Sweet clover is more drought resistant than alfalfa or red clover. It is quite resistant to alkali.
The lime requirement of sweet clover is as high as that of red clover or alfalfa. Maximum growth is obtained only on soils that are not acid.
Sweet clover usually will respond to applications of fertilizers and manure.
In the move humid sections of the country good stands usually are obtained by seeding with a nurse crop.
Only seed which germinates 75 per cent or more should be sown in the spring of the year unless the rate of seeding is increased to make up for poor germination.
Sweet clover does best when seeded on a well-firmed seed bed which has only sufficient loose soil on the surface to cover the seed.
It is very essential that inoculation be provided in some form if success is to be expected.
The large number of failures in obtaining a stand of sweet clover are due primarily to acid soils, lack of inoculation, and seed which germinates poorly.
Spring seedings in general are satisfactory, but in the South excellent stands are obtained from midwinter seedings also Fall seedings are usually successful south of the latitude of southern Ohio.
A Farmers' Bulletin (No. 820) on the utilization of sweet clover for pasture, hay, and as a green-manure is about to be issued.