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Clover

gundog870 said:
The cows have eaten it down so low I don't know if I even need to mow. That's what had me thinking I could maybe get away with it
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Ya, you're fine, spray on a warm day & go heavy on the round-up. I might get scolded a bit on this but I might add just a little bit of 2,4-D. It'll help keep the grass seed from coming up this fall yet & if you go lighter, it'll be far gone by spring. Again, I'd go on the light end because it's a powerful herbicide & kills clover if sprayed on it but a little this fall would help long term on your plots for next year.
 
White clover is one of the most dependable, easy to grow food source's we can plant and it's easy to establish.






Small odd shaped areas such as corners, remote hard to get to places and the perimeter of our food plot's are all great place's to establish clover.





White clover will grow on most soils but does not grow well, if at all on dry sandy soils.





White clover may go dormant during hot, dry summer months but this summer was cool and wet here which also encouraged a flush of weeds. That bothers us but neither the clover or deer are affected and annual grasses and weeds are easily controlled with periodic mowing.






Perennial grass can be controlled by spraying 12-16 ounces of Clethodim and 1 quart of crop oil per acre. Flowering clover attracts a plethora of insects poults and chicks need in the early days of life. Keeping the clover clipped is not necessary but it helps keep the clover flowering and fixing nitrogen in between.










White clover is highly palatable and contains 22-25% protein which is more then whitetails can use. Typically lactating does and bucks in velvet use 11-15% protein per day, so white clover producing from April to November provides for a whitetails daily needs when combined with native browse.

Anyone with a backpack sprayer and a lawn grass seeder /broadcaster can plant and grow clover. 4-6# per acre can be frost seeded, planted with oats in the spring or with the Dbltree rye mix in late August.

Clovers of all kinds play an important part in our habitat program to hold whitetails, provide free nitrogen and build soils. White clover however plays the most important role by linking the other crops in the rotation which together insures year around food source's. Because of this whitetails quickly adapt and create habit's that make them predictable and easier to kill.



Lastly remember that clover or any planted crop is not important to a whitetails survival, thick cover and native browse is. Spend more time enhancing your timber and then combine year around food source's to bring it all together and create a outstanding whitetail management program.


Paul Knox proud recipient 2014 QDMA Al Brothers Game Manager of the Year award

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice, Kopu II, Durana (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot, sow at 6#'s per acre with the rye combination in the fall or in the spring with oats and berseem clover. Correct Ph and P&K with soil tests

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most Midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost, Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea and 400#'s of 6-28-28 per acre. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring at 60#'s oats and 12-15#'s berseem clover and/or crimson and/or 50#'s of chickling vetch)

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot...we use 50# each rye, oats and peas along with radish and clover seed all planted in half of each feeding area

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 50-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Frostmaster Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre

Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre (or 20-40 pounds hairy vetch and 20-30#'s crimson clover on sandy soils)
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas use 100 - 200#'s of urea, if starting a new plot add 400#'s of 6-28-28 but for best results soil test and add only what is necessary.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year
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I've got a real secluded clover patch that I haven't visited much at all this year. Earlier it was looking great, but now it's looking pretty overgrown with weeds. Should I even bother mowing it at this point, or just let it stand as is. The clover still looks great, there's just a bunch of other junk in there.
 
stevep said:
I've got a real secluded clover patch that I haven't visited much at all this year. Earlier it was looking great, but now it's looking pretty overgrown with weeds. Should I even bother mowing it at this point, or just let it stand as is. The clover still looks great, there's just a bunch of other junk in there.
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I would leave it alone at this point, hard frost will soon knock the weeds back ;)
 
I priced out some Berseem this year locally here.... Good gosh, went up. It was almost $4 a lbs!!! used to be one of the cheapest. And for good reason, it's really just a one year clover you plan on discing up to feed & build N.

