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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 14, 2014 18:50:47 GMT -5
This is the second time I've tried growing NZ clover as a cool weather cover crop. I was hoping it would add some nitrogen and tilth to my field before planting corn. Each time it readily sprouts, looks healthy but just sits there, never growing. It was planted January 12th, sprouted on the 19th and is irrigated as necessary. It's barely 1/4 to 1/2 inch tall. The temperatures have been all over the place, the soil is moderately alkaline. By contrast the soil builder mix of vetch, legumes, and oats planted at the same time are already 6" tall. What could be wrong?
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Post by richardw on Mar 15, 2014 15:31:46 GMT -5
What's the name of that clover,do ya know?
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 15, 2014 21:11:01 GMT -5
I got it from Peaceful Valley and it was just called White New Zealand clover maybe you'll recognize which one from the photo: www.groworganic.com/new-zealand-white-clover-rhizocoated-lb.htmlSays it was supposed to get up to eight inches, seems to fit our profile of soil and temps. Trying to decide if I should leave some of it in between the corn furrows for the bees or just turn it all under. At this growth rate I can't imagine it reaching blooming stage. It never did when I planted it before (I got that seed somewhere else). |
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Post by jondear on Mar 15, 2014 21:46:44 GMT -5
Has it gotten enough water? Fedco's description says it tolerates excessive moisture. Leads me to believe it may not like dry conditions.
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Post by richardw on Mar 15, 2014 23:44:00 GMT -5
i recognize it,i have it sown in the Goji orchard where it does really well because it gets lots of water from the sprinklers,so yes it doesn't like it dry so i would agree with jondear.
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 16, 2014 11:36:48 GMT -5
I am watering it for 2 hours every other day. Pretty much the ground is never drying out. It could be that it needs a longer watering to get the roots to go deeper. I will experiment with giving it more and let you know how it goes. Thanks!
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Post by richardw on Mar 16, 2014 13:20:43 GMT -5
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Post by raymondo on Mar 16, 2014 16:57:56 GMT -5
I assume, given the name, that it's a cultivar developed in NZ. Perhaps there's a cultivar of white clover developed for your local conditions. Any farmers nearby who sow clover? They might know.
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 16, 2014 17:49:42 GMT -5
Ray, there are no other farmers nearby, only ranchers. 100 years ago this river canyon was an agricultural entity producing all its own food, grinding it's own grain. But as far as I can tell the knowledge and seeds were lost after the war with the advent of packaged foods. Farmland has been converted to river cabins for tourism. It's now a food desert, a three hour round trip drive to the grocery store, or picnic & junk food from the gas stations. 1,000 feet lower and an hour south of me is Big Ag planting monocrops of GMO cotton & corn.
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Post by raymondo on Mar 16, 2014 18:26:13 GMT -5
In that case, it looks like trial and error. Is there an area similar where you might find extension agents who would know of suitable cultivars?
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 16, 2014 20:01:18 GMT -5
Maybe New Mexico. Honestly, the Texas extension agents I've worked with as a botanist don't know crap about plants. The ones here are totally focused on 'white tailed deer management', getting ranchers to plant invasive grasses as 'soil management', and teaching people how to apply toxic chemicals. They all come from a university funded by Big Ag, so it's really no surprise.
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Post by richardw on Mar 17, 2014 4:06:29 GMT -5
Here's the goji orchard where i sowed the white clover,interesting the difference with the Goji once it became established,before hand i used to hoe the area and kelp it weed free,the results were the Goji'd suckered badly,now not a single sucker comes up ...odd!!  |
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Post by raymondo on Mar 17, 2014 4:16:55 GMT -5
You were probably damaging goji roots Richard and stimulating suckering. Must say, a ground cover of white clover looks good. Do you ever mow it?
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Post by MikeH on Mar 17, 2014 6:13:25 GMT -5
Apparently if you're looking for nitrogen from Trifolium repens, you need to do a couple of things - make sure that you inoculate the seed and then cut it to get the nitrogen released.
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 17, 2014 11:05:12 GMT -5
OK, I just set up a Picasa account and I still can't get a photo to post. Shouldn't I be able to see the image in the preview mode when I can see the code in the code mode? At least with Picasa I get a bounding box with a broken link icon, with Flickr I get nothing. This is frustrating as I'm fairly computer savvy! Richard, that's some nice looking clover! Mike, the clover seed I bought was coated with an inoculate so that shouldn't be the issue. Here's the biggest clover I could find, most of it is a third of the size. See if this link works: www.flickr.com/photos/flowerweaver/13155712295/Here's a view of the field: www.flickr.com/photos/flowerweaver/12940814213/ |
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