# Bermuda grass hay with clover



## Edreeh (Feb 25, 2015)

I have been cutting Bermuda grass for hay not fertilized now I have clover growing in it the clover is getting taller than the grass I was going to mow the clover down to the grass height or will the Bermuda do better without cutting the clover.im in San antonio Texas.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

In general a bermudagrass / clover mix does very well for grazing but less so for hay.

What occures is with out nitrogen fertilizer the clover will pull from the air enough nitrogen for oit's needs plus another 50# - 100#s for the grass. The clover has enough nitrogen but the grass has less than half it's needs for nitrogen. The result is the clover out grows the grass.

So if you add nitrogen to you fertilizer program the grass will have enough Nitrogen. Problem is if there is any free nitrogen the clover will use it rather than use energy to pull the free nitrogen from the air.

Solution is to fertilize the grass which will our compete the clover and replace the clover in the meadow.

That or graze livestock.

Now with grazing the animals will deposit half of the nitrogen they receive from the forage, and every one is reasonably happy.

Being near San Antonio if you *graze *you should not have much NEED for harvested feeds. With a little management on your part, that is. Actually if you NEED to feed hay you are ether milking the livestock or you are overgrazing.

If you can graze 5 cows and one bull with out feeding hay you are good. If that is two much, graze goats & one billy. If that is overstocking try rabbits. * * *


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

What kind of "clover"??

If you're talking about little burr medic (commonly called burr clover round these parts) then it's not too big a deal... it'll start piddling out when it starts to warm up... soon as the hot weather arrives its gone. Only bad thing about it is that it will set the bermudagrass back a bit since it shades the ground so well and the bermuda really can't outcompete it until it starts dying back from heat... Usually the bermuda will want to start greening up as soon as it warms up, so having a lot of burr clover out there will keep it "suppressed" for a few weeks more. BUT, it IS giving you some nitrogen while it's doing its thing, and nitrogen ain't cheap as I'm sure you know...

I've got a couple fields just covered in it. Close the cows off of it and it'll get boot deep or so and thick as hair on a dog's back... You can make hay out of it, but it works a LOT better if it's got some ryegrass growing in it... burr clover is HARD to get dry right to bale and keep the leaves on it, what with it having to be cut early in the spring. Grazing burr clover is possible, and the cattle will keep it grazed down short if you have enough cattle on it, BUT, you have to be really careful with it-- it's really bad about bloating cows... Don't turn them in hungry on a field of it, especially if it's wet with dew or rain, or you'll have some dead cows...

If grazing isn't an option for you, or if you don't want to risk the bloat, then the alternative is haying it, probably around late March to mid-April (depending on how fast it heats up). Once it gets boot high it's really not going to get any taller-- it'll send out florets and then develop soft-burrs (seed) on the stems. Like everything else, it makes better hay if you get it before it starts making a lot of burr-seed... flowering stage is about best, BUT, the earlier you cut it, the harder it is to get it cured enough for baling... I don't have a conditioner but it'd really be best if one did... and lay it out as wide and flat as possible to make use of the limited warmth/daylight that early in the season. I'm just baling it for my cows, so I take it off mostly to get some early hay and get it out of the way for the warm season grasses (especially bermuda). Cows seem to like it, even though I lose a lot of leaf by the time I get the stems dry enough to roll (a mixed stand with ryegrass works MUCH better for this reason!)

If you don't want to mess with baling it, I suppose you could shred the stuff off with a bush-hog when the weather starts to warm up and the bermuda would be ready to green up and break dormancy... most of the "duff" will be gone by the time you're ready for your first bermuda cutting and shouldn't be a problem...

Later and good luck! OL JR


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Clover is a cool weather legume and the Bermuda is a warm season grass.

If the clover was tall enough to produce much forage I would cut early as just clover hay. If a "clover only" would not produce enough yield to make it worth while then I would bale it when the combination of clover and Bermuda are it worth my time. In our area the clover is going dormant by the time Bermuda is ready to cut.

It takes a little longer for clover stems to cure, especially in the spring of the year.


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