Growing Crimson Clover

by Leonard Wheeler Kephart

Fig. 3.—Crimson clover in an old cornfield. The clover was seeded in the corn at the last cultivation. A fodder stack is to be observed in the middle foreground. The cornstalks have been removed to avoid difficulty in mowing the clover.

South of southern Virginia crimson clover can be seeded in cotton, provided the field is free from crab-grass and other weeds and the soil is not too dry. In the extreme north of the cotton belt the seed may be sown at the last working of the cotton; farther south this occurs too early and it is necessary to wait for a rain, which often comes at about the time of the first picking.

Crimson clover may be seeded in practically any of the cultivated truck crops which receive their last cultivation from 8 to 12 weeks before the first frost. It is not practicable to seed the clover in late potatoes, sweet potatoes, or other root crops, as the digging in the fall practically destroys the clover.

Ordinarily, crimson clover does not succeed when sown in cowpeas, sorghum, or watermelons, owing to the heavy shade cast by these crops. It can, however, be seeded in tobacco, tomatoes, cultivated soy beans, and cantaloupes.

SEEDING AFTER AN EARLY-MATURING CROP.

Seeding crimson clover in an intertilled crop is successful mostly on sandy soils, which can easily be prepared for seeding even in mid-summer. On clay soils and in weedy fields this method of seeding is likely to be unsatisfactory. Such soils are usually hard and dry in August and can with difficulty be brought into condition for a seed bed, with the result that a large percentage of such seedings fail. A better plan on clay soils, and on sandy soils in many cases, is to seed the crimson clover on specially prepared ground from which all other crops have been removed. Such ground can be made as fine and firm as desired. Furthermore, the clover after planting does not have to compete with another crop for the soil moisture. This method is somewhat more troublesome than planting in intertilled crops, but the greater certainty of getting a stand more than offsets the greater cost. Planting crimson clover on specially prepared ground has extended the culture of the plant to regions where it was not hitherto grown and is increasing the reliability of the crop in sections where it has been long established.

In the ordinary rotation, crimson clover follows a crop of small grain. However, it may follow any crop that is removed 8 to 10 weeks before frost, or it may be seeded on fallow ground. Ground from which early potatoes have been removed is especially favorable for the establishment of a stand of this clover. The residual effect of the fertilizers used on potatoes is partially responsible for this, while the well-settled seed bed, which requires only leveling and harrowing, also presents favorable conditions for the crimson-clover seedlings.

In many parts of the South crimson clover can be seeded in corn stubble if an early variety of corn has been used. Although there is some risk that the clover may not make enough growth before winter if seeding is delayed until the corn is harvested, the danger of losing the stand is not as great as if the clover were seeded earlier, while the corn was standing.