The Sweet Clover Thread

[SD51555]

Sd sorry. If I pulled the seeder over the standing rye and then crimped would the extra tracks really hurt the germination of the summer blend from atv n seeder wheels. I am getting freaked out by the ticks that I saw last time I was up north.

That’s shouldn’t hurt it at all. Did u have ticks in your rye ? I’ve never seen any in/on the rye.


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[matinc]

SD. Thank you. I got four ticks in one day on me on mother's day weekend. Brushed one off my pants and another off a tool in the woods. That was going thru the woods clearing trails and cutting wood. The next day I pulled a stump on edge of rye field and did not get any

 

[SD51555]

I went out with the yard stick today. This may turn into a balansa thread from here.

The chicory is over 3’ now. Looks to be a huge chicory crop coming again.

There is total blackout now. I forgot to peel it open to check residue.

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[Brian662]

Are they browsing the balansa?

I went out with the yard stick today. This may turn into a balansa thread from here.

The chicory is over 3’ now. Looks to be a huge chicory crop coming again.

There is total blackout now. I forgot to peel it open to check residue.

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[SD51555]

Are they browsing the balansa?

A little. That clover is thick enough that it leaves a trail where they walked thru, and they nibble a little as they go by.


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[matinc]

SD that's insane. I've never tried chickory. Does it normally get that tall. If so have you had more rain than normal to justify this growth.

 

[matinc]

SD looks like you should be bailing 1st cut clover. Lolll

 

[SD51555]

SD that's insane. I've never tried chickory. Does it normally get that tall. If so have you had more rain than normal to justify this growth.

Chicory can regularly go north of 6' if it can get past the deer. I can get mine to almost 7' across the board. I pulled one out of a spoils pile that was over 8' last year.

If you've got any perennial plots on the horizon, add it. It doesn't take much. 1 pound will get you 425,000 seeds. That's nearly 10 per square foot in an acre.

I've had a ton of rain. I went from deep prolonged drought to off the map in 6 weeks. Ponds are full, and the land is sucking in carbon and giving out abundance like crazy. I mean everything is yielding. Soft mast, browse, grass, confiers, clovers, forbs, flowers, bugs, frogs, deer, grouse. I saw a grouse hen with 6 chicks on the road yesterday. I stopped and shoo'd them off the pavement.

 

[SD51555]

SD looks like you should be bailing 1st cut clover. Lolll

I think I'm gonna try rolling that balanse if it holds canopy to late July. The green cover site says balansa crimp kills easily. I'm game to try it.

 

[Foggy47]

I think I'm gonna try rolling that balanse if it holds canopy to late July. The green cover site says balansa crimp kills easily. I'm game to try it.

How are you going to roll it??

 

[SD51555]

How are you going to roll it??

I'll hit it from two directions with my cultipacker.

 

[matinc]

SD when you do it show us pictures

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Love it! I've got a clover crop like I've never had as well. I really wonder if that mild winter let a lot more balansa live than a normal winter does.

 

[SD51555]

Love it! I've got a clover crop like I've never had as well. I really wonder if that mild winter let a lot more balansa live than a normal winter does.

I'll never fully understand balansa. I went back and watched the segment of the Rick Clark video where he was talking about nutrient accumulation in balansa, and I could swear he'd mentioned fall planting balansa like a biennial. I had a thick crop of balansa show last year after I mowed, and I'm about positive, I hadn't spread a seed since August of 2022. I didn't even see any balansa last year when I mowed because between the rye, sweet clover, and chicory, the whole damn plot was 7' tall.

Side note, farmers will apply up to 2 lbs/ac of boron to a corn crop if their test shows low to none. Balansa accumulated 35 lbs of boron in Clark's test.

If I had to decide today what to do, I think I'm gonna throw in a 2/bu rate or rye and roll it down. The sweet clover seed bank is charged for the next 50 years, but I don't know what it'll take to get that hard seed to germinate.

 

[matinc]

SD do you believe then that this fall when I terminate my summer blend with crimper I should plant rye and balsansa clover instead of ladino.

 

[SD51555]

SD do you believe then that this fall when I terminate my summer blend with crimper I should plant rye and balansa instead of ladino.

I don't know enough about balansa to tell you to go for it. I've just stumbled into what I have and cannot explain it. If you wanna try it, I'd go about 1/3 ladino, and 2/3 balansa with your rye. The ladino should fill in if the balansa is a flop. You can still get admirable tonnage with ladino if it's comes in healthy.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

@matinc, Not that it’s the right answer but just my thought process- I try for fixation as the largest component of clover in my blends with a medium red variety to pick up the slack if winter kills the fall fixation planting. Last year I got very little fixation balansa through the winter, this year it seems to be thriving. @Foggy47 ‘s and @SD51555's experience with thick perennial clover being gly resistant and outcompeting brassicas and other annual plants has kept me trying to have a higher component of easily terminated annuals in my blends that are going to be cycled/replanted annually. If you want a perennial plot then a ladino variety sounds great.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Seems like lots of potential for reseeding itself naturally and with the hard seed you can probably get results for multiple years like what you’re seeing @SD51555 . Maybe dependent on winter how much it regenerates?

 

[PatinPA]

SD that's insane. I've never tried chickory. Does it normally get that tall. If so have you had more rain than normal to justify this growth.

Mine rarely makes it past 8-10 inches and usually gone before spring time. The deer hammer it.

 

[SD51555]

View attachment 65350

Seems like lots of potential for reseeding itself naturally and with the hard seed you can probably get results for multiple years like what you’re seeing @SD51555 . Maybe dependent on winter how much it regenerates?

You deserve a nobel prize for finding that information. I'm going to add that to the soils fundamentals library and credit you. That is an excellent catch.