Potter co notill
5 year old buck +
I usually plant 5lb GHR and 3lb PTT per acre. I was thinking of adding crimson clover this year to the mix. How much would you add per acre?
Crimson with brassicas
- Thread starter Potter co notill
- Start date
BenAllgood
5 year old buck +
I'm planting a PLS per acre planting rate of 10 lbs crimson, 4 lbs balansa, 1 lb turnip, 2 lbs radish, and 30 lbs wheat or oats (absolutely no more than 40 lbs)
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Our camp is south of you - if you're in Potter Co. PA. If you're wanting crimson to over-winter for you there, it's never worked for us - and we're south of you. If you want a clover that'll last the winter and give you some good feed next spring & summer, I'd throw in some regular medium red clover - about 4 lbs. Medium red clover establishes pretty quickly, too - but it most likely won't get big and lush until next spring if you're planting it for this fall.
EDIT ---- Once your radishes and turnips crash - or get eaten this winter - the red clover will be there for greens next spring. A number of guys on here have suggested planting some grain rye along with GHR and PTT & clover for EARLY spring greens next spring. Deer are hurting by March in our mountains.
Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
Get some mammoth red or mix it 50:50 with the medium red instead of the crimson..it will come up real fast so it’s green this fall and will come back next spring and it’s bigger (like fill up your palm with 3 leaves bigger!) and hardier (better on bad soils) than medium red..it is also one of the first to pop in the spring (can you tell it’s one of my favorites?)
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I just drilled brassica and some clover into a pre-nuked clover and rye plot from last year. For the clover I used a rate of 2lbs crimson, 2 lbs Alice white, and 3 lbs of medium red.....IIRC. I doubt the crimson will overwinter here.....mostly I just want to see what it looks like.....and recover any N value it produces (which I doubt would be much?). I'm hoping the brassica will provide a canopy to hold back the clover from much development this year.....and rely on it for next year. Gonna overseed winter rye in late August.
I am way south of you and am not really a fan of crimson. The mammoth along with some medium red is what I would do (in addition to Durana/Patriot) down here where I am in GA.
Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
Here’s a pic of one leaf of mammoth red ..it is really big and I have never been able to NOT get it to grow even on low pH or wetter soil..
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Crimson is a bit different than most clovers, seeding rate is pretty high. Alone it's 15-20lb drilled 20-30lbs broadcast. 5lbs / acre with brassica and other clovers isn't a whole lot. Crimson seed is quite a bit bigger than other clover seeds. A bit survives here in NY 5b borderline 6 by the hudson river.
Never sought out crimson itself, but has been in plotspike mixes, their clover mix and forage feast. Used them both alot and like them.
I consider it a nursery crop, if your tilling up a spot and need some sacraficial annuals while slower growing stuff can get a chance, thats when crimson would be good. I consider medium red like that too. I use some every year, but when establishing a spot, I put it in heavier in the mix.
Crimso is sure a pretty clover. IF your interested t using it for the flowers, your better off frost seeding it than fall planting. I mowed alot less than I used to last year and was glad to see a decent number of crimson seed heads this year. So far have not mowed it at all in 2023. They also have white crimson clover too.
Never sought out crimson itself, but has been in plotspike mixes, their clover mix and forage feast. Used them both alot and like them.
I consider it a nursery crop, if your tilling up a spot and need some sacraficial annuals while slower growing stuff can get a chance, thats when crimson would be good. I consider medium red like that too. I use some every year, but when establishing a spot, I put it in heavier in the mix.
Crimso is sure a pretty clover. IF your interested t using it for the flowers, your better off frost seeding it than fall planting. I mowed alot less than I used to last year and was glad to see a decent number of crimson seed heads this year. So far have not mowed it at all in 2023. They also have white crimson clover too.
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
^ ^ ^ ^ Looks good Kdog. At our camp, the second year we had about 3 dozen crimson flowers in the whole plot. We're on a mountain top, and it just doesn't come back year 2 for us. You guys that can get 2 or 3 years out of crimson are lucky. Our wives all love the flowers of crimson for sure!!
I really need to try mammoth considering it grows berries too!
Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
Yeah that’s a special blend with a huge fringe benefit ;) but those berries usually get smoked pretty quick by the little guy in the top of that picture he eats them by the handful
Potter co notill
5 year old buck +
Yes I’m in Potter pa
I’m just looking for something to add some N to the soil since the PTT and GHR are taking everything they can get. The following spring I will terminate and do my rotation and plant soybeans.
