Renovation Clover

[DJ54]

I'm wondering if anyone here, has sown Renovation Clover Renovation | White Clover on their hay ground, and how it performed. I wanted to sow a legume in my stand of hay, along with a bit of Alfalfa at a low percentage, yet enough to put some nitrogen in the ground, to help feed the Fescue, and Rye Grass. This hay is for horses, so don't want it to hot.

Reading several application rates, anywhere from the companies web site several college Extension offices. Most say 2-3 lbs. per acre in a mixed, existing stand. I figured 1-1/2-to 2 lbs would be about right.

I picked up my various seeds today, as they will be frost seeded by broadcasting mid-Feb, through mid-March. The seed dealer warned me to only sow, not more than 1 lb. to the acre. A higher amount, and in can become invasive, and choke out other grasses. So, I'll take his word for it, and see what happens. I'll give it 2 years, and see what it does. He said the seed viability should be 3-5 years, so I'll have enough to re-seed if something should happen to this planting.

Just wanted to ask, or forewarn others if you plan to use it, on what he said about the seeding rate. And, if others have planted it, at what rate did you sow it, and what were the results. From what I've read, real experimentation with it started in approx. '09, so maybe a few have tried it.

On the bright side, I have so many Deer grazing in the hay field at night, it may help keep it under control.

 

[jaxs]

I'm not familiar with Renovation Clover but here's what I have to say about clover in general. Horses pick around clover in the pasture and hay. Not a problem if cows are in rotation because they eat what horses leave. As for fixing N in soil,it will do that but use's lots of P. The result can be P deficieceny which impact's grass. To overcome heavy use of P,more is broadcast. I'd rather buy and broadcast N for more grass. In a strictly horse operation,I wouldn't cultivate and/or bale clover. Never tried Alfalfa in other than pure stand so I would be interested to hear whether it might be overgrazed when mixed with grass.

 

[DJ54]

This will be used strictly in hay. I do find it strange though, my horses will eat around Red clover in the pasture, yet love the hay. 20 or so years ago when I first re-seeded the hay field, for horse hay, rather than cattle hay which we had around since the early 60's, but no more, I bought a 50 lb. bag of Alfalfa seed, and frost seeded it. To my surprise, I had the prettiest field of Red Clover I ever saw, like a red carpet. Concerned about bloat, and slobbers I've heard about, I contacted Ohio State University's Equine Specialist Vet, at that time, Robert Cline. He said there would be no danger, just make sure it was dry when baled, and make sure there was no mold. They loved that hay, but through attrition, the Red Clover has pretty much faded away, with the past couple of years wet weather.

I've probably lost more N to the air, than has gone in the ground. I normally don't fertilize, until after making first cutting, and try to do it right before a rain. More times than not, I've spread a fertilizer mix, just hours before an expected 80%-90% chance of rain, only to watch those rains on radar pass just North, or South of here, or completely dissipate, just to the West of here. Then be sunny for several days. It usually takes little P here on this ground, (50 lbs. per acre, per ton of hay harvested) but the County Extension Agent said to put 100 lbs. of K, for every ton of hay harvested. That will stay in place, until the next rain(s) dissolve it, so no problem there. So, going with the Renovation for the N. Plus the fact of the root system will help aerate the soil. I like the fact that it will also provide food for the Honey Bee's. We have a couple Apiary's close, and the help pollinate my large garden. What little Alfalfa is left, is pretty well devoured by a herd of Deer that stop by every evening for their evening meal. There is a Columbus Metro Park, within a half mile, North of here, and a 300 acre Apple Orchard a half mile to the South of here, and my hay field is their choice of travel. Much of the surrounding farm ground has been sold off for building lots, with $400,000.00 houses on them, so hunting the Deer is pretty much out of the question. I'll just try to stay ahead of them, sowing this mix. Really wanting not over 20-25% clover, and the same on Alfalfa. The rest will be Rye Grass, endophyte free meadow fescue, Tuukka Timothy, and a dab of Blue Grass to round it out.

I will be sowing some meadow fescue on the pastures to sweeten them up also. just to see if it improves it a bit later in the summer.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate a little more this year, the last 2, have been tough to get hay in. Before that, the weather patterns have pretty much ran the 7 year cycle, normal's for the area. Heavy rains, to drought, and everything in between.

 

[DJ54]

Got the frost seeding done today, even with the approx. 1" of "partly cloudy". Not complaining, it ought to help take that seed home.

