Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1916-07-27
GROW RED CLOVER.

Every farmer should be growing red
clover. It's value as soil builder is
we'll known. Its feeding value is high.
either as pasture, or when made in
to hay. As pasture it is especially
we'll adapted for hogs, As q hay it
furnishes excellent material for sup
plying the protein contents of a bal
anced ration, which is to be much de-
sired.
Late summer or early fall is unQues-
tionably the best time for sowing red
clover, and now is the proper time to
begin preparing the seed bed. Stubble
land from which either the small
grains, wheat, oats, rye or barley, has
teen taken. furnishes an excellent
place for August seeding. In this case
the seed bed should be prepared by
subsoil breaking and discing. The
subsoil plow should be run twelve to
fifteen inches deep with the furrows
about eighteen inches apart. The land
should then be double cut twice with
the disc harrow, running with the
furrows the first time and the second
time across them. If any clods are
present after the disciug, they should
be broken up by using the roller or
plank drag, followed by the spike
tooth harrow. If the subsoil plow can
not be had, the land should be broken
deep with the turning plow, and i'm
mediately worked down with the disc
harrow, roller and drag harrow until
a satisfactory seed bed is prepared.
Land where soy beans or COW peas
have been grown and taken off for
hay, If taken off in time, also furnish
es excellent condition for seeding to
red clover. In this case, If the land
has been broken deep for the beans or
peas, it will not be so necessary to
subsoil as when following small
grains. But it will be better even then
to subsoil in most cases. In no case
should bean or pea stubble be turned
in preparation for clover. A very sat
isfactory seed bed can BIZ prepared
with the disc and drag harrow.
After the seed bed has been prepared
the land should be worked with the
spike tooth drag harrow every ten to
fifteen days until time for seeding.
This will keep down the weeds, break
up the top crust made by the rain,
form dust mulch on top, and con-
serve the moisture.
ly, there must first be a sufficient
We find that most of our soils are de-
ficieut in the content of lime.
This condition can be easily reme-
died by applying either the burned
lime or the pulverlzed lime stone. |
One ton of burned lime or two tons of
crushed rock per acre usually gives
results Lime should be
applied broadcast and worked into the
soil previous to seeding. Where the
farmer is not in position to apply |
lime, if he has a fel tile soil or is able !
to apply top dressing of stable man.
ure, be may SOW with fair assurance
Of success il he follows the method of
as described above.
For the best results, in seeding to
clover, IL is advisable to apply acid
phosphate at the rate of two hundred
pounds per acre. This should be done
previous to or at the time of seeding.
Tue proper time for seeding is from
the middle to the last of August, pre-
ferably from the fifteenth to the TWEEN
tieth. Twelve pounds Of seed per acre
should be sown. They may be put in
with the drill or sown broadcast and
narrowed in with the spiketooth drag
harrow. In either case care should be
exercised to avoid covering too deep.
1t is very good practice to mix
some of the grasses with the clover.
Red clover. orchard grass and meadow
oat grass affords very good mixture,
md, in fact, think it is more desir-
.ble than the clover alone. Where
hese two grasses are sown along with
he clover, one-half bushe of each of
be grasses and eight pounds of clover
will be fair seeding.
If the above outlined method is fol.
owed in the attempt to grow red Glow
II, there should be no reason for
allure and certainly the growing of
ed clover is one of the fist requisites
f good farming. :
F. M. HUTCHINSON,
County Agent.