clover

[Anonymous-0]

Myself and the neighbors are being overrun with clover! Thick wet long clover in the grass hat fields. None of us planted it. My field is 4 years since turned over. We are small operators. Wheel rakes, sickle cutters. Its no fun to try and dry that stuff. And its out of time with the grass hay in the same windrow.

Any ideas on controlling clover? Can a fertilizer study show what needs to be added to promote hay not clover?

Not huge acreages. 5 acres ish.

 

[Ludwig]

Wow, that seems like a somewhat unique problem to have. One of my neighbors planted clover a few years ago and for awhile I had a beautiful field of clover and deer by the score.

Some of it depends on where you are I think. In Maine clover left to its own devices won't last all that long. I think mine was 2-3 years before it was pretty much gone.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Just wait a year or two and most of it will be gone. Seems clover seed can lay for years before sprouting, and it will be thick every once in a while. Have seen it many times here in KY.

 

[JT]

if you only have a small acreage, get your self a little sprayer and I think the product I used for white clover in my yard is tri-mec, should be able to get in any garden supply store. Now, if you have regular clover, you can use 2-4D, but you gotta be careful with that, it will drift when applying, so it can kill gardens, some trees if you get it on the foliage. Now 2-4D will kill white clover, but it will have a hard time with it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Any 2-4D herbicide with Banvel added as a tank mix will control it effectively. Read and follow label directions, calibrate sprayer accurately, and follow haying/grazing restrictions! HTH Ben

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you are concerned about drifting, most of the ag chemical companies make a drift inhibitor that you can add to the mix. I have used it before.

 

[old]

You have a problem most people would love to have if in fact its clover and not crown veach. I do my best to keep adding as much clover as I can to my fields because its good for the soil and also makes very good feed
Hobby farm

 

[Luke S]

I am with Old on this one. I plant clover not try to get rid of it. Makes awful good hay, and it also allows me to get two or three cutting of hay where I'd most likely only get one of the cool season grasses that I grow. It also keeps the late summer weeds at from trying to take over as it chokes them out.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Most would love to have a good clover field. We use to get three cuttings of premium hay for cattle.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I agree that when its cured, it is great. The animals love it. But does it ever take a long time to dry. And I wind up beat the heck out of it with the rake trying to roll the rope over.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Alsike clover can be real bad for horses, Red Clover as well as White Clover can contain a fungus that will create problems as well although not the liver damage of Alsike. I would find out what type of clover you have and go from there as to possibility of a feed or a weed. We allow our horses a small amount of red clover but have to watch for "slobbers" which is a sign of the fungus presence.