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Mow now, or wait?

NWBuck

NWBuck

PMA Member
A picture is worth a thousand words, so I thought I'd add a couple pics to a topic that has been discussed on this forum several times this spring. I stopped by my frost seeded clover plot yesterday, or should I say my diversified weed patch :)
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But beneath the tangled variety of weeds and grasses lies what I believe will be a nice clover plot in time. We had a BUNCH of winter after I seeded the plot, and the clover got a very late start, but is still growing pretty well.
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I'm debating with myself whether to mow now or give it a couple of weeks yet. The clover is coming pretty well, but I don't want to damage it by mowing when it is still relatively small. I can get the plot raked after mowing if need be, but am wondering if maybe the clover is too small for that as well. Give me your opinions...

NWBuck
 
Wonder how it would work to spray it with Butyrac 200??? Should kill the weeds/thistle, but leave them upright so they wouldn't smother clover.
 
mow it now so it cant get all the sunlight for the rest of the summer. I wouldnt worry about he clippings if it was me i guess....Mow now then control weeds with herbicides until it blossoms. Thats my vote
 
UPDATE...
I was thinking maybe I'd post regular updates to this thread for a year or so if it helps someone else.

So I decided to mow it yesterday. Was lucky enough to have some good help.
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The clippings really weren't as bad as I was afraid they'd be, and overall, very glad I mowed it. Here's a sample of what the young clover looks like underneath.
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Going to give it a few days and hit it with clethodim and crop oil. Question though...is it OK to spray clethodim on clover this small? There's quite a bit even smaller than what you see in the pic. Just don't want to mess it up...I think this has the potential to be an excellent plot for a few years.

NWBuck
 
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Can spray clethodim. Clover be fine. I’d want grass to grow more before I sprayed it though.
U had marestail in there and that weed is frigin pain in rear & grows big/tall fast. Glad u clobbered it. 1-2 weeks - spray clethodim - couple more mowings this year and I’d say you are DONE! Will have fantastic clover. Lookin good and u Doing right thing!
 
Sligh1 said:
Can spray clethodim. Clover be fine. I’d want grass to grow more before I sprayed it though.
U had marestail in there and that weed is frigin pain in rear & grows big/tall fast. Glad u clobbered it. 1-2 weeks - spray clethodim - couple more mowings this year and I’d say you are DONE! Will have fantastic clover. Lookin good and u Doing right thing!
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Yep...I was thinking the same...thanks for the help!

NWBuck
 
UPDATE 6/21/18...
I guess we'll find out what flood waters do to a young clover plot...it's under there somewhere :( On the bright side, the ground anchors for the blind appear to be doing their job...at least for now.
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NWBuck said:
UPDATE 6/21/18...
I guess we'll find out what flood waters do to a young clover plot...it's under there somewhere :( On the bright side, the ground anchors for the blind appear to be doing their job...at least for now.
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HOLY SMOKES!!!!! That doesn't look good! Maybe you will get some nutrient rich silt deposits.... gotta look on the bright side. ;)
 
WOW! That's crazy, I hope your blind makes it, but I think all it would take is a floating tree to get up against that frame and then bye, bye blind. Although we have been fortunate to get some rain lately around my farm, it is SO FAR away from a flood scenario that it is bananas to see a "river" in someone else's field elsewhere in Iowa. What a difference. Good luck with your predicament, I would think that if the water goes back down quickly that the clover would be fine though.
 
Daver said:
WOW! That's crazy, I hope your blind makes it, but I think all it would take is a floating tree to get up against that frame and then bye, bye blind. Although we have been fortunate to get some rain lately around my farm, it is SO FAR away from a flood scenario that it is bananas to see a "river" in someone else's field elsewhere in Iowa. What a difference. Good luck with your predicament, I would think that if the water goes back down quickly that the clover would be fine though.
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Agreed Daver...this is an "up quick down quick" stream, and I suspect it'll back in its banks in a couple of days max. The problem will more likely be what is left behind. Lived and hunted around this area all my life, and what is usually left behind is sand. Lots of sand. We shall see I guess. When we first broke ground for a plot in this location about 5 years ago I knew there would likely be a day it'd go under, and this is the first time, so I guess I'll consider myself lucky. And yeah, I won't be a bit surprised the next time I'm down there to find out the blind is on its way to the Gulf of Mexico :D

NWBuck
 
OMG!!!!! White clovers can tolerate this IF anything can. Dunno if ur blind can?!? Post updated pic. Oh my gosh that’s insane!!!! If it stays that level & freezes - u might have a dang nice ice fishing house ready! Wow- I didn’t realize that bad.
In answer to ORIGINAL post.... “MOW NOW OR WAIT?”..... I think ur ok....
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UPDATE - 6/25/18...Mother Nature Wins

Not much need for words...here's what the promising young clover plot looks like today.
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The sand is deep in places...
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Perhaps the worst impact, however, is bank erosion. Took a fair amount of the plot and washed it downstream...
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Amazingly though, the blind hung in there. Time to move it, because when the next flood rolls through, the bank that the blind sits on is likely to give way.
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Approximately 75% of the clover plot is finished. The portion nearest the blind is still pretty decent. The rescue plan for the main portion of the plot is to get a tractor and blade in there whenever it dries out, move as much sand out as possible, nuke the weeds, and plant turnips in early August. Win some lose some I guess...
 
Aarghh, sorry to see that. It looks like your blind only has a couple of feet of bank left, yikes! Glad it survived, I have to admit, I thought it was a goner when I saw the last pics.
 
Daver said:
Aarghh, sorry to see that. It looks like your blind only has a couple of feet of bank left, yikes! Glad it survived, I have to admit, I thought it was a goner when I saw the last pics.
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You and me both Daver. Those straps had to have had some pressure on them for sure. It was also just outside the strongest portion of the rolling current, and I'm sure that made a difference too. I had a camera sitting near the blind as well, and pics on it indicate that the water surrounded the blind for less than 5 hours.

NWBuck
 
NWBuck said:
You and me both Daver. Those straps had to have had some pressure on them for sure. It was also just outside the strongest portion of the rolling current, and I'm sure that made a difference too. I had a camera sitting near the blind as well, and pics on it indicate that the water surrounded the blind for less than 5 hours.

NWBuck
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Another scenario to move that blind...you might shoot a big buck, get excited, step out the backside of that blind and SPLASH! You are in the river! Yikes!! :)
 
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