Food Plots Crimson clover

[BSK]

Personally, I've never seen Crimson Clover grow this tall. It is mixed with wheat.

 

[BSK]

And you can certainly see how Crimson Clover got its name!

I'm hoping I will be able to mow this down for natural reseeding in about a month.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

Man that looks great!

 

[DoubleRidge]

Nice! Great looking plots!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Looks great! Ours are looking the same. The bees were swarming. You should have just as good reseeding as we saw last year

 

[@fulldraw]

Yep. Mine grew too tall. The turkeys don't like this height apparently. They quit coming to it.

This is my second plot (posted thread on first plot). It was cleared in August and planted in September. Very happy with the results.

 

[Popcorn]

Personally, I've never seen Crimson Clover grow this tall. It is mixed with wheat.

Congratulations!
That looks great

 

[Popcorn]

I had to go mow some of my balansa due to it being so deep and thick the turkeys were going around it.

 

[@fulldraw]

I had to go mow some of my balansa due to it being so deep and thick the turkeys were going around it.

Since I'm going to put a summer plot in mine I'm seriously thinking about mowing it this week to entice turkeys to come back.

 

[BSK]

I had to go mow some of my balansa due to it being so deep and thick the turkeys were going around it.

Yup, too tall for the turkey. Unfortunately, I've got to let mine go now that it has bloomed. Need that free seed!

 

[TNTreeman]

That's beautiful.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Impressive!

 

[megalomaniac]

Looks great guys! Mine has done really well this spring as well. Mostly Balansa, with a little crimson mixed in. Wheat was spotty due to drought last fall, clover stunted as well, but enough established to fill in a lot or bare spots. Not a drop of fertilizer at time of fall planting.

 

[BSK]

Looks great guys! Mine has done really well this spring as well. Mostly Balansa, with a little crimson mixed in. Wheat was spotty due to drought last fall, clover stunted as well, but enough established to fill in a lot or bare spots. Not a drop of fertilizer at time of fall planting.

Is that one of the plots you will drill in summer crops, or do you leave that plot in clover all year?

 

[megalomaniac]

It will get bushhoged in 3w, spray a week later, then drill for summer.

I'm experimenting this year... planting the whole 8 ac in beans, millet, sorgham as usual, but this fall I'm going to plant lanes and microplots and leave the rest standing in the tall sorgham so deer HAVE to wander throughout it to check for does. Maybe a failure, but I'm always experimenting!

 

[BSK]

It will get bushhoged in 3w, spray a week later, then drill for summer.

I'm experimenting this year... planting the whole 8 ac in beans, millet, sorgham as usual, but this fall I'm going to plant lanes and microplots and leave the rest standing in the tall sorgham so deer HAVE to wander throughout it to check for does. Maybe a failure, but I'm always experimenting!

Experimentation is the only way to learn.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Just one spot of many. It's well above my knees

 

[rem270]

I mowed mine down around end of March so it wouldn't be too tall for the turkeys. It's already thickened up pretty good and probably too tall for the turkeys liking but I don't want to mow it again. That being said, what can I spray on it to kill the grass out of it but not hurt the clover? I know I've seen it somewhere before but didn't go to digging for it.

 

[JAD]

I mowed mine down around end of March so it wouldn't be too tall for the turkeys. It's already thickened up pretty good and probably too tall for the turkeys liking but I don't want to mow it again. That being said, what can I spray on it to kill the grass out of it but not hurt the clover? I know I've seen it somewhere before but didn't go to digging for it.

Clethodim for the grass. Won't hurt the clover.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Clethodim for the grass. Won't hurt the clover.

Yep - @rem270 clethodim for grass, butyrac for broadleaf weeds.

 

[rem270]

Thanks guys! I see Rural King has some. I'll be getting some this week.

 

[@fulldraw]

I mowed strips in mine last week. Hope this means they're coming back. Lol

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I mowed strips in mine last week. Hope this means they're coming back. Lol

View attachment 224791

We may try this next year. As weird as it sounds, I think a lot of the turkeys left our place for shorter fields on surrounding properties. Thats where we heard them gobbling and where we saw several on the way out.

I think if we have several short strips like this in all fields, they'll likely stick around. Any experience with that?

 

[@fulldraw]

We may try this next year. As weird as it sounds, I think a lot of the turkeys left our place for shorter fields on surrounding properties. Thats where we heard them gobbling and where we saw several on the way out.

I think if we have several short strips like this in all fields, they'll likely stick around. Any experience with that?

This is first time stripping with the food plot. I have hunted farms where the farmer mowed around hayfields that kept birds on the property. Currently I have hayfields around this property that are getting high. I'm hoping that pushes them back on me.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

This is first time stripping with the food plot. I have hunted farms where the farmer mowed around hayfields that kept birds on the property. Currently I have hayfields around this property that are getting high. I'm hoping that pushes them back on me.

I like it. Thought about this too - we also may try out some stripping with our crimper on some of these fields to where it's matted down good but may pop back up by mid-may for our soybean/corn/sorghum drilling. Matting some down for the first 3 weeks of turkey season with the crimper, and some with the bushhog. Will do some experimenting….

 

[tellico4x4]

Yep - @rem270 clethodim for grass, butyrac for broadleaf weeds.

and Basagran for the nutsedge. It's a real pia for me. I mowed 5 Landino plots yesterday as the nutsedge was taller than the clover. Will hit them with a mix of 24DB & Basagran in a week. Hoping the earlier than normal start for me will help.

 

[megalomaniac]

I would think mowing strips would def help.

The one crazy thing I noticed this spring... there were an insane number of black crickets under the mat of clover/wheat. I bet if one mowed a few strips in there, the turkeys could access the crickets as a major food source.

 

[TNlandowner]

I tried mowing strips a few years ago. I found two hens that coyotes had killed while they hid on their nests. Not sure of the best method, but now I leave plots alone until August. I keep the side areas cut for feeding areas.

 

[BSK]

This is my plot with the shortest growth. Some plots are 6-8" taller than this. Again, I've never seen Crimson Clover grow this tall.

 

[BigAl]

Clethodim for the grass. Won't hurt the clover.

1oz per gallon mix, right?