How to Seed Clover

Clover is high in nutritional value, and very attractive to deer, which makes it a desirable option for animal-food plots and deer-management plots. Improperly seeding clover, however, will likely result in a poor clover yield as well as a frustrated farmer. By properly seeding clover, you will optimize both the quality and quantity of your clover field, and create the most desirable and attractive food plots.

Things You'll Need

  • Soil disks
  • Live bacteria
  • Sticking agent
  • Sawdust or organic fertilizer
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Instructions

    • 1
      Prepare soil for clover seed

      Prepare the soil. Use soil disks to thoroughly till your soil. Pay special attention to make your soil bed level and uniform. This can be done up to 30 days before planting your clover.

    • 2

      Moisten clover seeds with a sticking agent. You can purchase a commercial-grade sticking agent at a local farm store, or you can simply use a soft drink such as soda. Lightly coat clover seeds with the sticking agent using either a spay bottle or by dipping the seeds into the sticking agent. This will allow the bacteria to stick to the clover seeds for optimal crop yield.

    • 3

      Inoculate clover seeds with live bacteria. The clover seed will not be able to abosorb the nitrogen in the soil without the seeds being inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria before they are planted. Finely ground peat moss serves as the carrier of the Rhizobium bacteria. Using finely ground peat moss, which can be purchased at any major crafting store or farm store, mix the bacteria with your clover seed until all the seeds are generously coated and allow the seeds to air dry.

    • 4
      Broadcasting clover seed

      Mix clover seeds with sawdust or organic fertilizer and broadcast over the soil bed. Broadcast seeds at a rate of two to eight ounces per 1,000 square feet.

    • 5

      Cover clover seed with one-eighth to one-quarter inch of soil. Make sure there is no more than one-half inch of soil covering the seeds. Firmly pack the soil on top of the seeds to assure soil and seed contact.