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#Post#: 1744--------------------------------------------------
Why are they planting clover?
DIR By: Michael Caswell
Date: September 1, 2021, 3:33 am
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On a recent trip to the Brockport area to see the new dam
restoration, I noticed the slopes had been planted with clover,
lots of it.
I thought they said they were planting grass? So why all this
clover?
And then I remembered! Many years ago I was a sales rep for a
cattle feed company, so I was trained to diagnose and recommend
different diets for ruminants (cows, sheep etc). Clover (a
legume) mixed into the grass in a field is a good source of
nitrogen as it extracts this element from the air and stores it
in its roots. As the plant dies off, it leave this element in
the ground for grasses to use.
Unfortunately, for some cows, eating too much clover can cause
bloat and they can die easily. In a few cases a trochar and
cannula punched through the side of the animal into the rumen
will relieve the gas.
I doubt we'll be seeing herds of cattle or flocks of sheep on
our slopes, so we won't have this to worry about, but no doubt
as to why clover has been added to the grass mix, it's to 'fix'
nitrogen into the soil to promote grass growth. Very clever and
environmentally sound, in my opinion.
#Post#: 1747--------------------------------------------------
Re: Why are they planting clover?
DIR By: Doug K
Date: September 3, 2021, 2:05 pm
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Are you sure there will never be livestock roaming the Erie
Canal Embankments feeding on all that grass & clover? Seems like
a local Facebook group has other ideas
[attachimg=1]
And they didn't plant all the clover, it grew along with the
grass mix that was put down on the earthen dams, probably spread
a bit by the wind. The same grass was hydroseeded on part of our
adjacent property, and it has very little clover but nice fescue
grass.
#Post#: 1748--------------------------------------------------
Re: Why are they planting clover?
DIR By: Michael Caswell
Date: September 3, 2021, 8:24 pm
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90% of what I saw was clover. Little grass. Someone mixed up
the seed ratio. It doesn't matter much as there is a good mix,
which will ultimately lead to a healthy cover.
#Post#: 1752--------------------------------------------------
Re: Why are they planting clover?
DIR By: Doug K
Date: September 4, 2021, 1:22 pm
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The reason the clover is more predominate over the grass is easy
to understand. The same seed planted in our yard by the Canal
Corporation is maintained to a height of 2-3 inches, as lawn.
The Canal Embankment is maintained at about 5X that height,
today it is a foot tall. And CLOVER is very good at taking
control of an area of earth, with it's broadleaf shape. It is
also VERY good for the earth, and the health of the soil.
Found some great articles on all this below the picture
[attachimg=1]
HTML https://homeguides.sfgate.com/clover-alternative-groundcover-74639.html
HTML https://www.naturesseed.com/blog/more-than-luck-why-you-should-add-clover-to-your-lawn-grass/
HTML https://www.americanmeadows.com/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/clover-seeds/plant-clover-to-improve-soil-health
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