Food Plots Clover plot

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09FX4

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I'm thinking I'm going to do my clover plot a little different this year. Normally I spray to kill everything in late July/early August, then disc and plant clover. I've finally got it looking the way I want it this year so I'd like to keep it going and not do all the disc work/replanting. So my question is should I spray soon? What after that should I do if anything? Lime and fertilizer levels are good. Picture is from last weekend.
 

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09FX4 said:
When I planted last fall I did a mix of arrowleaf and crimson. In February I frost seeded white clover.
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I just mowed mine yesterday
I actually hurt to mow such a beautiful plot
I plan on spraying mine in a few days w clethodim to kill out the cool season grasses
It hurt
 
09FX4 said:
When I planted last fall I did a mix of arrowleaf and crimson. In February I frost seeded white clover.
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Both of those are annuals. The crimson will bloom, seed-out, and die in late May. The Arrowleaf will do the same in early to mid-July. If left standing, or mowed after seed-out, both of these will reseed themselves fairly well next fall. In fact, some of the seed will germinate almost immediately (although most will wait until fall).
 
09FX4 said:
I'm thinking I'm going to do my clover plot a little different this year. Normally I spray to kill everything in late July/early August, then disc and plant clover. I've finally got it looking the way I want it this year so I'd like to keep it going and not do all the disc work/replanting. So my question is should I spray soon? What after that should I do if anything? Lime and fertilizer levels are good. Picture is from last weekend.
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If you spray now with glysophate, you will kill both clovers before they reseed. If you spray now with a grass-killer, such as Clethodim, you can knock back the grasses and make the plot a bit cleaner during mid-summer, when little is growing. In fact, you could spray Clethodim, then when both clovers have finished seeding out, you could broadcast buckwheat seed and mow in early August. No ground-turning necessary. You would then have buckwheat, and both clovers growing in fall, although the buckwheat will die-back with the first freeze.
 
BSK said:
If you spray now with glysophate, you will kill both clovers before they reseed. If you spray now with a grass-killer, such as Clethodim, you can knock back the grasses and make the plot a bit cleaner during mid-summer, when little is growing. In fact, you could spray Clethodim, then when both clovers have finished seeding out, you could broadcast buckwheat seed and mow in early August. No ground-turning necessary. You would then have buckwheat, and both clovers growing in fall, although the buckwheat will die-back with the first freeze.
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So which would you recommend to be the biggest benefit for the deer this fall and turkey next spring? I can turn the ground need be whenever, it was just going to save me some time come fall.
 
09FX4 said:
So which would you recommend to be the biggest benefit for the deer this fall and turkey next spring? I can turn the ground need be whenever, it was just going to save me some time come fall.
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Spray Clethodim, wait for the clover to seed-out and die, broadcast Buckwheat seed, and mow early August. As long as we get adequate rain, you should have buckwheat and both clovers growing by mid-August. And that will last until next summer (except the Buckwheat, which will get frozen out in late October or early November).
 
BSK said:
Spray Clethodim, wait for the clover to seed-out and die, broadcast Buckwheat seed, and mow early August. As long as we get adequate rain, you should have buckwheat and both clovers growing by mid-August. And that will last until next summer (except the Buckwheat, which will get frozen out in late October or early November).
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Sounds good, thank you for your help!
 
My situation is somewhat unique in that my plots are all ridge-top plots in incredibly thin, rocky soils. But I quit turning my plots a couple of years ago. I just use "broadcast and mow" planting techniques. Mowing all that thatch down on top the seed really keeps soil moisture loss during dry spells to a minimum. And over time, the thatch breaks down and produces decent soil.

The only downside to this technique is germination rates will be lower than if planted into turned ground, so I have to increase my seeding rate.
 
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Agree with the above.

My clover plots are coming to seed already, plan to mow them in the coming days ahead of the rain we are supposed to have moving in. May hit them with clethodim.
 
We plan on just spraying Clethodim. We bushhogged all the trash out of the clover fields before everything started greening and growing (because we didn't get around to spraying last spring). Frost seeded in Feb. and will spray by start of May. Crimson and arrowleaf will get up high, drop seed and go dormant but shade out all the other clover underneath for moisture. It's worked.

But man it's a dry spring. Good for turkey hatches, but worries me about the rest of the growing season on how things turn out
 
Mowed my clover plot Saturday . It really looked great. Very few weeds . I really think it's gotten so thick it prevents invasives from taking over . I wanted to cut back the wheat and oats and pray for rain. I usually hit it with 0-0-60 in spring . Hate feeding weeds with nitrogen in spring. I did overseed in early March .
 
Great looking plots TNTreeman!

For some reason, my cereal grains never overpower my clover. But maybe that's because I seed my clover pretty heavy. Below is a picture of what my plots always look like in late April. And those plots are just Crimson Clover and VNS Wheat.
 

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BSK said:
Great looking plots TNTreeman!

For some reason, my cereal grains never overpower my clover. But maybe that's because I seed my clover pretty heavy. Below is a picture of what my plots always look like in late April. And those plots are just Crimson Clover and VNS Wheat.
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I wonder if it's because your deer density is high enough to knock them back
My deer density is low
 
My clover plots are almost all blends of different clovers so I have almost year round clover and of course the maintenance that goes with it. This has led me to mowing only to control unwanted species, spraying to control grasses and drilling into my clover every August or September. I will drill wheat or cereal rye along with more clover if needed, radishes and turnips. Come spring when the radishes and wild mustard bolt, I mow, when the cereal grain ripens I mow again then the Clethodim comes out. Once a plot gets weak and the clover needs renovated I plant a soil building blend (always contains annual clovers) in the spring for a couple years then right back to my clover cycle. I came to this due to the browse pressure wiping out my clover every year, now the other plants provide enough relief they all get to survive and some thrive.
Not that different from what @BSK does just different species
 
Popcorn said:
My clover plots are almost all blends of different clovers so I have almost year round clover and of course the maintenance that goes with it. This has led me to mowing only to control unwanted species, spraying to control grasses and drilling into my clover every August or September. I will drill wheat or cereal rye along with more clover if needed, radishes and turnips. Come spring when the radishes and wild mustard bolt, I mow, when the cereal grain ripens I mow again then the Clethodim comes out. Once a plot gets weak and the clover needs renovated I plant a soil building blend (always contains annual clovers) in the spring for a couple years then right back to my clover cycle. I came to this due to the browse pressure wiping out my clover every year, now the other plants provide enough relief they all get to survive and some thrive.
Not that different from what @BSK does just different species
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The only thing I do different Popcorn is because of my limited food plot acreage. I need to get the absolute maximum forage tonnage out of my few acres, so everything I plant is annual, and I have summer annuals and fall/winter annuals. But all are planted throw-and-mow to keep building soil. And that's working, especially after 4 years of broadcasting seed and mowing twice a year.
 

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