For discing up, feed, building soil, fixing N, I'm going to try this in 2015 spring planting season.... BALANSA clover, it's "New" at least it claims, here's a welter's link....
http://welterseed.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=587

It's cheaper, it reseeds itself if needed. fixes N. one thing it claims, I believe will be true BUT we'll see... Deer like it. Suppresses weeds, etc. (oh, and good on wetter locations if needed, much like Alsike, followed by whites)

So, for permanent locations of clover, I'll do a variety of whites, red, Balansa & Crimson.
If I'm going to disc it up..... Heck, I probably will do the same thing BUT, I might go a little lighter on the expensive whites and a little heavier on the Crimson, red & Balansa - mainly due to cost.
BUT, in any case, something to look into if you're getting $4 quotes on Berseem which is insane. Stick with Crimson, try this and then the obvious whites (alice, ladino, Kopu II, Durana), alsike & red.
 
Going to broadcast some ladino and oats this weekend with some snow forecasted. Both of the plots will try and make long term white clover plots.
 
skyleralan said:
Going to broadcast some ladino and oats this weekend with some snow forecasted. Both of the plots will try and make long term white clover plots.
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Although I have never tried it myself, I would be skeptical about oats being a good frost seed candidate. Do you know someone that has had success with frost seeding it? Again, I am not sure, but I would double check that before spending the $$ on seed.
 
Daver is correct, do not frost seed oats. Frost seed the clover now and then around May 1st go ahead and throw some oats down, I think you'll be much happier with that.
 
No need to apologize, we're all in this for the same reason and here to help each other out! Take some pics of your plots and how they turn out. It's always neat seeing how others do their habitat work and food plots :)
 
Cant to get to my farm , last year I put on 1/2 acre Jumbo ladino , need to add a little seed few spots got taken over with weeks , Sprayed last fall to fix my weed issues.. Going to broadcast or I can use my Brillion seeder last week of March you things its to late for a frost seed at this point. if I use the Brillion it my press it in the ground depending on conditions .. Thoughts...
 
Jbohn said:
Cant to get to my farm , last year I put on 1/2 acre Jumbo ladino , need to add a little seed few spots got taken over with weeks , Sprayed last fall to fix my weed issues.. Going to broadcast or I can use my Brillion seeder last week of March you things its to late for a frost seed at this point. if I use the Brillion it my press it in the ground depending on conditions .. Thoughts...
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No problem with either. you literally could seed clover in mid summer and if it had enough rain, it would probably take. not advised but would work. So, March, no problem on seeding away.
 
Sligh1 said:
No problem with either. you literally could seed clover in mid summer and if it had enough rain, it would probably take. not advised but would work. So, March, no problem on seeding away.
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Agreed, clover is about the easiest thing out there to seed, at almost any time of the year. I have had trouble though a couple of times though where I planted clover in May/June and then we had a serious drought, but outside of that, you can do it.

Spring seeding is very workable for clover, it's just that you are much more likely to have to fight weeds then. Fall or frost seeding is also very good and normally your "weed fights" are tiny compared to a spring seeding.

So if you have a good plan to combat weeds...spring is good.
 
Well done! I'd bet the farm that'll be coming up nice real soon. Watch the weeds, address as needed & u got a clover carpet on the way!
 
if you frost seed now really heavy and there's not much for weeds there now (say like worst thing to be dealing with was frost seeding in live grass).... You likely will get by with mowing. I'm fussy and I don't spray often but I get a good stand and I can look at a few weeds.
More commonly, I'll spray a mix of clethodim & crop oil (12-18 oz of clethodim per acre) for grasses. Butyrac (2,4D-B) for broadleaves (don't mix with clethodim, do seperate). You can go with lower doses of round-up as well. Personally, I think in the last 3 years, I've sprayed clethodim & crop oil a couple times and that's about it cause mowing takes care of most issues with a good clover stand. Clover is extremely aggressive on weeds & it's the 1st thing to come up in spring, smothering other stuff. Watch weeds for sure though.
 
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