overseeding an grassy clover plot

[nwmn]

Last year I sprayed a plot and didn't get a very good kill on grass. I only had a disc for a weekend so I worked it up with green grass still in it. I know, not best practice, but with time constraints and access and resource constraints I just got it done. I planted Alice, kopu 2 and ladino along with turnips and radish. The deer hammered the brassicas in September and clover didn't do much last year. Fast forward to this year and the clover is very thick in areas and sparse in others.with the wet spring/summer I have access issues and didn't get a chance to now and have some talllll thick grass in there. My id isn't good so all I know is that its grass ha. I'd like to keep the clover going in there, and add some brassicas and some ryeas well this summer. What I plan to do is spray this plot to kill the grass and then broadcast and cultipack the seed into clover. Then mow it shortly after to generate some mulch and tender clover shoots. O can post pics next time I get up there for grass id. Is it safe to spray gly on clover? I can't get rid of it on another plot so I feel safe doing so. Would cleth be a better option? It looks as if deer are bedding in the plot as well. Wish my crp looked as good as the grass in this plot :)

 

[Bill]

No expert but.

Yes you can use a light dose of gly and your clover will bounce back. I don't do it because it may lead to gly resistant weeds which no one needs. It may bounce back with a full dose of 2 Qts per acre but I won't promise that.

If it is a grass cleth should kill it. If its a sedge or rush, which looks like grass but isn't, the cleth won't touch it but neither will Gly.

Also I don't buy into needing to clip your clover to get tender shoots. In my experience all that does is let's you clover burn up faster in late summer. Cut above the clover and let it shade itself. The deer will eat it just the same long or short.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Yep I have done this and it worked great! I mixed 2oz/gal gly and just gave it a once over mist in August. Then over seeded lightly with clover an chicory. Worked fantastic. This was on my dad's farm an I didn't take any pics sorry. I plan to do the same in the next month or so on my clover plots
Good luck

 

[j-bird]

As far as mowing goes - I refuse to cut my clover short unless I am trying to kill it. Mow only what you need to keep weeds under control. Also consider that in most cases (more typically clover more than anything) a clean plot is simply a visual thing to us - the deer prefer "weeds". As far as spraying is concerned Bill is correct in that rush or sedge requires a special chemical. You need to make sure you know what you are trying to kill. Sedges and rush typically look like grass but are not grass. You can apply gly and IF the clover is healthy and well established it SHOULD bounce back. Cleth will also kill grass without risking your clover. If your "grass" has a waxy or real fleshy type of leaf on it - I doubt it is actually a grass.

 

[nwmn]

Here are some pics I took this evening of the grasses in the plot. It's interesting to see how aggressive the grasses come back to life after you spray it and even more when agitated comparing the plot to the old CRP next to it.

I plan to spray this plot heavily with cleth, broadcast rape/turnips/radish/more clover into this plot and pack it down. I packed another clover plot a few weeks ago due to grasses gaining ground and it seemed to work very well. Grasses receded and the clover is thick and full of white flowers.

Here are the grasses. Am I a little late to the party with spraying as most of the grass has produced seed? I assume I will need to be proactive and spray it right away in late spring for grasses once more next year. Would I be better off just broadcasting into this field now then packing it and then spraying cleth once grasses bounce back? I've been spinning on this plot for a while now...

You can see how thick it is, then on the right side is the old CRP.

Here is one of the varieties that I've noticed being the predominant grass.


Here is another taller one

Close up of seed

THen there is this grass that is a little shorter but seemed to be everywhere

 

[nwmn]

Clover is thick wherever there is clover, so I plan to add some more clover to fill in the gaps.