Orchard Clover Understory Mixture
Ref: mixoc
This legume based, nitrogen fixing mixture provides useful ground cover for orchards. The mixture will flower from early May onwards. This attracts pollinators and beneficial preditary insects. Normally sown at 20kgs per acre.
| Contents per Kg | % | kg | |
 | certified common bentgrass | 5.0 | 0.050 |
| certified smaller catstail | 5.0 | 0.050 |
| certified chewings/red fescue | 25.0 | 0.250 |
| certified sheeps fescue | 25.0 | 0.250 |
| commercial Sainfoin | 12.5 | 0.125 |
| certified vetch | 8.0 | 0.080 |
| certified birdsfoot trefoil | 7.0 | 0.070 |
| certified wild white clover | 3.0 | 0.030 |
| certified Red Clover blend | 2.5 | 0.025 |
| native red clover | 2.3 | 0.023 |
| certified alsike clover | 2.5 | 0.025 |
| certified lucerne | 2.0 | 0.020 |
| Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) | 0.3 | 0.003 |
Alsike Clover
Alsike clover is a short term perennial that fixes nitrogen. It is a true clover, not a hybrid as the name suggests. Compared to many annual clovers it can be the slowest to flower after a spring sowing.
Bentgrass
Common Bentgrass is a perennial grass with fine leaves, The seed head is delicate and attractive, opening loosely from late spring through to autumn. Older swards in heavily grazed or trampled areas may form dense, low growing clumps.
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Birdsfoot Trefoil is a legume, it grows from a basal crown, with numerous stems that can vary from prostrate to erect in growth habit. In some parts of the country it is called the 'eggs and bacon' plant.
Birdsfoot Trefoil Species Guide 
Buy Birdsfoot Trefoil Straight 
Lucerne
Also known as alfalfa in the states, lucerne benefits animal health and soil fertility. It is a high protein forage crop which is usually grown on its own and is very good on drought-prone soils. It establishes relatively slowly, producing significantly more biomass in the second and third years. Lucerne should only be grown on free-draining, alkaline soil. Lucerne requires the correct strain of rhizobia (known as an inoculant) to efficiently fix atmospheric nitrogen and get the most growth.
Native Red Clover
Native red clover, sometimes known as Essex or indigenous red clover, is a native variety to the UK. Generally this variety is smaller and lower yielding than an agriculturally bred strain, but with a longer lifespan. Despite being lower yielding than some varieties, it is notably early to flower, often seen from April to May.
Ox-eye Daisy
Ox-eye daisy is a robust wildflower species, the flower head is a typical daisy shape, with white petals and yellow central florets. They grow in solitary heads and are around three to five centimetres wide.
Red Clover
Red clover is one of the most popularly used true clovers in the UK. Once established it’s capable of rapid growth and shows reasonably good persistence up to three years, although ongoing breeding work is being carried out to increase plant persistence. The highest yielding strains of red clover are called 'double cut' varieties, normally providing quick regrowth after cutting and several flushes or cuts per season. The 'single cut' strains of red clover, notably the variety altaswede provide one large cut per season, flowering approximately 2-3 weeks later than the 'double cut' strains.
Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue
Also known as chewings fescue, this is a fine leaved, tufted grass. It is distinguished from creeping red fescue by its absence of creeping rhizomes. It remains dark green throughout most of the season.
Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue Species Guide Buy Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue Straight
Sainfoin
Sainfoin is extremely palatable to livestock and has very good nutritional balance. It can be grazed or fed as hay or silage. It suits the thin soils and limestone rich downlands found in some areas of the UK. Loosely translated sainfoin in French means 'Healthy Hay'.
Sheeps Fescue
The finest leaved and least aggressive fescue, it is found throughout the UK. It is hardy and drought resistant and will with-stand heavy grazing or close cutting, however it has a low forage yield. It is a useful species for providing a low growing, low maintenance green cover on difficult soils. It is one of the earlier fine fescues to flower in the spring.
Smaller Catstail / Small Timothy
A leafy perennial species found throughout the UK. It grows on low lands to foothills and can be found in old pasture and hedgerows. Normally thought of as a smaller, lower yielding relative of Timothy. Although valued as a forage plant for livestock, it can also form a useful compact turf.
Smaller Catstail / Small Timothy Species Guide Buy Smaller Catstail / Small Timothy Straight
Vetch
Vetch is a well known legume also known as common vetch or tares. It scrambling, smothering growth habit and frost tolerance make it a very useful winter cover crop or green manure.
Wild White Clover (small leaved)
White clover is one of the most common legumes in the UK. This species can be recognised by its creeping growth habit. Its creeping stolons help to fill in gaps in the sward, putting down roots at each node. White clover varieties can be categorised into small, medium and large leaf sizes. Generally the smaller the leaf size, the more persistent and prostrate the plant will be, the small leaf type will tolerate closer grazing from sheep and tends to sit lower at the base of the sward, the small and medium leaf varieties are used for grazing mixtures. Using mixtures of white clover varieties helps to ensure that at least one can tolerate and contribute to what ever management regime is being imposed at a given time. The small leaf varieties are the lowest growing and the most prostrate. Due to the low growing point on the plant , they have a good tolerance to cattle and especially sheep grazing. The small leaf varieties are the most persistent perennial clovers. Small leaf varieties are sometimes call 'wild white clover', one of the best known was the Aberystwyth S 184 variety, another was Kent wild white clover, a more modern version of this variety type is called aberace.
Wild White Clover (small leaved) Species Guide Buy Wild White Clover (small leaved) Straight
Cotswold Grass Seeds, Cotswold Business Village, London Rd, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0JQ
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