Use 12 to 15 pounds of Southern Belle clover seed for every acre of planting area. Lower the amount to 8 to 10 pounds per acre if the seed is of highest quality and the planting soil is cleared, well tilled and irrigated. Reduce the amount of seed to 8 to 10 pounds per acre if you are mixing or over-seeding Southern Belle with a cool season grass like rye.
Open the aperture of your seed spreader roughly one-third of the way between closed and fully open.
Fill the spreader hopper with 2 to 3 pounds of clean, dry sand. Walk the spreader forward for 10 to 20 feet and stop.
Measure and note the width of the sand layer laid down by the spreader. Empty the sand from the spreader.
Divide the width of the sand swath into 1000. Note that number.
Place 10 pounds of Southern Belle seed into the spreader hopper. Walk forward for the same number of feet you did in Step 3.
Pause and tip out the remaining seed from the hopper into the bucket. Subtract this weight from 10 pounds. The resulting sum is the number of pounds your spreader applies over 1000 square feet at that setting.
Adjust the spreader release control either up or down to release more or less Southern Belle seed so you meet the desired rate for your planting conditions discussed in Step 1.