Food Plots Planting Clover in Sept.

[Spurhunter]

Instead of winter greens I'm going to plant Imperial Whitetail Clover this year thinking it will attract turkeys as well as deer. Anyone planted clover in the fall? Was it up good and doing its thing by deer season? I'm just wondering if I'm doing the right thing since winter greens always attract the deer late season.

 

[Jcalder]

It'll come up but don't expect a good stand until spring

 

[Spurhunter]

It'll come up but don't expect a good stand until spring

Will it be enough to draw deer in this year?

 

[bowhunterfanatic]

Will it be enough to draw deer in this year?

If it were me I'd plant oats / wheat / rye with it. That'll insure you have food for an attractant this year and next spring you'll have a dandy clover plot to work with.

 

[Spurhunter]

If it were me I'd plant oats / wheat / rye with it. That'll insure you have food for an attractant this year and next spring you'll have a dandy clover plot to work with.

I have had good luck with oats in the past. The Whitetail Institute Winter Greens were phenomenal for deer, but not so much for turkeys. I think I'll plant Buck Forage Oats and Imperial Whitetail Clover and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip!

 

[DoubleRidge]

If it were me I'd plant oats / wheat / rye with it. That'll insure you have food for an attractant this year and next spring you'll have a dandy clover plot to work with.

^ This ^....great advice....planting a nurse crop like oats with fall clover works...and in addition to being an attractant it grows fast and will help supress weeds as your clover develops.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

We planted wheat with our clover last fall to act as a nurse crop. It did great. Primarily for establishment for this spring. Turkeys we killed were full of clover in their crops. We went through in February and hand spread another 8 lbs or so per acre as a frost seed. It is thick!

 

[Jcalder]

Will it be enough to draw deer in this year?

I don't think so. I agree with the others, plant oats and wheat and mix the clover in.

 

[tellico4x4]

Landino is fairly slow getting started so expect minimal clover to hunt over this fall. It'll be building root system and you should have good growth when it starts warming up in spring. If you want some clover to hunt over this fall, add some crimson or balansa to the oats/clover mix. They will both out perform the landino in early spring providing a cover or nurse crop while feeding deer & turkey. When they start to wane the landino will be coming on.
BTW, you shouldn't plant brassicas in the same spot year after year due to disease setting in.

 

[Spurhunter]

BTW, you shouldn't plant brassicas in the same spot year after year due to disease setting in.

Good info! I did not know this.

 

[BSK]

I agree with tellico4x4. If you want clover for fall hunting, throw in some Crimson Clover. It is very fast growing, but will bloom and die-off by mid-May, leaving your Ladino Clover to come on strong in early summer.

 

[Spurhunter]

Thanks for all the responses guys! This site is full of knowledge.

 

[boonencrockett]

I'm doing mine this fall and intend to do exactly the same . I chose this time bc of less weed suppression and cooler weather

 

[Ski]

This site is full of knowledge.

It's amazing really. I love this place. Genuinely helpful, good hearted folks.

 

[square]

I didn't know about not planting brassicas year after year in the same place until a couple of years ago. I had been planting turnips. Planted dykon radishes 2 years ago instead and had a bumper crop. Last year, not so much. Both were mixed in with wheat, oats, and clover. How long to I need to wait before I plant radishes or turnips again?

 

[tellico4x4]

Every other year in same spot, better to rotate if you have more than one annual plot. On the off years add Crimson or some other type of annual clover to your grain mix. Brassica loves nitrogen and it'll scavage it from the previous planted clover.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Anyone planted clover in the fall?

Yes, I prefer fall planting for clover.

Will it be enough to draw deer in this year?

It can, especially if planted with a grain. I like to plant clovers with winter rye in the fall. One of the first food plots I ever planted was a mix from Pennington that has clover and their wintergrazer rye. It was less than a half acre. Late in the fall one afternoon I had 17 deer in that plot. That was a lot for here at that time especially, our deer density at the time was pretty low.

 

[deerhunter10]

We always plant a cover crop with clover. Wheat usually but have done oats. Buy wheat in bulk so its easier and cheaper for us. It'll be ok a lot of times we add some crimson in our mix as well. Sadly we had 2 not bounce back after this past year so we will be redoing 2 as well. We never plant our clover in spring always fall. Keep the maintenance up on it and you will have a good foodplot for a while.

 

[BSK]

I always plant perennial clover in fall.

 

[megalomaniac]

Don't plant straight clover this fall if you are wanting a perennial clover plot in the future!

I'd go 15lbs per acre of perennial clover, 25lbs of wheat, and 3 lbs of brassicas (drilled)

The brassicas will die over winter and not compete. The wheat will suppress weed growth, decrease browse pressure on the clover this winter, and is easy to clip above the clover next spring. Then focus on maintaining the established clover next summer/ fall.

 

[boonencrockett]

With that being said what should I plant. I'm planning on planting perennial clover . Gonna spray it down this fall and till it and broadcast seed hope to have it ready before a good rain . Is august too soon. I'm wanting to add some balansa clover as well

 

[Spurhunter]

I'm planning on planting perennial clover . Gonna spray it down this fall and till it and broadcast seed hope to have it ready before a good rain . Is august too soon.

This is what I'm doing as well. Whitetail Institute says to plant Imperial Whitetail Clover from August 20-September 30.

 

[tellico4x4]

Don't plant accordingly to a date on bag. Worse thing that can happen is to get a good rain , seed germinates and then no rain for a couple weeks. You probably just lost your crop. September is historically one the driest months in our area. I've been burned many times.... Brassica likes to be planted early but everything else can wait until Oct if needed.

 

[Kelljp]

Crimson clover and winter wheat mix will be usable by wildlife by Nov and will survive until the heat of the following summer. A lot cheaper than the designer clovers and can be purchased at your local feed store. I plant it for the turkey population but the guys that deer hunt the property always take several deer off the half acre patch every year.

 

[Ski]

With that being said what should I plant. I'm planning on planting perennial clover . Gonna spray it down this fall and till it and broadcast seed hope to have it ready before a good rain . Is august too soon. I'm wanting to add some balansa clover as well

I'm doing Durana this year for a perennial, but am planting it with crimson and oats, then over seeding with rye in October. We'll see how it goes.

 

[bconn]

Has anyone ever used a plug aerator in an existing clover food plot in the fall to sow clover/wheat/oats?

 

[Gobble4me757]

If you want a great mix with a bunch of clovers…check out WMS deer magnet out of eutaw, Al…they supply up here in west Tennessee. We saw a lot more deer, turkeys, hogs on our place in bama the year I started planting it.

 

[Spurhunter]

If you want a great mix with a bunch of clovers…check out WMS deer magnet out of eutaw, Al…they supply up here in west Tennessee. We saw a lot more deer, turkeys, hogs on our place in bama the year I started planting it.

I'd rather have a foot plot full of sticker bushes and privet than buy something out of alabama!






Just kidding Tiler. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[BigAl]

My only problem with the fall planting of clover is getting enough rain around the planting time to ensure good germination.
Seems like around here lack of rain the early fall has been the norm.

 

[BSK]

My only problem with the fall planting of clover is getting enough rain around the planting time to ensure good germination.
Seems like around here lack of rain the early fall has been the norm.

September and October are traditionally our driest months. That does make it hard to plant fall crops. I watch the weather like a hawk around planting time. Won't plant until I see a couple of good rains forecast back-to-back.