Growing Crimson CloverKephart, L. W. (Leonard Wheeler)
Science
Growing Crimson Clover
Kephart, L. W. (Leonard Wheeler)
Crimson clover
South of southern Virginia crimson clover can be seeded in cotton,
provided the field is free from crab-grass and other weeds and the soil is
not too dry. In the extreme north of the cotton belt the seed may be sown
at the last working of the cotton; farther south this occurs too early and
it is necessary to wait for a rain, which often comes at about the time of
the first picking.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Crimson clover in an old cornfield. The clover
was seeded in the corn at the last cultivation. A fodder stack is to be
observed in the middle foreground. The cornstalks have been removed to
avoid difficulty in mowing the clover.]
Crimson clover may be seeded in practically any of the cultivated truck
crops which receive their last cultivation from 8 to 12 weeks before
the first frost. It is not practicable to seed the clover in late
potatoes, sweet potatoes, or other root crops, as the digging in the fall
practically destroys the clover.
Ordinarily, crimson clover does not succeed when sown in cowpeas, sorghum,
or watermelons, owing to the heavy shade cast by these crops. It can,
however, be seeded in tobacco, tomatoes, cultivated soy beans, and
cantaloupes.
=SEEDING AFTER AN EARLY-MATURING CROP.=
Seeding crimson clover in an intertilled crop is successful mostly on
sandy soils, which can easily be prepared for seeding even in mid-summer.
On clay soils and in weedy fields this method of seeding is likely to be
unsatisfactory. Such soils are usually hard and dry in August and can with
difficulty be brought into condition for a seed bed, with the result that
a large percentage of such seedings fail. A better plan on clay soils, and
on sandy soils in many cases, is to seed the crimson clover on specially
prepared ground from which all other crops have been removed. Such ground
can be made as fine and firm as desired. Furthermore, the clover after
planting does not have to compete with another crop for the soil moisture.
This method is somewhat more troublesome than planting in intertilled
crops, but the greater certainty of getting a stand more than offsets the
greater cost. Planting crimson clover on specially prepared ground has
extended the culture of the plant to regions where it was not hitherto
grown and is increasing the reliability of the crop in sections where it
has been long established.
In the ordinary rotation, crimson clover follows a crop of small grain.
However, it may follow any crop that is removed 8 to 10 weeks before
frost, or it may be seeded on fallow ground. Ground from which early
potatoes have been removed is especially favorable for the establishment
of a stand of this clover. The residual effect of the fertilizers used on
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.
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