I am putting down my seed for a 1/2 acre ladino clover plot next Saturday, what should I expect with what was done.

Area - Southern Indiana 1/2 acre powerline strip

ph - 6.4

Used a bush hog to mow down tall grass and small saplings. Used Round-Up on the entire area to kill out most weeds/grass.

I am going to broadcast the seed with a hand-spreader throughout the plot.

We don't have access to a disc or aerater.

Will I have any success with the clover coming up this spring without turning the soil over or aerating?

You'll have some clover come - maybe thin though. Its tough to expect clover to start through sod. It can - but usually you need to seed thicker - and always some weeds will germinate. Keep the weeds out of it - and by year #2 it can be as good as any clover plot.

Let us know how it turns out.

FH

thanks for the advice farmhunter,

I thought about adding some scotts lawn fertilizer as well, not weed and feed, but just a good dose of nitrogen. My backyard wild clover loves it, would it hurt to put some down with my over seeding on the food plot?

I've always been told to not apply nitrogen to clover. Clover fixes it's own nitrogen therefore doesn't need it. The nitrogen will only fuel the grasses in the plot. Putting down some 0-20-20 or similar would be the way to go. I may be wrong though. I am new at the food plot stuff as well.

thanks for the tip

You should soil test before you plant. I tried it the way you plan to and I had a extreme potash deficient plot and I wasted a year because I used 13-13-13 and it was way off from what was needed. THe plot struggled and in the summer I lost it all. The plants developed slowly and just couldn't compete with the grass.

I test every field before I plant and I have had great success the last few years with clover.

Good Luck

SB

i lucked out, the farmer was up there with his disc and turned over the soil for me, this should help the clover come up much better

You should be getting some rain soon, so apply the seed a day or so before the rain. You need to get some type of ideal of the pH by soil testing or if nothing else, asking the local extension person or the local grass farmer (cattle person). Lime can be more important then fertilizer if the pH is way off for stand persistance and production.

here's some pics of the ladino clover i planted last sept. it's really coming on strong.





i prefer to plant clover in the fall to allow the root system to become established before the summer heat. i really like a winter rye/clover planting in the fall. here's what it looked like last weekend.

nice pics