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Clover

frost seeded white clover this spring, do have some thin/bare spots in the 1 acre plot, would it be good to plant something in these bare spots that will help out this fall, if so what and when should I plant it, I was thinking of oats or something like that
 
I think oats would be great and I would just add some more clover to those spots when you do. Anytime between now and Sept 1 would work to establish clover and oats just help provide some shade and protection while the clover is starting out. :)
 
I would have some serious issues tilling clover into the ground that looks like that. Awesome. Im really amazed that the gly. didnt even seem to hurt them. Are those all 1st year clover plantings?
 
DBlTREE will have a much better answer for you but I fall seeded clover with rye last year and had an awesome stand this spring. I did however frost seed it as insurance so both may be the way to go. Spring planting was tough as I fought weeds all summer.
 
Justhunt87 said:
Hey DBLTREE Can i plant clover around August 1st or does it have to be frost seeded? Thanks Dylan
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Clover does not need to stratify like some other seeds so sowing it in the fall will work just fine. Many actually recommend it as there is less weed competition in the fall with proper preparation. You might want to consider using a nurse crop - I'm sure this has been covered somewhere within this thread already.
 
Justhunt87 said:
Hey DBLTREE Can i plant clover around August 1st or does it have to be frost seeded? Thanks Dylan
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no...frost seeding is just an option, but clover can be sown spring and late summer/early fall.

August will work just fine as others have mentioned and you have a lot less weeds to contend with.

I usually add 50-80#'s of oats as a cover/nurse crop or you can plant the end of August with rye/oats and peas and have a fall food source while the clover is being established.

Oats plant August 1st with clover will be to mature and unattractive to deer by hunting season, but the clover may have enough growth to be "interesting" by then...:)
 
I am thinking of planting clover(or any other suggestion) between rows of trees in a few windbreaks. How tall should the trees/shrubs be before you have to worry about the deer eating the trees and killing them? Also, does the nitrogen help with the trees growth? Any other suggestions for plots planted between tree plantings? They are mostly in grass and it is hard to mow the grasses during nesting season. Thanks in advance.
 
tdoom said:
I am thinking of planting clover(or any other suggestion) between rows of trees in a few windbreaks. How tall should the trees/shrubs be before you have to worry about the deer eating the trees and killing them? Also, does the nitrogen help with the trees growth? Any other suggestions for plots planted between tree plantings? They are mostly in grass and it is hard to mow the grasses during nesting season. Thanks in advance.
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I have converted many of my tree plantings to either food plots or clover plantings. Seemed like a waste of ground to just mow "grass" there...:rolleyes:

Very little nitrogen is released from clover until it dies (some but not a lot) however the clover is also NOT using nitrogen that grass would making it a plus.

Clover is low growing and easy to maintain wheras grasses grow tall and roots quickly spread into the tree rows sapping moisture and nutrients fron the seedlings.

I also plant fall plantings of rye/oats and peas summer plantings of brassicas and spring plantings of oats and berseem or peas.

All work well and the lush forage helps keep deer from focusing on the trees thenselves.

My worst problem comes after oaks get 4 ft high or better and buck kill them when on their fall rampage and fencing seems the only answer.

Check the Tree Planting thread for more information on that sunject...;)
 
I'm wanting to do my first perrenial clover plot this fall. but
after looking at welter seed, it says alice, kopu and jumbo ladino should be planted at the recommended rate of up to 30% with grasses to avoid the possibility of bloat. my plan was to plant my one acre w/ nothing but 2-3 pounds each of the above clover seed. I saw this mixture on a previous post. should I scale back the clover poundage and incorporate oats?
 
tkcampb1 said:
I'm wanting to do my first perrenial clover plot this fall. but
after looking at welter seed, it says alice, kopu and jumbo ladino should be planted at the recommended rate of up to 30% with grasses to avoid the possibility of bloat. my plan was to plant my one acre w/ nothing but 2-3 pounds each of the above clover seed. I saw this mixture on a previous post. should I scale back the clover poundage and incorporate oats?
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That's in regards to livestock that are of course penned in and have no other forage. Deer do not suffer from bloat problems because they have plenty of access to other natural browse.

I plant all of my clover plots to pure clovers using 6#'s per acre or two each of the three above. I plant them with 50-80#'s or oats in the spring or 80#'s of rye in the fall (you can add additional oats to the rye in the fall because they will freeze out)

Till in the grains 1-2" deep, cultipack, broadcast clover seed, re-cultipack to cover and if you want a fall attractant, plant the fall grain/clover combo roughly the last week of August.