Crimson n' Camo
5 year old buck +
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Going to have to respectfully disagree with you on favorite clovers Derek Reese 29
Of course, "favorite" in this case is really dependent upon your goal for the clovers you plant.Years ago when I was still turning dirt, I used to plant Mammoth Red Clover in the spring as a green manure plowdown. I planted it almost exclusively in my played out brassica plots which by spring would be nothing more than bare dirt. I planted it with spring oats as a nurse crop and then plowed it down to plant my fall cereal grains. It grew fast and it grew large, but I never noted any deer foraging in it.
It served its purpose very well for a green manure crop so it was my favorite for that goal....but for deer forage it would be probably at or near the bottom of the list of my favs.
If the Mammoth Red is doing what you want it to do for you then keep on using it, I just feel that in my case it serves its purpose better as a plow down green manure.
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Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
For many years I never planted Crimson clover here (Upper Michigan - Zone 4) because people always said it wouldn't over winter here. Finally, several years ago I decided to try it out for myself and find out for sure. It overwintered great:
I was really pleased to see those crimson red flowers the next spring/summer.
I have included Crimson in both my brassicas mixes as well as my fall cover crop mix every since and it has done pretty well.
This year, while I did see some Crimson come back in the spring, there was not near as much as I usually see. Not sure why? While I am somewhat discouraged about that, I still included it in my brassicas mix last week and I will be including it in my fall cover crop in 2-3 more weeks.
I planted 2#/acre each Crimson and Medium Red Clover in my brassica mix and I will be using 2#/acre each of Crimson, Medium Red and Alice White in my fall cover crop.
I was really pleased to see those crimson red flowers the next spring/summer.
I have included Crimson in both my brassicas mixes as well as my fall cover crop mix every since and it has done pretty well.
This year, while I did see some Crimson come back in the spring, there was not near as much as I usually see. Not sure why? While I am somewhat discouraged about that, I still included it in my brassicas mix last week and I will be including it in my fall cover crop in 2-3 more weeks.
I planted 2#/acre each Crimson and Medium Red Clover in my brassica mix and I will be using 2#/acre each of Crimson, Medium Red and Alice White in my fall cover crop.
Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
Very true! I usually use mammoth for lots of biomass and to get a plot started and then start in with the “more” desirable clovers like ladino the next spring …the deer at my place are surrounded by ag so they will graze on it during the summer when it’s tall (also I never plant a monoculture of one kind of clover, always a mix) but when that ag is gone my clover is the only game in town..also have planted mammoth where there is very little ag and it never gets taller than 6”..you are spot on with your comment on goals and location!Going to have to respectfully disagree with you on favorite clovers Derek Reese 29
Years ago when I was still turning dirt, I used to plant Mammoth Red Clover in the spring as a green manure plowdown. I planted it almost exclusively in my played out brassica plots which by spring would be nothing more than bare dirt. I planted it with spring oats as a nurse crop and then plowed it down to plant my fall cereal grains. It grew fast and it grew large, but I never noted any deer foraging in it.
It served its purpose very well for a green manure crop so it was my favorite for that goal....but for deer forage it would be probably at or near the bottom of the list of my favs.
If the Mammoth Red is doing what you want it to do for you then keep on using it, I just feel that in my case it serves its purpose better as a plow down green manure.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Might have to try Crimson again. Maybe the plot we planted it in was too wet?? It didn't over-winter for us - but if it worked for Wild Thing in Upper Michigan - it must not be cold-shy. Maybe throw some Crimson in with brassicas, along with MR and some Ladino white clover. Worth another try.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
We are in what they call the "Banana Belt" here at Lone Oak....Latitude 45.44 N.
We are 50 miles from Lake Michigan and 70 Miles from Lake Superior, on the Wisconsin Border, so we don't get any lake effect snow. The down side to that is we don't get any lake effect warmth either and ambient temps can get pretty cold - down to 35 below zero actual during cold winters.
We do still get snow but only 40-60 inches on average, whereas 70 miles north of us in Lake Superior country, 300-350 inches is not unusual.
Bottom line is that Crimson has overwintered well here until this year. That being said, the other clovers I planted with the Crimson did not do particularly well this year either so whatever the issue, it apparently wasn't unique to the Crimson.
