Ray is right -

Sometimes people suggest a little Nitrogen at planting for clover (for a boost) - but chances are - in Illinois - your soil will be fertile enough that CLover will flourish without any additional Nitrogen.

Adding Nitrogen at planting (especally on overseeded plots) tends to help weeds/grasses grow faster and compete with clover.

Clover is a legume - and its roots system obatains Nitrogen from the air - for its growth. It does this through a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria - that is present in the inoculant. Most clover blends for food plots are coated with an inoculant - you can also buy a powdered inoculant to mix with the seeds if not.

FH

Sorry, my bad, you were talking about clover. It would be the same with cowpeas which is about the only legume I could get to grow on my poor sandy soil. Anything else we raise here, we have to dump on the N. The funny thing is on the farm where I live it is so high in K, I would never have to put any on.