Part 2

It is somewhat difficult to obtain anything like an ideal seed bed for crimson clover where a field of grain stubble has been plowed under. The soil in a stubble field is apt to be dry and cloddy when plowed, while the stubble tends to form a dry mat at the bottom of each furrow. Such a condition is likely to continue for a number of weeks after plowing and to result disastrously to the clover seedlings unless there be abundant and frequent rains. It is ordinarily a better practice to disk the grain stubble and harrow every week, or at least after every rain, in order to settle the ground and assist in holding the moisture pending the time of seeding. Such frequent harrowings will also kill the successive crops of germinating weed seeds, which might otherwise injure the young stand of clover.

On the other hand, the ground from which early potatoes have been removed is very favorable for the establishment of a stand of crimson clover. The residual effect of the fertilizers used on the 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.

=SEEDING CRIMSON CLOVER WITH LATE SUMMER-SEEDED ANNUAL CROPS.=

Crimson clover may be seeded in midsummer or in late summer with a very light seeding of buckwheat. The buckwheat soon forms an ideal shade for the young clover plants and unless frosts occur very early a crop of buckwheat may usually be harvested. This method has been suggested as being applicable when seeding the clover in cotton. If the buckwheat is not seeded until August it will not ordinarily produce seed in the latitude of Washington, D. C. Wherever possible, the seeding of buckwheat and crimson clover should be made so early that there will be time for the buckwheat to mature its seed crop, as in this way the buckwheat itself will pay for the expense of starting both stands. A light seeding of the buckwheat must be made, as an ordinary stand of buckwheat shades the ground so completely as to destroy the crimson clover.

Another method of preventing the injurious effect of the hot sun of late summer is to make a light seeding of cowpeas at the same time that the crimson clover is seeded. The cowpeas germinate promptly, and being rather thin on the ground do not injure the stand of clover, but on the contrary afford sufficient shade to prevent the soil from becoming as hot as it otherwise would. In addition, the clover plants receive some protection from the direct rays of the sun. There is ordinarily not enough time for the cowpeas to mature, so they are either mown for hay or left standing to catch the snow during the winter and protect the stand of clover. In seedlings made by the writer half a bushel of cowpeas per acre, broadcasted, gave vary satisfactory results, the seeding being made August 1 on sandy ground near Washington, D. C. The clover and cowpeas were sown broadcast on early-potato ground and covered from one-half to 1 inch deep.

If a light seeding of turnips be made with the clover, the turnip plants will afford some protection to the young clover plants and at the same time will ordinarily yield a fair crop of turnips. About 1 pound of turnip seed and 15 pounds of clover seed should be sown to the acre. If the seeding of turnips be at all heavy the coarse-growing turnip plants will choke out too many of the clover plants. The Cow Horn turnips appear to be especially adapted for seeding with crimson clover.

=CRIMSON CLOVER IN MIXTURES WITH OTHER LEGUMES AND GRAIN.=

When crimson clover is seeded alone on good soil it is likely to make so rank a growth as to lodge. To overcome this difficulty it is a common practice to seed some small-grain crop with the clover at seeding time. South of the Potomac River winter oats are ordinarily very satisfactory, especially when seeded with the late white-blooming strain of crimson clover. In Delaware and eastern Maryland wheat is commonly used. In addition to wheat and oats, rye or barley is sometimes used. The customary rate of seeding is about 15 pounds of clover seed and 30 pounds of grain per acre. The accompanying illustration (fig. 5) indicates the appearance of a field seeded to a mixture of crimson clover and wheat. The grain prevents the clover from lodging, facilitates the curing of the clover hay, and, in addition, forms a valuable constituent of the resulting hay crop. The yield of the mixture is ordinarily somewhat more than when the clover is seeded alone. The Alabama State Agricultural Experiment Station secured as the average for two years' experiments the following yields of hay:

Yield per acre.

Crimson clover seeded alone 2,836 pounds. Crimson clover seeded in mixtures: Barley and crimson clover 3,695 pounds. Wheat and crimson clover 3,771 pounds. Oats and crimson clover 4,228 pounds.

The grain is usually well headed but is in the milk or soft-dough stage when the clover is ready to cut. The presence of the grain hay makes the clover hay more easily cured. With winter oats it is usually best to seed the late white-blooming variety of crimson clover, as the oat crop matures somewhat later than the ordinary crimson clover. Another advantage of this mixture is that if either should fail the other will be present to serve as a cover crop during winter and bring some return the following spring.

Crimson clover may be seeded in mixtures with vetch, shaftal clover, trefoil, or, in fact, any winter-growing legume which has a growing season similar to crimson clover. Since most of these legumes are not upright in their growth it is usually necessary to seed some grain crop with them to serve as a support and to prevent the plants from lodging. The grain is ordinarily a surer crop than the legumes and practically insures the ground being covered with some crop during the winter and spring months.

=SEEDING CRIMSON CLOVER ALONE.=

If a good seed bed can be prepared by August 1 in the latitude of Washington, D. C., crimson clover will ordinarily produce a satisfactory stand if seeded entirely alone. This is especially true on the clay soils, where it is often difficult to obtain a successful catch in corn at the last working. The seed is sown at the same rate as when seeded in corn, namely, about 15 pounds per acre. It is the common practice to broadcast the seed and to cover with a very light barrow or weeder. Unless the August sun be unduly hot and a drought develops, such seeding will ordinarily produce very satisfactory results if the soil be reasonably fertile.

=TREATMENT OF CRIMSON CLOVER STANDS AFTER SEEDING.=

Ordinarily no special treatment is required after seeding, and before winter comes on some fall pasturage may be obtained if the growth be sufficiently rank. A light pasturing with sheep has been noted to induce heavier stooling on the part of the crimson clover. Only a light pasturing with small animals, such as sheep, calves, or chickens, should be made in either the fall or spring before the early spring growth is well under way. If the time of seeding has been delayed, or if for any reason it is feared that the plants will be unable to make sufficient growth before cold weather, it has been found that a top dressing of nitrate of soda alone or in mixture with muriato of potash will greatly hasten the fall growth. This reduces the danger from winterkilling and heaving out in the early spring.

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=Transcriber Note=

Minor typos have been corrected. Illustrations were moved to prevent splitting paragraphs. Produced from files generously made available by USDA through The Internet Archive. All resultant materials are placed in the Public Domain.