New Type of Clover

[wiscwhip]

Seeing that they are promoting for cover crop or rotation crop for farmers I would think that there would be a way to terminate it.

They recommend you terminate it before it goes to seed if you are using it for that purpose. If you do that, you will never have an issue. In long term pasture swards, you want it to compete with aggressive grasses, which is why they selected aggressively reseeding plants to obtain this cultivar.

 

[willy]

I wonder if it is too thick for turkeys to go through it with their poults. The turks in my area like to go through the clover patches eating clover and bugs. IF the turks can't get through it I don't think it would be good in areas currently clover.

 

[wiscwhip]

I don't know if I would try this in a plot that you want to keep in something like an LC rotation. It looks like something I would put in an area that is hard to access, potentially shaded to a point, and you want something that will compete and not have to mess with every year accept maybe to add some fertilizer. I don't know if anyone else read it, it states that balansa will grow in moist, infertile soils, but this type of clover apparently loves phosphorus and potash and those should be maintained at optimum levels for maximum benefit to the plants. I never really thought about it before, but this stuff would have been great to plant on our islands in the Little Yellow. The bottoms were our sanctuary, but it would have been worth the disturbance to get some large patches of this stuff growing down in there. I wonder if a guy were to kill off and spray a pre-emergent on an area of reed canary, if this stuff would compete well enough to eventually choke out the RC. That would truly be something!

 

[j-bird]

I'm thinking it may work well in places where I tend to have issues with weeds and limited access - like maybe a small wooded plot where I can essentially plant and walk away. I have a plot area where I have trouble with smart weed and I think this may be perfect. Again it does little good if the deer don't like it of if it gets so dense it is difficult for the deer and turkey to move thru it. I think a test plot is in order.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

I'd be awfully surprised if this stuff didn't beat the alsike for preference. I've planted alsike a number of times on several different properties and it got minimal usage everywhere I tried it. I pretty much decided I'd rather not plant clover than mess around with alsike. I'm sure others have different experiences, just sharing mine.

I have the same opinion of alsike. I have some "feral" alsike that i have managed by mowing, and fertilizing...and saw little to no deer usage. i would however throw it in a mix of other clovers to help keep something growing in wet spots.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

i'm on the fence with this....my buddy's new property fits the description for the type of place where this clover will do well....low pH, low fertility, some wet spots, shaded woods plots etc. However, the plan currently is that we will be working on improving pH and fertility and i would like to have the option to rotate different crops in different plots. I'm thinking this might work well on the main central "logging road" as long it can stand some occassional traffic. we aren't planning on planting the whole road just strategic sections.

 

[shawnv]

I'm thinking the deer must like it because I just read White City Whitetails (high fence operation) said it was their new favorite plot.

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm going to do some small test plots with this next year. I know my finding won't help those further north much, but I will share some pics. The sustainability of a hardy annual clover is the hook for me. I'm trying to do that now with red clover by letting it go to seed (like dipper speaks of) but adding some diversity is always of interest. And if this lives up to the billing, the weed control might be easier.

 

[dipper]

It is an annual Clover that has been around a long time. ( more than 5 years that I know of) Has about 20% hard seed. so you may get some new growth the next year even if you don't let it go to seed and mow.

Who's this new member? Do u owe someone money changing your name? Haha
A lot of guys falling into the marketing trap. I love the logo, of this cutting edge new seed. hahahaha

 

[BJE80]

What do you guys think about this clover to be planted on trails like mine that need a deep root system to hold together so it doesn't get rutted? Any idea how well it takes trampling?

 

[wiscwhip]

What do you guys think about this clover to be planted on trails like mine that need a deep root system to hold together so it doesn't get rutted? Any idea how well it takes trampling?

The following statement from the Green Cover Crops website makes me think it is not tolerant of heavy wheel traffic that a trail might see.

"As balansa matures it produces very large hollow stems, making a roller/crimper a viable termination method."

Given the stems are hollow, it would lead me to believe that once driven over, the stems would be crushed and thus cause the plant, or at least that stem, to die. They do use it extensively in pasture swards in Australia and New Zealand for sheep, cattle, and deer, so it must hold up to hoof traffic. Tire traffic may be a different story however? I do feel a small trial section couldn't hurt anything, at around $3 a lb it would be worth a try.

 

[BJE80]

Did you see its roots go 18" deep within 45 days? :cool:

Yeah maybe I'll try a part of my trail this year that isn't it in bad of shape.

 

[wiscwhip]

Did you see its roots go 18" deep within 45 days? :cool:

Yeah maybe I'll try a part of my trail this year that isn't it in bad of shape.

It's pretty darn impressive all the way around...accept it wouldn't have grown on our sand...:(:(:(

 

[BJE80]

What happens if I don't let it mature and just keep it mowed fairly short? It says "as it matures it gets hollow"

 

[wiscwhip]

If you don't let it mature, it will not set seed and therefore would become an annual that would have to be replanted each year.

 

[dipper]

I still can't see how this is better than red clover. Check out how much roots and biomass red clover will produce. Check out my thread on what red clover does when rolled.
It doesn't hurt anythingto try this stuff, but red clover is still cheaper. It doesn't come with a fancy logo, but it has all the qualities u guys are talking about.

 

[shawnv]

Based on this red clover is less flood and drought resistant, produces less dry matter, is more prone to weeds, has stricter PH requirements and is less likely to reseed. Red clover is a better subsoiler and P&K renderer.

https://greencoverseed.com/species/1018

 

[wiscwhip]

I still can't see how this is better than red clover. Check out how much roots and biomass red clover will produce. Check out my thread on what red clover does when rolled.
It doesn't hurt anythingto try this stuff, but red clover is still cheaper. It doesn't come with a fancy logo, but it has all the qualities u guys are talking about.

I would agree with most things in dipper's post, red clover is pretty amazing as well. The biggest difference I see is it's ability to withstand wet feet and heavy shade, which the balansa excels at. Everything has a place and sometimes those variables can't be dictated by price alone.

 

[wiscwhip]

A short term perennial like red clover and a heavily reseeding annual like balansa are most likely quite comparable as far as longevity of the stand is concerned. Most improved red clover varieties will give you 2-3, maybe 4 years of good production before they need to be redone. It looks like this new variety of balansa could provide a comparable amount of return on investment. Keep in mind that those 4 year red clover varieties are not the same cost as VNS red clover either, they are typically quite a bit more expensive.

I just checked the Welter Seed website and they are selling the improved Fixation Balansa clover for $116/50lb bag and they have the improved Marathon red clover(which has been around a long time) for $144/50lb bag, so I'm not seeing the savings here? Even VNS medium red clover is $107/50lbs so the savings is minimal. I'm guessing your right, in that case, cost goes out the window.

 

[dipper]

You keep saying red clover is short lived. That is completely false. I have turned a grass patch to almost pure red clover in over a year, with nothing more than a grass select herbicide. I didn't do it intentionally, it just happened because I wanted to kill the grass. Never dropping one seed of clover, and having it seed itself. It's a weed deer love and it's super easy to grow/maintain.
I have red clover growing on my logging roads and in plots that hold water.
I'm not debating, you guys can spend your $ however you like. Just putting it out there for those who want more than clips from a cover crop website.