The Sweet Clover Thread

[Foggy47]

Dang it SD. Now I went and bought some yellow sweet clover from Welters......and added a few more lbs of chicory to my order too. I have some very poor soils where that sweet clover will be drilled into later this week. Not sure I am going to try "all" of my food plots with sweet clover......but these poor areas need something to build on. Some will get chicory too....but others are too close to my neighbors property line.....to make a primary food plot. I'm going to keep that chicory out of that area....but have a couple other areas where I'm adding more chicory to my plans. What's another couple hondos into my fall food plot expenses. lol.

 

[SD51555]

^. I did read where folks had lots of trouble mowing it with a flail mower.....and it tended to wrap pretty bad. Also read that even with a heavy no-till drill that folks had trouble keeping the drill in the ground due to the heavy thatch. Not sure if it would make more problems than solutions??

EDIT: I am wondering what rate of sc you put down? Also, could you (roll crimp) terminate the sc in the first year? Would it be as thick and tangly?..........or maybe the question should be is this the first year since planting?....or the second year??

I planted 4 lbs/ac with my rye. It will not crimp in the first year. It doesn't go big and wirey until the second year. It's life cycle syncs up with rye perfectly. They both get planted and die at the same time. I don't think a drill could cut through mature sweet clover. The amount of downward force you'd need would cause more compaction that it's worth. If you can get your herd seeder up above the sweet clover (plan on needing 7' of clearance) I think it'd be a legendary throw and roll.

After mowing mine this year, I'm going to try rolling it next year (if I get a similar crop of SC). I was half afraid I'd burn up the transmission on that brush mower trying to push through that knotted up snag.

 

[Foggy47]

I planted 4 lbs/ac with my rye. It will not crimp in the first year. It doesn't go big and wirey until the second year. It's life cycle syncs up with rye perfectly. They both get planted and die at the same time. I don't think a drill could cut through mature sweet clover. The amount of downward force you'd need would cause more compaction that it's worth. If you can get your herd seeder up above the sweet clover (plan on needing 7' of clearance) I think it'd be a legendary throw and roll.

After mowing mine this year, I'm going to try rolling it next year (if I get a similar crop of SC). I was half afraid I'd burn up the transmission on that brush mower trying to push through that knotted up snag.

I'm doing somewhat of a leap of faith here with the sweet clover. But I got a couple of acres of really poor soils to try it on. I've got a shit-ton of rye ready to go too. With no rain in the forecast I have been stalling. Nothing is going to grow here without rainfall. Kinda stymied for now......so I may as well play some golf and wait for my (additional) seed to get here.

 

[SD51555]

Dang it SD. Now I went and bought some yellow sweet clover from Welters......and added a few more lbs of chicory to my order too. I have some very poor soils where that sweet clover will be drilled into later this week. Not sure I am going to try "all" of my food plots with sweet clover......but these poor areas need something to build on. Some will get chicory too....but others are too close to my neighbors property line.....to make a primary food plot. I'm going to keep that chicory out of that area....but have a couple other areas where I'm adding more chicory to my plans. What's another couple hondos into my fall food plot expenses. lol.

Go for it man. If you've got high sandy spots burning up in summer, I'd think rye/sweet clover/chicory is about your best bet at getting it covered and keeping it alive. If it does go and live and thrive, I wouldn't try to bring these areas back to brassicas exclusively, I'd keep it in that rye/sc/chicory blend for a while. I really do believe this may finally be the blend that eliminates the need to spray or till and will keep the soil covered all season long, while also allowing you to maybe add brassicas in the second year.

I added collards to mine this summer, and I haven't seen them yet. I'm still waiting to see what happens. There's not much space out there, so I dont' know if they'll make it through. The balansa is thick, the chicory is thick, and the cereals are thick.

 

[Foggy47]

Go for it man. If you've got high sandy spots burning up in summer, I'd think rye/sweet clover/chicory is about your best bet at getting it covered and keeping it alive. If it does go and live and thrive, I wouldn't try to bring these areas back to brassicas exclusively, I'd keep it in that rye/sc/chicory blend for a while. I really do believe this may finally be the blend that eliminates the need to spray or till and will keep the soil covered all season long, while also allowing you to maybe add brassicas in the second year.

