Birdsfoot trefoil

[AC Diesel]

Anyone in Nebraska ever try to grow it. I have sandy soils here , with a high water table. I would like to try something like this in my pastures and meadows where the grass died from the drought. I would love to here any suggestions on what type of forage to use.

 

[lefty]

trefoil dose very well in that kind of soil & water table at least here in MN.
It doesn't like competition when its a seedling . 8 #s of seed to the acre . needs a firm seedbed & very important to buy inoculated seed ..........Or inoculate it just before you plant . lots of potash & sulfur . Leave it alone the first year & plant it 1/4 inch deep no more than that .Its first year is spent growing a root . After that you will see , let go to seed every 2 years & leave some stubble for fall .
Try a small patch first if it works then let her buck .

This information is worth what you paid for it Good Luck

 

[Spanish Johhny]

When I grew it a number of years ago, it would do better in heavier soils and tolerated a wet field better than alfalfa. It was a great way to rejuvenate a pasture. I would "frost seed" it. As the last of the snow was melting and the ground was frozen at night and thawing during the day I would spin~ 10lbs of inoculated seed on the existing pasture. Helps if the pasture was bared down to the wood the fall before so the sun can hit the soil. The freezing and thawing would pull the seed in enough that it would germinate. It wasn't perfect but it was ok. That was in Ontario but I haven't tried or heard of it being frost seeded out here in Alberta. Anyone?

 

[Aaron]

It's the mainstay of all our pastures and fields. It likes moisture and lots of it. I know visitors here from drier areas of the prairies are astonished at what it can do here. To dry and it won't amount to much.

It can handle competition fine. You can broadcast in the spring or after you cut your fields and it will work, as long as you have moisture. It's an oilseed, so it can last in the soil for quite some time.

Let it go to seed every few years and you'll never have to seed down a field again.

Also allows you to put up hay late in the year as the stems themselves maintain a pretty consistent 8% protein level, even if the leaves are all gone.

 

[AC Diesel]

Thanks guys, it sounds like it should work well here. What kind of tonnage do you guys get out of a field of trefoil ?

 

[lefty]

for me 5 bales to the acre in 2 cutting is average it has done 7 . Its very high tdn . a complete feed you might say

 

[lefty]

those are 1500 #bales sorry it early

 

[Denny]

I rented a place about 5 years ago that has trefoil growing all over it. I bale it later to get the seed pods full then feed the hay other places. It has began to spread all over. Another trick is I feed it to the cows just before they go to grass and that has in turn spread it thru out my pastures.

 

[AC Diesel]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to give it a try.