Legume seeds must be treated with the proper inoculant at the time of planting and will produce their own nitrogen. Plots should be limed, disked, and allowed to settle before planting. Broadcast seeding increases seeding rate over similar drilled crops. Most seeds should be lightly covered with a harrow or by dragging a heavy timber, log chain, or piece of chain-link fence over the plot. Frost planting, or overseeding crops such as red or arrowleaf clover, birdsfoot trefoil, or winter hardy forage oats over closely mowed or grazed vegetation in late winter can be effective and inexpensive.
Frozen ground allows seeds to contact and germinate in mineral soil.
However, several meet criteria of spring-summer production, resistance to overbrowsing, high protein levels, and digestibility to deer. The best choices for the Southeast include Alyceclover, cowpeas, jointvetch, Lab Lab, and soybeans. Alyceclover is a legume that produces forage through the early fall. It produces abundant forage and withstands browsing pressure better than most of the other choices. Plant it with cowpeas, another favorite warm-season annual legume, to help prevent overbrowsing of the peas.