I added collards to mine this summer, and I haven't seen them yet. I'm still waiting to see what happens. There's not much space out there, so I dont' know if they'll make it through. The balansa is thick, the chicory is thick, and the cereals are thick.

Yep....kinda what my plan is for those beach sand areas. I will need to map out a plan tonight to get my seeds where they belong later in the week. Then I feel a major rain dance will follow.

Now that I can put my Herd seeder on my loader bucket.....I can seed over 8 feet high without an issue. Should be fun......and all in the comfort of HVAC and wasp-free cab to boot.

 

[SD51555]

I've got some seeding that needs to get done yet. The turkeys have eaten up a lot of cereal grain on me. There is zero rain in the forecast, so I've written off these dead areas far as fall forage goes. Last thing I can hope for is getting some biennials up before winter, but I'm not throwing any more seed until temps cool off and moisture returns.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Three weeks since mowing now. Would like to see about 2” of rain a day for a week to see what this is really capable of producing.

Since we're asking, I'd settle for an inch sometime this week.. It's looking good though!

 

[SD51555]

Four weeks post mow. Not much has changed. Some rain would be nice, but it's fine. It'd just be nice to get some moisture to the new stuff and be able to use the heat to push tonnage.



This is why I am so opposed to hairy vetch in a blend. I maybe had 5 or 6 vines in the whole plot. Now I've got hundreds coming. I'll have to hand weed these all summer next year.



Peel back the forage, and the small seeds are there and coming. No sign of my collards or my sorghums. Oh well, that's $10 down the drain.



I never tire of looking at all the different plants wedged into a single square foot. There's even a flax front and center.



My thatch windrowed more than I'd have liked. Between the thatch rows, there is no residue. What is still left, is getting overtaken quickly.

 

[Foggy47]

Four weeks post mow. Not much has changed. Some rain would be nice, but it's fine. It'd just be nice to get some moisture to the new stuff and be able to use the heat to push tonnage.

View attachment 56721

This is why I am so opposed to hairy vetch in a blend. I maybe had 5 or 6 vines in the whole plot. Now I've got hundreds coming. I'll have to hand weed these all summer next year.

View attachment 56722

Peel back the forage, and the small seeds are there and coming. No sign of my collards or my sorghums. Oh well, that's $10 down the drain.

View attachment 56723

I never tire of looking at all the different plants wedged into a single square foot. There's even a flax front and center.

View attachment 56724

My thatch windrowed more than I'd have liked. Between the thatch rows, there is no residue. What is still left, is getting overtaken quickly.

View attachment 56725

Yesterday I included 4 lbs of chicory and 4 lbs of sweet clover along with the mix of other goodies I planted. 140 lbs of seed to the acre drilled into 8 acres......and another 2 acres with a bit of a variation (no candy crops in those -cause they are to close to my neighbors land). Over 1400 lbs of seeds total......and 11 varieties IIRC....all in one pass across the field with my drill.

I cannot imagine trying to broadcast and pack all that seed.....especially in light of this drought. I'm kinda taking a leap of faith on rain coming next week.....no point in waiting.

 

[SD51555]

Yesterday I included 4 lbs of chicory and 4 lbs of sweet clover along with the mix of other goodies I planted. 140 lbs of seed to the acre drilled into 8 acres......and another 2 acres with a bit of a variation (no candy crops in those -cause they are to close to my neighbors land). Over 1400 lbs of seeds total......and 11 varieties IIRC....all in one pass across the field with my drill.

I cannot imagine trying to broadcast and pack all that seed.....especially in light of this drought. I'm kinda taking a leap of faith on rain coming next week.....no point in waiting.

A slight chance for Tuesday has shown up for my place.


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[Foggy47]

Looks to me like you got all the rain you need for a few weeks SD. I think your way over an inch at your place. The closest weather station to me is about 2 miles away. It reported 1/4" at my place. Enough to germinate many things....but not enough to sustain me for long. I'm going up to my land to read my gauge in an hour or so. It was pretty spotty.....hoping I got more.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

A whopping 0.01" reported at my place. South of Foggy looked to have gotten dumped on yesterday..

 

[SD51555]

Looks to me like you got all the rain you need for a few weeks SD. I think your way over an inch at your place. The closest weather station to me is about 2 miles away. It reported 1/4" at my place. Enough to germinate many things....but not enough to sustain me for long. I'm going up to my land to read my gauge in an hour or so. It was pretty spotty.....hoping I got more.

