Sowing
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ALFALFA
The date for sowing crimson clover would seem to depend more
upon latitude than upon any other influence. North of the Ohio River it
should seldom be sown later than September 1st, lest the growth of the
plants should not be strong enough to endure the winter weather. Nor
should it be sown earlier than July 1st, lest the plants should reach
the blooming stage without having made a sufficient growth, an objection
which applies to sowing earlier than July 1st in any part of the United
States. All things considered, August is the most favorable month for
sowing the seed north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. In the South,
sowing at a later period is preferable. In the latitude of Tennessee,
September would usually prove more suitable for sowing than an earlier
date, and near the Gulf, October. But it may be sown earlier and later
in these respective latitudes. It is a good time to sow the seed in much
of the South when the autumn rains begin to come, and the same is true
of the Puget Sound country.
The seed may be sown by hand, by the aid of hand machines, by some makes
of grain drills in the same way as grain is sown, and by others with a
grass-seeder attachment. When sown by the latter, the seed should
usually be allowed to fall before the grain tubes to aid in securing a
covering for it; the covering thus provided should be supplemented by
additional harrowing and in some instances rolling. When sown by hand or
by hand machines on soils East and South, the roller should in many
instances follow and then the harrow, but on cloddy surfaces the harrow
should be used first and then the roller. No method of sowing the seed
is more satisfactory than that which sows it by grain drills, which can
deposit it in the soil as grain is sown, as it is then buried at an even
depth. Sowing to a medium depth, say, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches, is preferable
to either extreme.
Whether it is advisable to sow a nurse crop will depend upon conditions.
When the seed is sown early, in hot weather the young plants are helped
by more or less of shade. Such shade is usually provided by the other
factor or factors of the mixture. But when shade only is wanted from the
nurse crop, a thin seeding of buckwheat has been found to answer. Melons
and tomatoes have in some instances furnished shade satisfactorily, and
in others upright growing varieties of cow peas or soy beans. The less
complete the preparation of the seed-bed, the greater also is the
necessity for shade. In orchards the shade of the trees is usually
ample, and in some instances excessive. The same is true of vigorous
corn and cotton crops.
Whether this clover should be sown alone or in mixtures will also depend
upon conditions. If the crop is wanted solely for the enrichment of the
land, it will usually be better to sow it alone, as crops other than
legumes do not bring as much fertility to the land. As a rule,
therefore, it should be sown alone in orchards. It should also, usually,
be sown alone for soiling crops and for hay, but in some instances for
both uses it may be sown with such crops as winter oats or winter
vetches. On some soils, however, these will too much crowd the clover
plants. On others the reverse will be true. For seed the crop should, of
course, always be sown alone.
For pasture, crimson clover is sometimes sown with rape, winter rye,
winter oats, the common vetch or the sand vetch. When sown with rape,
the date of the sowing should be early. With the other crops named the
most suitable date for sowing the clover will usually prove the most
suitable also for sowing these.
When sown alone, from 10 to 20 pounds of seed are used per acre. With
all the conditions favorable, 12 to 15 pounds should suffice. When sown
with rape for pasture, 3 pounds of rape and 10 of the clover, or even a
less quantity, should be enough. When sown with winter rye or winter
oats, about 1 bushel of each and 10 pounds of clover should suffice, and
when sown with the common or the sand vetch, 1/2 bushel of either and 10
pounds of the clover should be enough. When sown in the chaff, from 2 to
3 bushels ought to suffice, but the amount required will be much
affected by the character of the seed crop.
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PasturingPrevious:
Preparing The Soil
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