The Sweet Clover Thread

[SD51555]

SD I have wondered that too. How many bees do you think do not make it out of the roller crimper way.

There's no way to miss them all, and that's an unfortunate reality. The upside is you've left the system in place for them to rebound much like a mosquito population. I think your idea of rolling later in the evening is a good one. I'm not sure where those bees go in the evening, and I'd bet it's different for each type of bee. Some probably sleep out there in the plot, and some head underground, some head back into trees.

 

[SD51555]

The chicory bolts are getting eaten, but they should outrun the deer soon.

I learned these are hover flies?

I also learned this isn’t a beneficial bug. It’s a meadow plant bug and it’s not good for rye. Only saw these two getting busy. There are other bugs that will regulate these.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foggy47]

There's no way to miss them all, and that's an unfortunate reality. The upside is you've left the system in place for them to rebound much like a mosquito population. I think your idea of rolling later in the evening is a good one. I'm not sure where those bees go in the evening, and I'd bet it's different for each type of bee. Some probably sleep out there in the plot, and some head underground, some head back into trees.

I've always assumed that all bees return to their hives each night. I think that is true. I never see many bees an hour or so before dark. Here is an article on bees at night....

Where Do Bees Go At Night? Exploring Bee Behavior, Sleep Patterns, And Foraging Habits | PollenPaths

Learn about the fascinating nocturnal activities of bees, including their sleeping arrangements, communication methods, and foraging habits at night.

pollenpaths.com

I doubt that you will kill many with a roller crimper......but what do I know?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Frantic are you saying your existing cliver did not come back up through your crimp. ???

It was newly seeded annual. Haven’t seen it pop through yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fishin coyote]

As a bee keeper I’ll argue all day long that not all bees return to their hive/nests or burrows at dark. Most yes but all no. I’ve moved swarm traps after dark and gone back the next day to put up a new trap box and have seen 100s looking for the old box. Most native and solitary species don’t even have a nesting site. I’d think crimping in the middle of the day would be better, at least they’d have a chance to get out of the way

 

[SD51555]

Oh what a day. The clovers are starting to finish up.

It looks like the balansa is almost dry. The red seems to be taking longer.

The chicory is starting to open up.

Normally I don’t get worked up about weeds, but there was a wild parsnip in there. It got yanked and mulched into the lawn.

Do you see him?

I was originally gonna use this photo to voice my bi-weekly hate of hairy vetch (don’t ever plant that shit) but check out that 5.5’ balansa on the right!

Some YSC did make 7’ again.

Lots of browsing in here. The critters have knocked down at least a third of this plot, so it’s gonna need to be rolled.

I can say they eat YSC all the way thru July. I’ve been finding it browsed all over. Doesn’t matter how stemmy it is. And I’ve got natural browse off the hook on my property.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SD51555]

Year two of this plot is in the bag. I don’t have enough power to upload pics right now, but it was a good day.

There is a video coming…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foggy47]

How are the deer flies by your place? I'm afraid to go to my plots without a cab. I'd like to re-gasket a couple of blind doors......but I'm waiting for better weather and bug situation.

 

[SD51555]

How are the deer flies by your place? I'm afraid to go to my plots without a cab. I'd like to re-gasket a couple of blind doors......but I'm waiting for better weather and bug situation.

Non issue today. I had expected more, but the helmet handled the few that showed up today.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foggy47]

Looks like you got a good rainfall tonight too. I got 1.5" at my house and raindrop farm says I got .75" at Deertopia. Life is good. Are you staying there tonight? Gotta be a humid night for you.

 

[SD51555]

Looks like you got a good rainfall tonight too. I got 1.5" at my house and raindrop farm says I got .75" at Deertopia. Life is good. Are you staying there tonight? Gotta be a humid night for you.

I’m headed back to the city tonight. WeFest is in Detroit Lakes this weekend and it can be real pisser getting thru there on Sunday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foggy47]

I’m headed back to the city tonight. WeFest is in Detroit Lakes this weekend and it can be real pisser getting thru there on Sunday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The "CITY"......meaning FARGO? Baaaaahahahahaahahaha. lol That's rich!

 

[SD51555]

The "CITY"......meaning FARGO? Baaaaahahahahaahahaha. lol That's rich!

Village?

I got 1.5” on the nuts. Started 15 minutes too soon, but I powered thru.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SD51555]

I ended up planting Goliath oats at around 12 bushels/ac in the YSC plot. On the little yard plot at the end of the video, I put down Haymaker oats at 15 bushels per acre. The residue I laid down was massive in both plots. It started raining about 15 minutes before I was done, so I had to roll in the rain. I ended up with 1.5 inches. With the rye and trit dead, I should get the first blast of potassium out of it on day 1. I don't know how long it takes oats to germinate, but these will certainly fly out of the ground as fast as possible with these conditions. It should have made it to the ground, but will enough punch through? How much clover and alfalfa will rebound? I don't know. It'll be fun to watch.

