Sowing
Category:
ALFALFA
Much of what has been said about the sowing of medium red
clover will apply also to the sowing of mammoth clover. East of the
Mississippi and north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, mammoth clover is
usually sown in the spring, and for the reason that the young plants are
frequently killed by the severity of the winter weather when sown in the
autumn. But when sown at that season, the seed being mixed with winter
rye and being deposited by the drill as early as September 1st, the
plants frequently survive the winter as far north as Marquette County in
Wisconsin. The rye in the line of the drill marks provides a sufficient
protection for the clover. But this only occurs where the conditions are
eminently favorable to the growth of the clover. Around Puget Sound it
may also be sown with advantage in the early autumn, as then it should
produce a full crop the next season, and the same is true of nearly all
the Rocky Mountain valley region, but in these areas it may also be sown
in the spring. Between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains and
Oklahoma and Canada, spring sowing is usually preferable, and in much of
the area is an absolute necessity to insure a stand. In the South the
seed may be sown fall or spring; which season is to be preferred should
be determined chiefly by the character of the soil. On soil much given
to heaving in the winter it is usually preferable to sow in the spring.
In all, or nearly all, parts of Canada spring sowing only is admissible.
When the seed is sown in the early spring, it should usually be sown
quite early, as early, in fact, as the ground is in condition to receive
the seed when the nurse crop has been sown the previous autumn. When the
ground is smooth and impacted on the surface, it is considered
preferable to defer sowing until the ground is dry enough to admit of
covering the seed with the harrow. When deposited at the same time as
spring-sown nurse crops, and with these, the time of sowing will be
determined by the most suitable time for sowing the nurse crop. This
plant may be sown under certain conditions as late in the spring as
moisture exists in the soil sufficient to produce vigorous germination
in the seed. This means that it may be sown as late as June, if sown
alone, and even later. When sown thus late it should be on soil that has
been well cleaned near the surface. When sown in the autumn, as with
medium red clover, the aim should be to put the seed in as early as the
arrival of the autumn rains, that the plants may be well rooted before
the arrival of freezing weather.
Ordinarily, mammoth clover, like the medium red, is sown with a nurse
crop, whether sown fall or spring. (See page 84.) The nurse crops in the
North include winter rye, winter wheat, barley, spring wheat and oats,
suitable, probably, in the order named, also such pasture crops as rape,
vetches, and various mixtures of grain sown on certain soils to provide
pasture for cattle, sheep or swine. The best nurse crops in the South
include winter rye, winter barley and winter oats, even though the seed
should not be sown on them until the spring. On certain sandy loam soils
a stand of mammoth clover is more assured if sown with a pasture crop
than if sown with a grain crop which is to mature. (See page 82.) Under
certain conditions of soil and climate, this crop may be sown on plowed
or disked land in certain of the States, after a crop of grain, and in
other instances by sowing amid the stubbles and covering with the
harrow. But there is more of hazard in growing thus than by other
methods. Sometimes this clover is sown amid standing corn, at the last
cultivation, but too much shade or too little moisture may cause only
partial success, or even failure, whereas at other times the plan may
succeed.
The modes of sowing the clover are virtually the same as those to be
followed in sowing medium red clover. (See page 78.) It will be sown by
hand, by hand machines, and by the grain drill, with or without
attachments. The seed of this variety, however, will, on the whole, be
more frequently mixed in with the grain than the seed of the medium red
clover, because of the stronger growth that it makes. This will
frequently be found the preferable mode of sowing it when sown in the
autumn.
When sown to provide hay, mammoth clover and timothy make an excellent
combination for the reasons, first, that they mature about the same
time; second, that more of this clover is likely to survive the first
year of cutting than of the common red; and third, that more food, it is
believed, will be furnished to the timothy in the dead roots of this
clover than of the medium red. The first year of cutting, the hay crop
is likely to be nearly all clover; the second year, clover and timothy
mixed, and the third year, timothy. But if alsike is sown in the
mixture, though it may be little in evidence the first year, it will
show itself the second year and probably the third year. When sown for
pasture in short rotations, this clover may be sown alone or with other
varieties of clover, timothy or tall oat grass being added. When sown
for seed, it is probably better to sow it alone, but there is no very
strong objection to sowing timothy alone with the clover, since the
latter may aid in sustaining the clover, and it is not difficult to
separate mammoth clover seed and timothy seed.
When mammoth clover is sown alone for hay or for seed, not fewer than 12
pounds per acre of seed should be used. When sown with timothy, 6 and 8
pounds, respectively, would be an average seeding. If alsike clover is
added, the seed of the mammoth may be reduced by one pound, and the same
amount of alsike added to the mixture. When sown with the medium red
variety to provide short rotation pastures, about 6 pounds of each may
be sown. The pasture furnished will be more continuous than where only
one kind is sown. If timothy or tall oat grass is added, a pound of one
or the other of these should be added for every pound of the clover
withheld from the mixture. For permanent pastures 6 pounds of the
mammoth clover may be set down as the maximum to sow per acre, varying
the quantity with varying conditions. And when the clover is sown with
small grain to be plowed under in the fall or early in the spring,
usually only very moderate amounts of seed ought to be used, especially
where the hazard is considerable that the dry weather may cause failure
in the catch of the seed.
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PasturingPrevious:
Preparing The Soil
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