# Let clover go to seed?



## Ridgerunner (Jul 10, 2009)

I am located in south central kentucky. Last Octorber, I planted orchard grass, red clover, and wheat. In mid May I harvested the wheat. The orchard grass was only about 6 inches tall and the clover was about 12 inches tall. Now (July 11th) the clover is about 30 inches tall and headed out. The orchard grass is about 18 inches tall. Some rag weed and other weeds are trying to poke through. There are spots of Johnson grass that are about 48 inches tall.

My question is, should I let the clover go to seed, or cut/bale the hay? Someone once told me that you should let your red clover go to seed once per year or else it will quickly die out. I am afraid that the weeds will go to seed if I wait. I am also afraid that the hay quality will be reduced too much if I wait.

My intent is to harvest grass hay and minimize the amout of fertilizer that I have to purchase by maintaining a stand of red clover. I have been told that it takes a couple of seasons for the orchard grass to perform at its best. I am struggling to find the best way to maintain and nurture this stand while fighting weeds.

I need some advice. Thanks.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

Ive allways been told clover will not last more than two years without going down hill fast. Maybe thats why they said let it go to seed once a year, that would be cheaper than reseeding. Where you located in kentucky.
THOMAS


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## Ridgerunner (Jul 10, 2009)

Located in Allen county near Barren River Lake


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## markofmuckleford (Jun 30, 2009)

Hi Ridgerunner,

We use red clover alot in the UK and for farms in conversion to organic especially. In the first year or so it is best to let the clover seed (think of it like an investment) but, has it been cut/ topped earlier in the year? The reason for this question is that if the flowers on the clover are from a stand that has not been checked then the trompules on the flower head may get to long for bees and polinating insects to get to and the seeds will not be viable.

I know that this sounds stupid and far fetched but we have been doing experiments with this for a while now on various farms. I have found that we can make clover last and last and if it is strong it will out perform the weeds anyway and you needn't worry about a few weeds cause "if you cut for hay you take the seeds away" (UK farming is full of rhymes) obviously if the weeds are poisonous or very unpalletable you'll need to take action on them.

We can get away with topping or grazing till late into the spring to control the weeds and still get a good crop of grass for mowing off but I don't know about your climate so I couldn't advise on that, Have you considered alsike or white clover which are both less hassle to grow and will come back strong with little effort?

Hope that is of some interest/help.
Mark


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## stevemsinger (Jul 8, 2009)

Ridgerunner, we always let ours go to seed on the second cutting. Seems like we maintain a good stand in most places. I feed most of my hay only sell a couple thousand small squares. The cattle and horses love it even though it is past prime and they do very well on it....Just my 2 cents worth.


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