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Crimson Clover

Description

Crimson Clover ( Trifolium incarnatum ) can be blended with specifed grass or native seed mixes to achieve a rapid vegetation cover in Slope protection/ Temporary seeding/Storm water blankets. Crimson Clover is a nitrogen fxing legume which has the ability to naturally capture nitrogen gas (dinitrogen – N

2

) from the atmosphere, convert it to a plant available form (ammonium nitrogen – NH

4

, nitrate nitrogen – NO

3

), and make it available to other plants growing in close proximity through the soil solution. Clovers have very quick germination times and are fast to establish low growing covers. Crimson Clover is a summer and winter annual, is shade tolerant, is moderately tolerant of drought and heat, can be seeded in most well-drained soils, prefers pH levels between 5.0 and 7.0, and can fx between 70 and 130 lbs/ac (80 and 147 kg/ha) of nitrogen (Sarrantonio, 1994). Crimson Clover is to be used with specifed grass or native seed mixes, not as a stand alone vegetation specifcation.

Function

The addition of Clover seed to any Filtrexx ® GrowingMedia ™ BMP will;

1. decrease the vegetation establishment time

2. decrease the time to 70% uniform cover

3. increase biomass (above ground) relative to grass seed.

These three benefts will function to increase erosion control, slope stabilization, and success of any vegetation establishment and/or slope stabilization

project. Vegetation cover has been shown to be effective at reducing moisture loss in various growing media and soils; therefore, reduced

irrigation or increased survivability during dry periods may be an additional beneft to adding Clover seed. Independent laboratory testing conducted at the University of Georgia showed that the addition of Crimson Clover seed to grass seeded Slope protection, relative to grass seeded Slope protection without Crimson Clover, reduced vegetation establishment time from 8 days to 3 days (62% reduction), reduced time to 70% uniform vegetated cover from 9 weeks to 6 weeks (33% reduction), and increased biomass by 41% 12 weeks after installation. For more information on this project see Filtrexx ® Tech Link #3315 and/or Vegetation Growth Evaluation with Compost, Mulch, and Support Practice Additives in the Appendix.

Installation

1. Where required, Crimson Clover seed shall be surface applied manually or hydraulically, or pneumatically injected into GrowingMedia ™ during installation of Filtrexx ® BMP.

2. Seed shall be mixed and uniformly blended with specifed grass seed, and applied together in one step on a uniform coverage basis.

3. Seed shall be irrigated immediately after application and until 70% uniform vegetation cover is established.

4. Crimson Clover shall be applied at a rate of 0.7 lbs/1000 sq. ft or 30 lbs/acre (34 kg/ha) in addition to specifed grass seed or native seed mix.

Section 3: Support Practices ™

Filtrexx ® Crimson Clover

Vegetation Enhancement Technology