The rye and sweet clover yard plot rolled way easier than the actual YSC plot. The YSC plot had boat loads of chicory, and the chicory didn't want to lay down. The full stalks did, but the deer were in there working hard on it as well. The chicory stalks they chewed down halfway stood right back up. That's not a big deal, I want the chicory to pull through. That's a big early October draw for me. The balansa and red clover heads were 100% dried down and the stalks turning brown. The YSC in the yard plot shelled really well too. The hood of the wheeler was covered in YSC seed.

Also wasn't too much concern for bees doing this. The only flowers left were chicory and a few thistles and goldenrod.

Turn up the volume and enjoy.

Throw and Roll 2024

First time giving crimping a try. Not an actual crimper, but seeing if I could make it work.

rumble.com

 

[Skeeter]

I ended up planting Goliath oats at around 12 bushels/ac in the YSC plot. On the little yard plot at the end of the video, I put down Haymaker oats at 15 bushels per acre. The residue I laid down was massive in both plots. It started raining about 15 minutes before I was done, so I had to roll in the rain. I ended up with 1.5 inches. With the rye and trit dead, I should get the first blast of potassium out of it on day 1. I don't know how long it takes oats to germinate, but these will certainly fly out of the ground as fast as possible with these conditions. It should have made it to the ground, but will enough punch through? How much clover and alfalfa will rebound? I don't know. It'll be fun to watch.

The rye and sweet clover yard plot rolled way easier than the actual YSC plot. The YSC plot had boat loads of chicory, and the chicory didn't want to lay down. The full stalks did, but the deer were in there working hard on it as well. The chicory stalks they chewed down halfway stood right back up. That's not a big deal, I want the chicory to pull through. That's a big early October draw for me. The balansa and red clover heads were 100% dried down and the stalks turning brown. The YSC in the yard plot shelled really well too. The hood of the wheeler was covered in YSC seed.

Also wasn't too much concern for bees doing this. The only flowers left were chicory and a few thistles and goldenrod.

Turn up the volume and enjoy.

Throw and Roll 2024

First time giving crimping a try. Not an actual crimper, but seeing if I could make it work.

rumble.com

When do you plant back your garlic? Any special variety or whatever can be found locally? How did your hugel beds do this year?

 

[SD51555]

I planted around October 20th last year.

This stuff was called Music garlic. I bought it from a lady in town. It's a locally grown variety and has very big cloves, and the taste is excellent. My bulbs didn't get as big as hers, but the clover are huge.

The gardens are 50/50 this year. I built two new ones, so they are a little touchy out of the chute. The asparagus bed that had the garlic is doing really well. Hand dig one from 2021 must be settling or something, and stuff just floundered this year. The one I built in 2019 is the smallest and it's kicking out the most stuff. It's like a mini jungle. The output is crazy for a 4x6' bed.

 

[Foggy47]

^Good video! Not sure where you find the time to put this stuff together. Kudo's. Kinda surprised you got that mess to lay down as you did. Good timing on the rains!.........but.....where is the Herd? Seems like allot of work to sling seeds like that. What is that sign you got up? Election sign?

 

[SD51555]

^Good video! Not sure where you find the time to put this stuff together. Kudo's. Kinda surprised you got that mess to lay down as you did. Good timing on the rains!.........but.....where is the Herd? Seems like allot of work to sling seeds like that. What is that sign you got up? Election sign?

I’ve had a lot of practice with the video stuff. It all stems back to trying to keep some records and be able to share some content at the same time. Seems like we’ve gotten past the phase of forums getting blown up and all that information vanishing, but that was one good that came of those lessons.

Filming is easy. I just clamp a go pro to a shovel handle and flip it on. Editing is fast. That took me 20 minutes to assemble. I have an idea of how I want to lay it out in my head and I just go and do it.

What sign are you talking about? The one by the gardens?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SD51555]

^Good video! Not sure where you find the time to put this stuff together. Kudo's. Kinda surprised you got that mess to lay down as you did. Good timing on the rains!.........but.....where is the Herd? Seems like allot of work to sling seeds like that. What is that sign you got up? Election sign?

There was some luck and timing to getting that to lay down. The cereals were done. The balansa and red clover were done. The YSC was almost done. There were some grasses in there I expect may stand up, maybe they won’t. The chicory will stand back up, and I want it to. Thistle will probably die out. I had a few trophy bull thistles in there, as well as some canada and musk thistle. But in decent ground, they'll go away as it evolves.

A lot of the grasses just go away with an August mowing and the plots clean up nicely after. About this time of year I think I’m gonna have to restart these 3rd-4th year perennial plots, and then they look good after mowing. So I keep going. Here’s a great example. This is my main north plot. Planted in fall of 2021. It’s pretty hairy right now. There shouldn’t be green grass in there.

But go put your face down in there and all the goodies are there. Clover, alfalfa, chicory, plantain, BES, good natives, etc. the grass is just taller, but it’s about done for the year and just needs to be mowed off. And it’ll be back next year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SD51555]

I haven't tried fixing the herd yet. There's a bad contact somewhere in the wiring. It's been so blasted hot, muggy, and buggy up there this summer, I've not spent much time up there. I usually day trip in, get done what needs to get done and head back home. It wouldn't have worked for this project though. That standing crop was too tall to get a good spread pattern. Now, my October spreading of triticale, it'd be really nice to have it for that.