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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Winter sowing red clover

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  • From: William Dellinger <hunger AT hunger.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Winter sowing red clover
  • Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 09:04:37 -0600

I'm not grazing the clover, at all. Will severe mowing both now and in early
spring set it back enough? I plan to disc it as well.

Rick Hopkins wrote:

> I have heard that you can feed the clover seed to the cattle and let them
> spread it. I also heard a farmer tell how he sprinkled the seed on the
> cow's backs when they came in for water and that during grazing the seed
> would eventually come off and be spread in the pasture.
>
> That aside, late January/February frost seeding works best in most
> latitudes. Pasture that was not grazed or hayed late in the fall will
> quickly overcome the clover as it begins to sprout. Late winter grazing of
> winter stockpiled fescue will not set the fescue back enough to prevent it
> from dominating the Spring growth period. For best establishment, the
> fescue needs to be grazed in the fall and again in early Spring to keep the
> root reserves low enough for the clover to take hold.
>
> Rick H.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Marlin
> Burkholder
> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 6:10 PM
> To: Market Farming
> Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Winter sowing red clover
>
> > Does anyone have hints as to winter sowing of red clover into common
> fescue?
> > Should it be disced first or the fescue mowed down? SHould it be before a
> rain,
> > etc?
>
> I've always heard that if you can, you should graze it hard with cattle in
> late winter. Cattle like fescue during the winter and will do well on it if
> there is a lot of accumilated growth. Discing or mowing fescue prior to
> overseeding is not going to amount to much of you have much top growth.
> Fescue has a massive root system that is tough to penetrate. You need to get
> the grass removed as much as possible as this weakens the root system of the
> fescue and gives the clover a competitive advantage to get established.
> It's even justifiable to overstock the field for awhile in order to get the
> grass grazed down good. If you sow the clover while the cattle are still in
> the field, the cattle will tramp the seed into the ground and help it
> furthur to get started. Later on you will want to take the cattle out for
> awhile to give the clover a chance to establish, then follow by intensive
> rotational grazing about once a month.
>
> I seldom sow clover in my fields but I like to have my pastures grazed short
> during the winter. I'm seeing that with winter pastures managed this way,
> I'm seeing a fair amount of clover coming in naturally without overseeding.
> Don't worry about overgrazing fescue. It is an aggressive grass which needs
> to be grazed into the ground periodically in order to suppress it enough to
> give other plant species a chance to get established.
>
> Marlin Burkholder
> VA
>
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