Food Plots Red or White Clover

[Shooter77]

I was at the CO-OP store the other day and they had white & red clover for sale. Which type do you recommend for planting for food plots?

 

[drrxnupe]

From my understanding, red clover tends to be more of an annual in the South while white clover is a perennial. Depending on where you are in East TN, maybe you can get perennial growth out of red.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Both. But there are lots of different types of red and white clovers. Some of the more preferred whites are like ladino, durana, patriot, etc. For red, I use cinnamon red. If they just say white, then its likely white dutch, which is not a more preferred variety. If they cant give any more info than just white or red, go somewhere else, I have that issue with my Co-Op alot, not alot of education in the place.

 

[PcDeer]

I go white all the way. Deer won't eat red at my place for whatever reason. I've always planted crimson with no luck. Deer hammer durana in all my plots though.

 

[hoyt30]

They love the ladino in my plots.

 

[drrxnupe]

I got 20 #'s of ladino from Co-Op in Nashville for $4.30 per pound. They seemed somewhat knowledgeable when I dealt with them. I also purchased 8 #'s of Whitetail Institute Imperial Clover as an insurance policy. Probably a waste but it helped me feel more confident seeing as though this is my first time.

 

[tellico4x4]

You'll be amazed at the size of leaves on the Imperial.

 

[280longshot]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

 

[drrxnupe]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

I've heard 5 lbs per acre if broadcasting. I may do a little more because I only limed ~1000 lbs/acre.

 

[280longshot]

we are planning a food plot this weekend, so the 28lbs covers quit a bit, thanks.

 

[Bayou Buck]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

Depends on the type of clover and if it will be mixed with anything else. 28lbs od ladino will do almost 6 acres, while 28lbs of crimson may only do 2-3 acres. I'd recommend mixing it with a cerial grain and reducing the rate.

 

[drrxnupe]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

Depends on the type of clover and if it will be mixed with anything else. 28lbs od ladino will do almost 6 acres, while 28lbs of crimson may only do 2-3 acres. I'd recommend mixing it with a cerial grain and reducing the rate.

I like the cereal grain mixing idea. Would it hurt to add a small amount of forage brassicas as well?

 

[tellico4x4]

I'd consider mixing some Crimson & Yucchi Arrowleaf in with the Landino. The Crimson will pop in late March or early April and go for 4-6 weeks. When it starts waning, the Arrowleaf will be coming on strong and last until it gets hot (usually July for us). It also gets about knee high and acts as a cover crop for the Landino. Once it turns brown, I mow it about 8" tall, for the Landino underneath. Mowing the Arrowleaf also disperses the seed and we get some new growth each year from it.If you buy Dixie Reseeding Crimson, some times it'll come back as well.

This mix provides clover for about 8-10 months depending on rain & how cold it gets in late winter. We fertilize with 0-20-20 during spring & fall. I get a local seed company to mix this concoction for us each year. Currently have 550 lbs of it and will sow a little of it this fall, with the bulk of it "frost seeded" in Jan-Feb. The mix consists of 100# Landino, 150# Arrowleaf & 300# Dixie Crimson.

Yucchi Arrowleaf this past June


Plot 20 Clover June 2013 by Bullet Hunting Club, on Flickr

 

[tellico4x4]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

Depends on the type of clover and if it will be mixed with anything else. 28lbs od ladino will do almost 6 acres, while 28lbs of crimson may only do 2-3 acres. I'd recommend mixing it with a cerial grain and reducing the rate.

I like the cereal grain mixing idea. Would it hurt to add a small amount of forage brassicas as well?

Mixing clover & brassica with cereal grain usually does not work well. The larger cereal grain needs to be planted deeper than the small clover & brassica seed. We don't even cover the small seed with dirt. We disk/cultipack/sow cereal seed/cultippack again/sow small seed & pray for rain.

 

[Bayou Buck]

How big of a food plot would say the 28lbs. cover?

Depends on the type of clover and if it will be mixed with anything else. 28lbs od ladino will do almost 6 acres, while 28lbs of crimson may only do 2-3 acres. I'd recommend mixing it with a cerial grain and reducing the rate.

I like the cereal grain mixing idea. Would it hurt to add a small amount of forage brassicas as well?

You can add brassica as well just adjust your seeding rates. Just remember that if you plant brassica every year in the same location you could get pest problems. Last year bugs wiped out all my turnips so I am not planting any this year. Luckily I had sugar beets mixed in and the bugs didnt touch them. This year I am adding radishes.

 

[Bayou Buck]

I usually plant my brassicas mid August and then overseed with the clover and cereal grain when the weather is appropriate. Winter wheat and Rye grain can just be broadcasted before a good rain along with the clover. They germinate very easily. I have been doing it for a few years now and have always had a good stand. Just broadcast at a higher seed rate than you would if the ground was freshly tilled.

Another option, depending on how big your plots are, is too plant different sections with different types of forage and rotate each year.

 

[drrxnupe]

Gotcha...I was considering brassica because I wanted a lush attractant for the late fall/winter.

 

[woodsman87]

I have always liked the red clovers better. White dutch is the white clover that you see growing in your yard and everywhere else. I never plant it because it grows everywhere else anyways.

 

[ferg]

Both - my red comes back with the white -

 

[jwcox3]

I usually only plan Durana or Patriot White mixed with oats or wheat. This year we worked up a hayfield with Timothy and Orchardgrass Cinnamon Red. This borders directly a corn and soybean plot of two acres. No joke the Deer have been walking through the corn and beans to graze the red clover. I will be planting red in my fall mix from now on.

 

[Football Hunter]

Red for this season,white for next

 

[Boone 58]

From feeding performance by deer it is White hands down and the plant never outgrows the usefulness such as with red and arrowleaf. we use advantage Ladino!







This bottome pic is of red and I can tell you when it gets large the deer quit browsing it........something that never seems to happen with white.....then this becomes very difficult to cut and clear from the field . They browse on the white year round almost.......and that doesn't happen with the other varieties in our area...you will never see white clover too large to feed upon but you will always find the others peaking out of their usefulness in my experience......so I plant white and I feel I get the biggest bang for my buck and largest tonnage per acre. We have over 40 fields and we plant mostly wheat/oats mix with all of them planted with White.