Adding clover to permanent pasture.

[Allsorts]

Thinking of entering low input grassland in CSS , what is the best way to add some clover to my permanent pasture for the sheep and what is the best time of year to do it. Cheers

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Spring but nothing will grow in a grass carpet , you need to open it out somehow . Hard grazing , Harrow or Direct drill

 

[collywol]

Thinking of entering low input grassland in CSS , what is the best way to add some clover to my permanent pasture for the sheep and what is the best time of year to do it. Cheers

Handful of seed in lick buckets every morning,sheep do the rest even fertilise it as well . Works well in spring!

 

[Bury the Trash]

make them into seedballs with something trouble is bought clay coated seed here is expensive

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[Flatlander]

Handful of seed in lick buckets every morning,sheep do the rest even fertilise it as well . Works well in spring!

this I’ve seen with good results but even better with cattle as the crap is wetter for longer than sheep sh!t.neighbour added alfalfa seeds to his lagoon and mixed the pumped out via a drag line. Very good results.

 

[neilo]

Handful of seed in lick buckets every morning,sheep do the rest even fertilise it as well . Works well in spring!

I’ve tried that several times. The only increase in clover plants was were they’d managed to shovel seed out of the mineral buckets, so effectively just broadcast it.
Ime it just doesn’t work passing through sheep (seed germinates in poo then dries out and dies perhaps?), although it can with cattle.

Most effective method here has been to broadcast it with a slug pelleter, whenever there has been bare soil visible (after taking shay/silage cut), prior to rain, and ideally with a big mob of sheep running over it to get soil contact.

The OP also needs to address any reasons why clover isn’t already established there already, whether that be grazing management or soil nutrients & pH.

 

[Grass And Grain]

Depends on the stewardship option, but I'd be very wary of committing to getting a % of sward as herbs and legumes, and then managing to maintain those populations.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Depends on the stewardship option, but I'd be very wary of committing to getting a % of sward as herbs and legumes, and then managing to maintain those populations.

yes.
and Sheep play up heck with clover , particularly this time of year and without a decent summer break

shan't be doing any of it as it would cramp style too much , that also means one thing less for me to moan and whinge about as well .

 

[Bury the Trash]

Spring but nothing will grow in a grass carpet , you need to open it out somehow . Hard grazing , Harrow or Direct drill

no need for an expensive to buy and run drill just hide the seed in little baked balls of slag and broadcast with a Cambridge roll or 2 to finish

 

[steveR]

Handful of seed in lick buckets every morning,sheep do the rest even fertilise it as well . Works well in spring!

How much seed, and for how long....? Thinking about this here..

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

@neilo sums up how to get more Clover into grassland.
First make sure the Ph is as good as you can possibly get it and maintain it at levels close to 6.
Make sure the phosphate level is reasonable and the land is not too wet.

Grazing management once you have Clover is key. Small leaved white clovers are the hardest to establish, but if grazed properly are also the most persistent.
In my experience most clover is lost due to under grazing rather than over grazing.