This is the recommended amount (4.5lb.), for my 4.5 acre hay field. I closed the metering slide on the seeder just a tad more than the seeding chart on the side said to set it. Purely luck of the draw, that I had it set to where I had to criss cross to use it up. That seed is as fine, or a smidge finer than Timothy seed.

Now we wait....

 

[mjw357]

I broadcast some medium red clover and a little rye yesterday, we’re starting to get some good freeze/thaw cycles here.

 

[ruffdog]

Neighbor with horses always said white clover makes the horse's mouths froth up with lots of spit if they eat it.

 

[sweettractors]

I'm wondering if anyone here, has sown Renovation Clover Renovation | White Clover on their hay ground, and how it performed. I wanted to sow a legume in my stand of hay, along with a bit of Alfalfa at a low percentage, yet enough to put some nitrogen in the ground, to help feed the Fescue, and Rye Grass. This hay is for horses, so don't want it to hot.

Reading several application rates, anywhere from the companies web site several college Extension offices. Most say 2-3 lbs. per acre in a mixed, existing stand. I figured 1-1/2-to 2 lbs would be about right.

I picked up my various seeds today, as they will be frost seeded by broadcasting mid-Feb, through mid-March. The seed dealer warned me to only sow, not more than 1 lb. to the acre. A higher amount, and in can become invasive, and choke out other grasses. So, I'll take his word for it, and see what happens. I'll give it 2 years, and see what it does. He said the seed viability should be 3-5 years, so I'll have enough to re-seed if something should happen to this planting.

Just wanted to ask, or forewarn others if you plan to use it, on what he said about the seeding rate. And, if others have planted it, at what rate did you sow it, and what were the results. From what I've read, real experimentation with it started in approx. '09, so maybe a few have tried it.

On the bright side, I have so many Deer grazing in the hay field at night, it may help keep it under control.

I usually use 2 lbs white dutch and 8 lbs med red clover/acre when renovating. Germination as renovating is not a good as conventional seeding methods. Ken Sweet

 

[DJ54]

Neighbor with horses always said white clover makes the horse's mouths froth up with lots of spit if they eat it.

Mine will actually leave any white clover to be eaten last. Even then, I've never had that problem. The real danger is here in the Spring, with a late frost. If turned out on pasture,while frost is still on the clover, it will cause them to founder. If you turn them out on it later, after the frost has melted off, no problems. Per my blacksmith several years back, who was a graduate of Ohio State University, who studied Equine,and Agriculture. The man was a wealth of knowledge.

 

[DJ54]

I usually use 2 lbs white dutch and 8 lbs med red clover/acre when renovating. Germination as renovating is not a good as conventional seeding methods. Ken Sweet

Renovation, is actually the name of this Clover. I don't see it in the above link to it, but of the many pages I read on it, it grows to a height of 18" to 24" tall. The main reason I planted it was for the N benefit. It seems the last few times I applied urea, I did it intentionally right before a predicted 80% change of rain to set it in, that we never got. Actually sat here watching the rain coming in on NOAAH radar, only for the rain to dissipate 10-15 miles to the West of here. By the time the next rain came, I'd imagine the bulk of it had evaporated. This Clover should help boost production of the endophyte free meadow fescue I also just sowed.

Studying the sowing rates, it suggested planting 2-3 lbs. in an existing stand. However, the seed dealer warned me to only sow 1 lb. per acre, as it can become invasive. I'd bought 10 lbs. to do the 2 lbs. per acre. He said do 1 lb., and if it's not as much as you want, sow another lb. in 2 years, as it will take that long to see the true results. I'm shooting for 20% overall clovers, 10-15% Alfalfa, 20% Timothy and the rest, pretty much meadow fescue, and Rye grass. The percent of Timothy on second cutting will be determined on how early I get first cutting made, and temperatures, until I make second. I went with Tuukka Timothy, because it matures faster than the old stand by, Climax. It did very well last year, I sowed it in mid Sept the Fall before. Although it did mature early, I was amazed it held it's green, well after the Rye Grass died. I never got first cutting made last year until the second week of July, due to all the rain. Rye Grass was brown when I cut it, but the rest of the mix looked good.

The horses pretty much pick around the Rye grass in the hay, and there is a lot of waste, but got me through to where it's close enough to Spring, I started feeding the second cutting hay. That, they are licking up every stick.