Growing Crimson Clover

by Leonard Wheeler Kephart

When clover is seeded in an intertilled crop, such as corn, cotton, or tomatoes, the customary cultivation received by these crops is ordinarily sufficient preparation for crimson clover. In sandy soil the clover is often seeded without any immediate preparation, but a light stirring with a harrow-toothed cultivator is desirable if the ground is hard. If the clover is to be used for hay or seed, the preceding crop should be laid by level rather than in ridges. This will facilitate cutting the clover.

Where crimson clover is seeded after a crop of small grain, the stubble should be plowed or disked as soon as possible after the grain is cut. Stubble land dries out quickly, partly because the soil is suddenly left bare and partly because of the drain on the soil moisture by the crops of ragweed and other coarse-growing weeds which always follow a grain crop. Unless the soil is cultivated at once it becomes very difficult to obtain anything like an ideal seed bed for crimson clover. This difficulty is usually more pronounced after oats and barley than after rye and wheat. Ordinarily the best practice is to disk the grain stubble within a week after harvest and harrow every week, or at least after every rain, in order to settle the ground, destroy the weeds, and assist in holding the moisture pending the time of seeding the clover. Plowing the stubble is more expensive than disking and requires that the ground be allowed to settle for a month or six weeks in order to secure a firm seed bed. Plowing is an advantage in a wet season, because plowed ground dries readily; it is a disadvantage in a dry season for the same reason.

FERTILIZERS.

On moderately rich soil the fertilizer applied to the preceding crop is sufficient to produce a good crop of crimson clover. This is especially true where the clover follows such crops as potatoes or tomatoes, which ordinarily are heavily treated with fertilizers. It is important to realize, however, that crimson clover has a very short period of growth, and that to make a vigorous growth it must have a good supply of plant food. On sandy soils where fertilizers have not recently been applied it is often the practice to apply from 150 to 200 pounds of acid phosphate, with some potash fertilizer if it can be afforded. On clay soils 200 or 300 pounds per acre of acid phosphate ordinarily are sufficient. On many soils a light application of nitrate of soda will assist materially in giving the young clover plants a good start and often will enable them to withstand the effects of a late drought or severe winter which otherwise might have injured the stand. If the seeding has been delayed, as by waiting for suitable rains, an application of not more than 75 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre will stimulate the young plants and enable them to make a better growth before winter.

Fertilizer is usually applied at seeding time, but a few farmers have been found who apply it as a top-dressing very early the following summer, giving as a reason that there is then no loss from winter leaching and that by this method the plants are nourished at the time they are making their most vigorous growth. Such top-dressings of fertilizer should not be made while the leaves are wet with rain or dew. Where stable manure is applied to crimson clover very marked results follow. It may be spread just before seeding when the clover is not grown in an intertilled crop, or it may be applied as a top-dressing in winter or very early spring.

The more vigorous the growth that can be induced by the application of suitable fertilizers the more marked will be the increase in the yield of the succeeding crops. On soil in a low state of productivity the use of a reasonable amount of fertilizer will often enable a successful crop of clover and succeeding crops to be produced, where had not the fertilizers been applied the clover would have failed. Furthermore, the following crop, particularly if it be corn, would also fail to give the increased yield which follows a successful stand of crimson clover.

An application of barnyard manure will be found to be especially effective in obtaining a stand of crimson clover on any thin, galled spots in the field. The manure should be worked into the ground before seeding, and, if possible, a second application as a top-dressing should be given a day or two after planting. The top-dressing stimulates the seedlings and if strawy helps to protect them from the August sun.

LIME.

Crimson clover is not as dependent on lime as red clover and alfalfa, being more like alsike clover in this respect. It does not thrive on soils which are very "sour," but on well-drained soils in a productive condition crimson clover frequently makes a vigorous growth, even though the soil may show a high lime requirement. The stands are usually more uniformly good over the limed parts of such fields than on the unlimed parts, although it is sometimes questionable whether the benefit derived from liming is profitable. Liming is more often desirable on clay soils than on sandy soils, and usually gives better results when used in conjunction with fertilizers than when used alone. On light sandy soils deficient in humus burnt lime may be actually injurious. In considering the advisability of applying lime one must not lose sight of the need of lime on the part of such other crops as corn, cantaloupes, or peaches, which are either grown with or follow the clover. Inasmuch as the effect of liming varies greatly in different localities, it is suggested that small plats be treated experimentally at different rates before any considerable areas are limed.