Food Plots Whitetail institute Imperial Clover

[Realtree56]

Will this stuff grow in the woods, in a small satellite plot? I'm wanting to do spring plots for the first time this year, and I've seen a lot people say this stuff is awesome. I've wasted my money on Throw n Grow for fall plots the last 2 years and all that comes up is rye grass. Anyways the spot gets at least partial daylight all day long, and I'm willing to put in the work fertilizing/liming as necessary. I can't reach the spot with a tractor but it would be feasible to get a garden tiller back there. Just wanted your all's thoughts if this would work out or not?

 

[Antler Dirt John]

When you say daylight, do you mean sunlight?

Clover needs sunlight, the more the better but I have seen some decent clover plots in the woods with 35 to 50% sunlight. Moisture is another important factor, make sure the surrounding trees don't rob all of the moisture. Also many pay way too much for seed in those small packages when many of the Tennessee Farmers Coop stores will sell you a comparable variety loose out of the big bags for far less per lb. You might want to mix varieties of clover also and throw in some wheat to help hold the soil and protect the young clover. Next September hand sow purple top turnips, dicon radishes into the clover it will loosen your soil, mine deep nutrients and provide additional pounds of forage for the deer. Do not be afraid to mow your clover plots to help control weeds and increase sunlight to the clover. Soil samples are always a good idea.

Woodland leaves can pose a problem. Be prepared to rake or mow to remove leaf fall. A layer of leaves covering the ground will kill most plants.

 

[Vermin93]

Yes, it will work. If you tend to it you should reap the rewards. My small plot of about 1/2 acre of WIIC is an absolute deer magnet. I had to lime like crazy because my soil had a pH of 4.3 when I started.

 

[TS_13]

Vermin, how did you lime your plot? mine is 5.5, right at an acre.

 

[Vermin93]

I picked up 10 of the 40lb bags of pelletized lime just about every time I went to the lease and then I would spread it with an EarthWay 2050P push spreader that I bought for the purpose of liming and fertilizing small plots. Sometimes I bought the lime from the coop and sometimes I got it from Tractor Supply. I've probably spread around 60 bags of lime on that plot over the past 16 months, and I still have some more to go in order to reach a pH of around 7.0.

They say that pelletized lime can take up to 6 months to work it's way into the soil, so the sooner you start spreading lime, the better.

 

[Realtree56]

Thank you guys for all of the good input, and yes I meant sunlight, my bad.

 

[Realtree56]

This is the plot I intend to convert and make a little larger.

 

[double browtine]

If you have lots of deer, you may want to do some land clearing and make the plot larger. I have heard that a small plot in the woods can't sustain to heavy grazing. 2 acres would be much better. Does will wipe out a .5 acre plot and you will just think it's not growing well in the woods.

 

[sure shot]

I did a 1/4 ac one time of clover they kept it nubbed off at the ground -whitetail institute


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[pass-thru]

If the sunlight is limited, and/or it's hard to maintain, I would go with No-Plow instead. I have had decent results with both. But No-Plow is easier to maintain....I kill it off in July and replant in august. Imperial Clover requires mowing and spraying broad both leaf and grass herbicides to keep under control. This year, with the warm weather and rain, my plots looked great until January.

 

[MickThompson]

Wheat. It stands up to browse and cold pretty darn good. You will need to do some weed control regardless, as the ryegrass will continue to come back every year if you let it go to seed.

 

[MickThompson]

I would still think about thinning the timber around the plot, especially on the south side of it.