Clover. ... (using it)
- White Clover. ... (using it)
- Sweet Clover. ... (not real great food for deer)
- Alsike Clover. ... (dunno - nothing to gain over white clovers, which are more palatable)
- Kura Clover. ... (expensive)
- Timothy. (dunno - no experience)