Balansa clover
- Thread starter S.T.Fanatic
- Start date
Bowman
5 year old buck +
Ave. Emergence time: 14 days
I have been plagued with frost warnings. Very little of mine visible. I fear that the weather will go straight to summer heat and no rain. May have to try again in the fall.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I was pressed for time the last couple of times down to the property so I wasn't able to get pictures. I was however able to get my sugar beets and also my soybean,field pea, sunflower, milo, and kale mix in the ground. I was happy with that. One night i left the property at 11 pm and the next time down it was 10:30pm.
Bowman
5 year old buck +
From Best Forage: "Due to the inherent cold tolerance of Fixation Balansa Clover, it can overwinter in climates where other annual clovers cannot."
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
my intention was for green manure. I didn't get it for the sugar beets but am hopeful for the TNM early August brassica.
Next go around at frost seeding I will use a medium red berseem mix i think.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I have been waiting for mine to bloom to get a better ID on it. I'm not sure that the clover that is there is even the balansa clover that I planted. It's very thin growing under my fall seeded winter barley.
Bowman
5 year old buck +
How is your weather? When did you plant?
Bowman
5 year old buck +
These dates might help.
https://fixationclover.com/planting/
https://fixationclover.com/planting/
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Thanks for that. My intention was for N credit for my sugar beets and turnip plots so I frost seeded late winter/early spring. I cant tell if a single seed germinated or not. I may try it again someday for a fall annual but will probably go with medium red or something else in my future frost seeding endeavors. I guess the thing to do would be to plan ahead and seed the clover the fall before in the sections where I want the N for the following years crop.
Bowman
5 year old buck +
I am planning on something similar. I can not readily identify various clover species. I overseeded balansa in some areas and did not notice much growth of the balansa or even identify it. Was still getting frost warnings in June. Maybe it was the turkeys. I did have some grow in one new plot that was planted with oats. Both are similar height, about 2 feet. That was planted 5/3/19. For whatever reason, this plot, no soil test, lime or fertilizer did very well, in my opinion. It may have been the oats. They (oats) have grown well in different areas.
I am planning on planting balansa in separate areas to avoid other clovers and help with the identification. I will attempt to establish balansa ans let it reseed. Here is some info.
Northern Region
FIXatioN is ideal for pasture since it is a re-seeding annual clover. Fall sown FIXatioN will grow rapidly during the spring flush of cool-season grasses. As the growth rate of the cool-season grasses diminish, so will that of FIXatioN. If re-seeding is desired, livestock should be removed in June and the clover should be allowed to flower. The clover will then die off prior to the stressful summer period, releasing nitrogen for your grass. As an added benefit, the grass roots can follow the channels created by the decaying clover tap roots, allowing them access to moisture that otherwise would be unavailable. In the fall, when conditions are optimal, the seed produced will germinate and the cycle will begin again. It is important to note that it may be necessary to re-seed if flower production is lacking.
I will plant balansa with oats as the oats may have helped as a nurse crop. I like the natural die off and nitrogen release without having to till it under. So my current plan, always subject to change, is to include some winfred in the mix. Winfred is supposed to be multi-graze. A big test will be in the spring as the oats and winfred will be gone. I do not want bare ground. So the balansa regrowth will be highly desirable. Balansa is supposed to be very cold tolerant. Hopefully, this helps in the spring.
I am planning on planting balansa in separate areas to avoid other clovers and help with the identification. I will attempt to establish balansa ans let it reseed. Here is some info.
Northern Region
FIXatioN is ideal for pasture since it is a re-seeding annual clover. Fall sown FIXatioN will grow rapidly during the spring flush of cool-season grasses. As the growth rate of the cool-season grasses diminish, so will that of FIXatioN. If re-seeding is desired, livestock should be removed in June and the clover should be allowed to flower. The clover will then die off prior to the stressful summer period, releasing nitrogen for your grass. As an added benefit, the grass roots can follow the channels created by the decaying clover tap roots, allowing them access to moisture that otherwise would be unavailable. In the fall, when conditions are optimal, the seed produced will germinate and the cycle will begin again. It is important to note that it may be necessary to re-seed if flower production is lacking.
I will plant balansa with oats as the oats may have helped as a nurse crop. I like the natural die off and nitrogen release without having to till it under. So my current plan, always subject to change, is to include some winfred in the mix. Winfred is supposed to be multi-graze. A big test will be in the spring as the oats and winfred will be gone. I do not want bare ground. So the balansa regrowth will be highly desirable. Balansa is supposed to be very cold tolerant. Hopefully, this helps in the spring.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Tap
5 year old buck +
That is a pretty good article, thanks for sharing the link.
One thing that the article didn't mention that the Welter site says is that if the flowers are allowed to fully mature and produce seed, the Balansa will produce clover for an extended period of years due to it being very "hard seeded". Meaning that some seed will take a couple of years to germinate.
Eventually, it will seem to peter out. Mine reproduced for a few years and I still find a little growing, but it may be time to get some more Balansa seed.
I really liked the stuff. Honey bees went crazy over it.
