Ozarks countryside has good soil in spotty places, so good grass doesn't just grow everywhere. A pasture may have several kinds of native grasses growing along with bare spots and others choked with brambles. My grandfather loved to plant clover in areas where grass was sparse, and sowing seed on the snow is the best way to get clover going.
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The reason this works so well is because clover is one of the first things to take off in the spring. As soon as the ground thaws clover will sprout and the moisture from the last snow will get it off to a powerful start. When a clover patch gets going it can grow knee high and thick, lasting until the heat of summer withers it back.
To seed your clover on the snow you'll need to get seed bought and have it on hand. Then when you are in a snow ( I like to seed after the first of the year) go out and broadcast your seed by hand right on top of the snow. As the snow melts it will plant the clover seeds perfectly and the moisture left from melting snow will help it germinate quickly.
The Best Kinds Of Clover
There are a couple of kinds of perennial clover, those that will dependably grow year after year. They are the white clover that is seen growing in many yards naturally, and red clover that is larger but less common. There are more kinds of clover to plant that are annuals, and although they require reseeding, they will do it on their own most of the time.
- Crimson Clover Crimson clover is very dependable and is the earliest-maturing commonly grown clover species. It makes a great winter cover or green manure crop. The showy crimson-colored blooms can provide a spectacular show in early to mid-spring.
- Arrowleaf clover makes most of its growth in late spring. It is self-reseeding and can germinate at lower temperatures than most annuals. It is usually grown in pastures and requires well-drained soil.
- Rose Clover Rose clover has lavender-colored blooms and makes most of its growth in mid-spring. It is one of the most tolerant clovers to drought and reseeding is often good. It is best suited to well-drained soils.
- Berseem Clover looks a little like alfalfa but does not have good cold tolerance, so production declines as it is planted farther north. It is quite tolerant of wet soils and also alkaline soils.
- Subterranean Clover is best suited to areas having mild winters. It is more tolerant of low fertility and shade than most clovers and is best adapted to medium and heavy textured soils with good moisture-holding capacity.
- Ball Clover can be quite productive since it is a prolific seed producer and it is an excellent reseeder. The primary period of growth is early to mid-spring and is best suited to heavy soils, but is surprisingly well adapted to fairly dry sites as well.
Different clover varieties will grow better than others in your clime, but the seed is cheap. To find out what works best at your place just try seeding some and see what happens. Sometimes things just aren't right in a certain year and you'll find a patch seeded earlier comes to life when things are right.
Reasons To Grow A Clover Patch
My grandparents realized the benefits of clover growing on the farm, and for them it was mainly good pasture for the livestock and it's ability to set nitrogen in the soil, making other grasses grow better. It's really pretty, too when it blooms early in spring. I hate to cut the yard just because I love to see clover bloom.
It's become popular for deer hunters to sow clover patches around their favorite hunting sites to provide graze and nutrition to the herd. Other varmint like it, too and will hang around a big clover patch.
Bee keepers love big clover patches and the resulting good tasting honey. Bees will work the clover as long as blooms are present, so if you are feeding bees it would be best to grow several varieties that extend the blooming season.
Clover makes a great cover crop for the garden that can be plowed down as a green manure. For this purpose seed the annual varieties and plow it down before it goes to seed. Best nutrition for the soil is plowing down a crop that is in full bloom.
By sowing clover on the snow you'll get great results and spread your clover patch year after year. In a big clover year you'll have a crop that's knee high and blooms with beautiful sweet smelling flowers.
