# IS NATURE IN CONTROL?



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jun 30, 2012)

IS NATURE IN CONTROL..........,I was prompted to think about this question while walking back from checking on some groups of ewe's being mated.

It appears that all of our land that has previously cultivated is showing a "huge" increase of White Clover this Autumn/winter season.This year is the second year in a row of "good" season pasture growth after 10 dry years(the largest for over 100 years).During the dry periods we saw NO Clover for years on end,so it comes as a surprise to me at its sudden revival.......
Because much of our pasture is based on Native sp and "compaction" is their greatest enemy, vehicle traffic is, except on "rare" occasions kept to defined tracks.The non use of any artificial fertilizers means that the pasture has returned to its "natural cycle" of production and although we do use herbasides to "spot spray" difficult weeds(Serrated Tussock and Thistle sp) the Soil Microbiology seems capable of coping with it without damage(I took a pic of field mushrooms growing out of a dead Serrated Tussock which had been sprayed a month or so before).

So the question is ,is it possible that the system has signaled the dormant Clover to re-emerge, so that the pasture has sufficient N to cope with its existing needs and its possible increased need into the future?


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## Cornish Heritage (Jun 30, 2012)

Interesting! Hopefully someone who is knowledgeable on this subject will be able to give us some insight?

It is SO dry & hot here, all our pastures are dried up & mostly dead. Praying for rain to come soon. 

Liz


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## shawnfisher (Jun 30, 2012)

Most often the seed bank will stick around for quite some time.  These fields you speak of being tilled-- how far back was the tillage?  If it was the year prior-- then reason stands that you tilled clover seed up-- and it broke dormancy.. If you were in a serious drought- then most likely it was basically 'frozen' in time, and never spoiled.  When conditions become favorable again, yes that seed will grow.  Another thought, is that maybe it was too dry for the clover to grow during the drought- around here our white clovers seem to be more of a cool season legume-- than say Alfalfa or red clover.


The other, more logical, easiest method of reason-- would be what kind of hay were you feeding?  Doesn't take much to have just a tiny bit of some kind of seed in the hay-- and it gets recyled back into the ground after passing through the digestive system unharmed.
'

I don't believe in asexual reproduction, and doubt that clover is growing because the soil told it to-- without some kind of change to make the soil more favorable-- in your case-- the ending of a 10 year drought..


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## The Old Ram-Australia (Jul 1, 2012)

G'day gang,some further information about our farm may be of value.............

None of our land has been cultivated for over 15 years.......When we were in drought it was "dry" summer and Winter.

No hay is cut from any of our pastures.

No hand feeding is done on our place ,be it hay or grain.

Our soils are only "fed" the manure from our sheep,all of our native sp have evolved in our Acid(<5.0 PH), Granite soils.In the past when the land was tilled to grow" improved grasses" for livestock production and was fed Superphospate and Lime to decrease Acidity actually "depressed" the natural cycle,but the super acted like a "stimulant" much like a sugar "hit". 







This is how it looked in the drought!

Why I think the soil biology plays "some" part is that "now" all of our grasses respond after any rain event irrespective of the season,which is how it would have happened before the arrival of the "white man" with his cattle and sheep.






This is how it looks at the present....................................T.O.R....................


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## Southdown (Jul 2, 2012)

Maybe some seeds were passed through the the sheep's feces.  I agree, the seeds could have been there for years, but the conditions were never favorable for growth.  The fact that sprays have been mostly withheld is probably a factor too, like you suspect.  Maybe the soil's microflora is finally able to populate, thus making the conditions favorable for those dormant seeds.  Either way, congrats on your pasture looking good.  It is very hot and dry here and we desperately need some rain.


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## Bossroo (Jul 2, 2012)

YUP !!!  Mother Nature is always in control .  Seeds of many species can and do survive for many years in a dormant state untill conditions are just right for them to germinate.  Since clover is a host plant for N fixing bacteria, it is a good thing for growth of other species of grasses, I would sow additional innoculated clover seed onto the pastures.  Other benefits will be that the lush new growth of the native grasses in the long term will tend to crowd out unwanted weeds as well as increase the carrying capacity of the land for the sheep.


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