If you just want clover, you can plant and oat/clover combo anytime now but keep in mind the oats will mature and be of little value for forage this fall.

No worries about bloat in wild free roaming deer though....;)
 
That's great information! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have another concern. last year I bought what I thought to be a 4lb bucket of tecomate's monster mix, but instead, recieved a 4 lb bucket of lab lab (it died w/ the first frost). anyhow..it said the 4 lbs would cover a 1/2 acre. It didn't come close. It might have done 400 sq. feet. maybe I spread it too thick. Point is, I want to make sure that whatever I order covers the full 1 acre. preferably fairly thick. will 2 lbs of each seed really cover one acre nice and full? Again, this is my first go at a clover plot so I am full of questions. Thanks again!
 
will 2 lbs of each seed really cover one acre nice and full?
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Yes...but you have to be extremely careful and use a small hand grass seeder like this one and close it down to the smallest opening.

PlantingSupplies.jpg


I walk back and forth one way across the plot, then turn and walk the other was "cross lots" of the first path to make sure I cover it well.

If your unsure...order 8#'s for an acre but remember clover seed is very tiny and it's easy to "dump" it on a small area.

MammothRedClover.jpg


The nice thing about clover is that if you have any thing or bare spots you can always frost seed more to thicken or fill it in.

This is some of mine, seeded last fall with winter rye and oats

Clovermixheight.jpg


It's plenty thick!!

2ndyearclover.jpg


Too much seed is not always a "good" thing..;)
 
Labor Day weekend is fast approaching, so I'm trying to have all my ducks in a row. When walking w/ the hand spreader, how fast should I walk?
 
Hey Dbltree
I've read through alot of these pages (1-18), and understand there are many, many combinations of things to plant. prior to all of the reading I've done, I had my mind set on alice, kopu and jumbo. but now....I'm not sure what to plant. I saw one post that had the above mixture but also incorporated some alfafa. others mixed in field rye grass or oats. my deer lease is almost 7 hours away, so could you please tell me, in your opinion, what the most efficient, lowest maintenance mix of clover to use is? will the field rye grass control weeds better than oats come spring? With the lease being so far away, getting up there to mow or spray several times a year can be very challenging. Though I don't know you personally, your knowledge about seeds/food plots is obvious. I'm wanting somthing that will do well this fall, and that will also aid in the growth of my clover come spring. i'll plant what you say to plant.

the other question regards planting the clover. I read not to bury the seed. I only have access to disk, no roller, no ATV. after spreading, can I use the tractor or my truck to run over the seed best as possilbe. or is it possible to just disk and then spread, leaving the seed on the surface of the soil.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
 
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tkcampb1 said:
Hey Dbltree
I've read through alot of these pages (1-18), and understand there are many, many combinations of things to plant. prior to all of the reading I've done, I had my mind set on alice, kopu and jumbo. but now....I'm not sure what to plant. I saw one post that had the above mixture but also incorporated some alfafa. others mixed in field rye grass or oats. my deer lease is almost 7 hours away, so could you please tell me, in your opinion, what the most efficient, lowest maintenance mix of clover to use is? will the field rye grass control weeds better than oats come spring? With the lease being so far away, getting up there to mow or spray several times a year can be very challenging. Though I don't know you personally, your knowledge about seeds/food plots is obvious. I'm wanting somthing that will do well this fall, and that will also aid in the growth of my clover come spring. i'll plant what you say to plant.

the other question regards planting the clover. I read not to bury the seed. I only have access to disk, no roller, no ATV. after spreading, can I use the tractor or my truck to run over the seed best as possilbe. or is it possible to just disk and then spread, leaving the seed on the surface of the soil.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
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tkcampb1: this is coming from Dbltree he is having computer problems :)

I would suggest either straight Alice white clover or Alice and KopuII for a low growing easy to mantain clover plot.

Please don't be confused by field rye and ryegrass...nothing alike, I plant rye grain which is like wheat or oats and either cereal rye or oats will work fine for a fall nurse crop.

Rye however will need to be clipped off in the spring where the oats would freeze out and leave only the clover in the spring, so whichever one works best for you.

I have used the tractor tires to cover the seed in a bind but heavy rains may also be enough. You can also drag a plank, a piece of chain link fence or some such to do the job.

We are having problems with our server right now for some reason?
 
clover and oats it is! Thanks!

now my plan is set for labor day weekend.

I don't mean to think so far ahead, but how do I seed for oats next fall w/out destroying my clover? All this is relativly new to me. usually I bushhog, disk and plant oats year after year after year. there's never been a concern of planting oats in an existing plot of clover.

Thanks again guys!
 
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