The Sweet Clover Thread

[Wind Gypsy]

I checked over the plot again this weekend. I’ve got some stunting going on with my forage barley out in the main plot. The only reason I know that is because I have a spot where I hauled in topsoil to fill a hole. The hole area has 16” barley ready to start pushing a seed head. The rest isn’t 9” I bet, and no heads showing.

I think it’s just too thick between the balansa and chicory. Any open pockets between all of that has lots of grain and flax. The flax is doing great though. Very tall, and good subsoiler.


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Is the balansa spring planted? Last year fall planted? Or did it grow that much when you seeded this summer/fall?

 

[SD51555]

Is the balansa spring planted? Last year fall planted? Or did it grow that much when you seeded this summer/fall?

I'm pretty sure I didn't broadcast any balansa this spring, so what's out there had to have come back from last year. It just dawned on me... The one thing I did different this time was I had a clean slate when I planted and I left the topsoil in place. I sprayed and had the plot roto-tilled in July of 2022. Whenever else I've planted balansa, it was always after a construction project, and it had to go in six inches to three feet of dead clay. This plot actually has about 4" of topsoil before you get down to concrete.

I've got one more patch of new ground to fix next year that will get a total installation of a perennial plot. I'm considering dropping the sweet clover and just going with:

Rye
Balansa
Alfalfa
Chicory
Plantain
Black eyed susan
Purple coneflower
Ragweed

And then a mix of annuals to go along with it. But that would be the durable portion of the blend. And then from there just add rye and barley and mow it down. That first week of August seems to be the sweet spot for timing the mow in my area.

 

[jsasker007]

Lick Creek had some damn good combinations in his mixes.

 

[TreeDaddy]

I just read an article in a bee journal and learned.....

......1) North Dakota is a top honey producer in the nation 2) the majority of registered beekeepers are commercial 3) the reason is all the sweet clover

Time for SD to join the party


bill

 

[SD51555]

I just read an article in a bee journal and learned.....

......1) North Dakota is a top honey producer in the nation 2) the majority of registered beekeepers are commercial 3) the reason is all the sweet clover

Time for SD to join the party


bill

Oh man, I don’t know. I’m still working on building garden beds and perennial fruit production.


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[SD51555]

Year #3 of this experiment is here. Did I get volunteer YSC seed? Was my rye viable at mow time? Will the chicory endure for another season? Will I spend all summer hand pulling hairy vetch out of this plot?

The distribution looks really good. I’m wanting to see lots of rye, I want to see the chicory at least every foot or two, I want to see pockets of clover in all of it, and duff to keep the surface cool.

I’m very pleased with this so far. I have achieved getting rye to come up in an established clover plot via throw and mow. I may finally have a fighting chance of defeating the need to drill. The duff distribution still has some figuring needed.

The dead stalks here are chicory. I’ve never seen such a stand of chicory like I had out here.

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[Foggy47]

I drilled lots of sweet clover last fall with my winter rye(late August) and a few lbs of white clover and some red clover too. Was a bit disappointed in some areas.....as the clover there is looking pretty sparse. I do need to spend more time just looking at what I got thru the various plots.....but at first glance the rye looks fine.....and the clovers are weak. Maybe it's a bit early to see anything new?

Got a question tho....regarding Imox. I have a plot that has nice rye, and I see some weeds coming too. Can I use Imox over clover and the Winter Rye.....or will Imox smoke that rye?

 

[omicron1792]

Imox will smoke the rye

It’s my understanding sweet clover is a biennial, so you won’t see it at peak until year two.

 

[SD51555]

I drilled lots of sweet clover last fall with my winter rye(late August) and a few lbs of white clover and some red clover too. Was a bit disappointed in some areas.....as the clover there is looking pretty sparse. I do need to spend more time just looking at what I got thru the various plots.....but at first glance the rye looks fine.....and the clovers are weak. Maybe it's a bit early to see anything new?

Got a question tho....regarding Imox. I have a plot that has nice rye, and I see some weeds coming too. Can I use Imox over clover and the Winter Rye.....or will Imox smoke that rye? View attachment 64481
View attachment 64480

Yeah, hang tight on the sweet clover. Your rye is gonna fly past the sweet clover, and then the sweet clover is gonna fly past the rye. I thought the sweet clover was a total fail, and then by the time I mowed, it swallowed the rye. And I thought that was quite the feat.


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[SD51555]

It's crazy to see that rye only 6" tall now, knowing it's going to hit 42" in the next 3 weeks.