🍀 Clover
Field Crops · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 60 days – 75 days, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 7 days |
| Planted as | lb |
| Water | ~0.75–1.2 in a week |
When to plant — Alsike Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 18 — as soon as the ground can be worked.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 17 | Aug 6 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 9 | Aug 11 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 29 | Aug 24 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 18 | Sep 5 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 4 | Sep 26 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 15 | Oct 11 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 23 | Oct 26 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — Berseem Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant out around Apr 22, once your last frost has passed.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 22 |
| Zone 4 | May 14 |
| Zone 5 | May 3 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 22 |
| Zone 7 | Apr 8 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 22 |
| Zone 9 | Feb 27 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — Crimson Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Sow around Oct 6, a couple of weeks before your ground freezes — it overwinters and comes away in spring.
| Fall | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Sep 6 |
| Zone 4 | Sep 11 |
| Zone 5 | Sep 24 |
| Zone 6 | Oct 6 |
| Zone 7 | Oct 27 |
| Zone 8 | Nov 11 |
| Zone 9 | Nov 26 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — Red Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 18 — as soon as the ground can be worked.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 17 | Aug 6 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 9 | Aug 11 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 29 | Aug 24 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 18 | Sep 5 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 4 | Sep 26 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 15 | Oct 11 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 23 | Oct 26 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — Sweet Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 18 — as soon as the ground can be worked.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 17 | Aug 6 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 9 | Aug 11 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 29 | Aug 24 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 18 | Sep 5 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 4 | Sep 26 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 15 | Oct 11 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 23 | Oct 26 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — White Clover
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 18 — as soon as the ground can be worked.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 17 | Aug 6 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 9 | Aug 11 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 29 | Aug 24 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 18 | Sep 5 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 4 | Sep 26 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 15 | Oct 11 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 23 | Oct 26 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Clover Types
- Crimson · 60 days · 150–300 lbs of green manure/plant — T. incarnatum — the WINTER annual cover: brilliant red heads, fall-sown South, spring North.
- Red · 65 days · 250–500 lbs of hay/plant — T. pratense — the short-lived perennial hay clover; two cuttings, pairs with timothy.
- White · 70 days · 300–600 lbs of forage/plant — T. repens (incl. Ladino) — the low, perennial PASTURE clover; grazes and reseeds.
- Sweet · 75 days · 200–400 lbs of green manure/plant — Melilotus — tall biennial for green manure and bees; deep taproot breaks hardpan.
- Berseem · 60 days · 150–300 lbs of green manure/plant — T. alexandrinum — the SUMMER annual (Egyptian clover): fast, heavy forage in the heat.
- Alsike · 70 days · 200–400 lbs of hay/plant — T. hybridum — takes wet, acid ground that red clover won't; short-lived perennial.