I got .45”

I think that will help the perennials. I’ve already written off the rest for fall forage. Maybe I can still get some rye up in October.


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[Foggy47]

I got .45”

I think that will help the perennials. I’ve already written off the rest for fall forage. Maybe I can still get some rye up in October.


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Drove to my land this afternoon. I caught a cold (not covid) so mostly I am just hanging out at the keyboard today. Noticed there were no puddles in the driveways on the way into my place.....which is not a good sign. I did get 1/4" of rain in my gauge.....and I suppose it's enough to help......but gonna need more real soon. Good thing is.....it stayed cloudy and cool all day so the ground has not dried up yet. Chance for more rain this weekend. I'm gonna need lots more to work out of this situation.

Are you bear hunting this next week?? If so, you available for lunch if (I get past this cold)?

 

[Foggy47]

I'm a bit worried about yellow sweet clover if it comes in like it did for this guy. Good video......but somewhat worried about year 2 and 3....and beyond. I planted a few acres of this stuff. Yikes.

 

[Foggy47]

I also found this thread on Yellow Sweet Clover. Seems it could be a mixed bag. I put in 4 lbs to the acre of this stuff......and did it in somewhat of a weak moment....lol. I need to do more research to be positive I want to see this through. I think it would be fairly easy to terminate it in year one.....after that.....it could be permanent. It's a legume and provides lots of good benefits.....just not sure I want it "forever"?? Good discussion in this thread.

Yellow Blossom Sweet Clover

After reading and researching about sweet clovers I decided to experiment with yellow blossom sweet clover and overseeded a field that had a nice stand of well-established ladino clover growing for several years. I like the soil building properties, and the wildlife benefits, but now I'm almost...

deerhunterforum.com

 

[SD51555]

I'm a bit worried about yellow sweet clover if it comes in like it did for this guy. Good video......but somewhat worried about year 2 and 3....and beyond. I planted a few acres of this stuff. Yikes.

I wouldn’t sweat the persistence. You’ve got the mower to deal with that. I took some new pics today again. I was out looking around to see if any brassicas or sorghums have shown up. I haven’t found any.

But, for just mowing and throwing in more rye and barley, this is gonna be a magnet this fall. Best plot I’ve got.

I’m getting some flowers from chicory that I’m guessing got pushed over and not cut.

I wish I could go back and kick myself right in the pills when I thought hairy vetch was a good idea. That crap is coming in faster than the military aged men from hostile nations pouring over our southern border.

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[Foggy47]

I wouldn’t sweat the persistence. You’ve got the mower to deal with that. I took some new pics today again. I was out looking around to see if any brassicas or sorghums have shown up. I haven’t found any.

But, for just mowing and throwing in more rye and barley, this is gonna be a magnet this fall. Best plot I’ve got.

I’m getting some flowers from chicory that I’m guessing got pushed over and not cut.

I wish I could go back and kick myself right in the pills when I thought hairy vetch was a good idea. That crap is coming in faster than the military aged men from hostile nations pouring over our southern border.

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Looks like you got that chicory going on!! Niiice!

I've read that about Hairy Vetch too.....and have stayed away. THAT is what I am somewhat afraid of with Yellow Sweet Clover......the inability to terminate it....ever. It certainly has allot of good attributes too.....and it's touted by several knowledgeable sources. Maybe I'm a hard sell.


Seeing any bears?

 

[SD51555]

Looks like you got that chicory going on!! Niiice!

I've read that about Hairy Vetch too.....and have stayed away. THAT is what I am somewhat afraid of with Yellow Sweet Clover......the inability to terminate it....ever. It certainly has allot of good attributes too.....and it's touted by several knowledgeable sources. Maybe I'm a hard sell.


Seeing any bears?

I had one ten yards away in a blind spot at dark. I stood up to leave and we saw each other. He walked away. Two minutes sooner and we’d have been celebrating.

Talked to a lot of people, worst bear hunting conditions they’d ever seen between the heat and the acorn crop.


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[SD51555]

The wildlife can normally mop up the white oak acorns in about a week in a normal year. I bet they can’t get it done in 6 weeks for what’s out there this year.

Should make the food plots go a hell of a lot further.


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