Balansa is a versatile clover that can be planted during various times of the season. If spring planting, be sure to get it sown as soon as possible, enabling it to utilize early moisture and get ahead of other species. Getting a good establishment in the fall has proven to always produce more total biomass. Germination can occur in just 3 days, noting its very rapid emergence compared to other small seeded legumes. Balansa can be interseed into an established perennial pasture successfully if sufficient sunlight is able to reach the soil. To maintain a nice annual stand, we would encourage you to allow balansa to reach maturity in its first season. Doing this will allow you to stockpile your seed bank for several seasons before you need to manage your clover to maturity again. Due to the extremely small seed size, its best to broadcast or lightly scratch the seed into the soil surface if planting a monoculture. If your chemical plan allows, interseeding balansa into your corn between V4-V8 can provide an early lead to a fall clover cover crop. Establishing after a cereal crop has proven to be more reliable then frost seeding. Its suggested that interseeding into soybeans before leaf drop can hamper the stand of balansa due to the thick leaf residue smothering the young seedlings during emergence so we encourage utilizing balansa in a mixture for this scenario. Coated with OMRI -Organic Eligible Coating
 
Cool season, annual clover which fills a special place for those interested in a cover crop clover
Allow it to grow just 40 days after first bloom in the first season and then again every 3-4 years to maintain a nice seed bank
Increased cold tolerance and biomass production
Can be cut for hay or grazed to produce over a 20% CP, high digestibility and extremely palatable forage
Attractive to many forms of pollinator insects and wildlife
Well-suited for heavy clay, wet soils than most other legumes species
 
Strengths:
Attract Beneficials & Pollinators
Erosion Control
Forage
Weed Suppressor
Green Manure
Nitrogen Production
Rapid Growth
Grazing
Tap Root
Wildlife
 
Planting Tips
Ideal Planting Time:  Early Spring  or Aug - Oct
Ideal Planting Depth:  1/5 - 1/4"
Min Germination Temp(F):  42
Drilled Seeding Rate (lb/ac): 5-6
Broadcast Seeding Rate (lb/ac):  6-8
Reseeding Potential:  Very Possible
 
Cover Crop orders must be placed by Monday at 10am cst for Wednesday delivery, custom orders must be placed by prior Friday at 10am cst for Wednesday delivery.
Contact us for quantity discounts.
Contact us about shipping rates.
 
Tolerance:
Balansas is a versatile clover that can withstand a wide array of soil types and one of the largest legumes pH ranges from 4.5-9.0. Balansa really sets itself apart from other clovers with its ability to withstand saturated and briefly flooded soils. In fact, due to the nature of this plant, it will perform poorly in deep, infertile, sandy soils. If your interested in selecting a clover to interseed into your established corn stand, balansa has shown some excellent shade tolerance. Biomass production is directly correlated with rainfall for this species due to its shallower rooting structure, it really needs to be grown in areas that receive at least 17"+ rainfall. Salinity tolerance would be classified in the low to moderate range at best. If planted early enough in the fall grazing is encouraged to increase tillering but don’t graze below 1.5". Balansa has been observed to withstand 5°F when unprotected and well below zero if protected with snow or other plant residue.  
 
Heat: 8
Drought: 6
Shade: 8
Flood: 9
Low Fertility: 4
pH: 4.5 - 9.0
*Based on a 1-10 scale. 1 = Poor     5= Average      10 = Excellent
 
Tech Sheet Summary