Looking for some insight on Alsike clover

[chas0218]

Looking ahead to this spring I need some food plots. No doubt in my mind part will be a mix of brassicas the other part has me wondering. I have wet soil and this clover is supposed to do well in wet soil. I dont have standing water but soggy with the amount of rain we got this summer.

 

Any other suggestions I'll take them. Alfalfa is out of th question it will end up getting a root fungus and die off. White clover doesnt like wet feet so that wont work. I want it to be a perennial plot.

 

I've decided to put in 2 bigger plots instead of 3 smaller ones. My plan is to hinge cut around the plots to allow easy access only in certian areas also to allow more light into the areas.

 

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[G-Man]

I'd go with whitetail institute white clover.. I've tried many side by side and it does out draw any seed commercial or plot developed seed I tried. Proper seed bed prep is a must!! I did spray and tilled prepped and planted. I recommend spraying again after bed prep wait a week or two before seeding and spray again this killed off the seed brought to surface by bed prep..then plant.. the 1st year I did I didnt do thus and grasses weeds took over in 2 years.. after spraying 2 weeks after bed prep then  wanting I was able to get 7 years out of it before grasses weed became an issue again

 This is also without weed hebacide being applied just mowing..

[LET EM GROW]

Id definitely recommend doing a blend of seeds. Especially if one doesn't take off to well or at all, per your type of soil. But a mix of Alsike, Balansa Fixation, Frosty Berseem, Ladino, Medium Red, Chicory. With an annual nurse crop like Spring Oats or Spring Triticale would do awesome and help keep your weeds at bay some.

Blends are awesome in so many ways.. from the soil to the critters. Everything benefits. And everything can be preferred at different times of the year all from one plot. 

If your soil is indeed damp, you wont even have to till. Seed it, roll it then spray it off with gly, all same day before a decent rain. It beats making ruts with a tiller/tractor  and having to work the soil, then work it some more and then some more to get a decent seed bed if its truly that damp.. or even on more dry soils. Remember once you break the soil you release a ton of weed seed. Doing no till, you wont release weed seed. Get a good kill

[Einsamer Krieger]

Prepare your seedbed, take into consideration your wants, then start hunting for products that fulfill your desires.  I grew up on a large farm and the deer loved the clover but into the season the left cornfields really were hit hard.   Think about all YOU want and good luck. 

[chas0218]

My plan for the one plot was going to be 50/50 clover/brassica my other 50/50 corn/soybean.

Im going to try some diversion ditches to get some water away from the plots as it comes down off the hill. Unfortunately i have a couple springs on the property that dont help the situation.

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[corydd7]

How big are the plots? How big is the property? Do you bow hunt?

[LET EM GROW]

I have underground springs all over my property and it sure raises hell with plotting when rainfall is more than normal. But helps out in drier times of year. If you dont want to blend it all. do strip planting like your talking of. A lot also depends on size of the plot per species your trying to plant. Protected, or unprotected. Kill plot, or just a feed plot.. etc

[land 1]

i have two clover plots currently one is whitetail instatiute the other is just a basic ladino they eat both but the wi gets hit way harder, even tho the ladino looks more lush and appears to grow better, also dont go by this past year as far as moisture rain was way above normal and even places that are normally dry where wet

[chas0218]

How big are the plots? How big is the property? Do you bow hunt?

40 acres total plots were going to vary but i didntwant to go much bigger than 40 yards x 40 yards.

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[chas0218]

I have underground springs all over my property and it sure raises hell with plotting when rainfall is more than normal. But helps out in drier times of year. If you dont want to blend it all. do strip planting like your talking of. A lot also depends on size of the plot per species your trying to plant. Protected, or unprotected. Kill plot, or just a feed plot.. etc

Dont really need kill plots as there isn't much around for deer to graze after they turned the alfalfa field to corn and harvested it early bow.

Looking at some decent sized plots for grazing and lots of hinge cut maples and aspen around the plots.

i have two clover plots currently one is whitetail instatiute the other is just a basic ladino they eat both but the wi gets hit way harder, even tho the ladino looks more lush and appears to grow better, also dont go by this past year as far as moisture rain was way above normal and even places that are normally dry where wet

Yeah I've really been considering the WI stuff they have a buy 2 get 1 right now on the perennial clover mix.

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[JRod 8G8H]

we have a clover plot which does the best (whitetail institute) which is about 1/2 acre... this year we started over from scratch by spraying, tilling, spraying, tilling, mixing in a little lime (i think about 200-300 lb/acre) and then spreading and covering the seeds and fertilizing.. i would recommend the Arrest that whitetail institute makes after a few weeks of establishment.. it's pricey but man does our clover boom and competition weeds go away for quite a while... there's a bunch of videos online on how to property use the Arrest

[corydd7]

I've tried wti extreme and the regular clover. In two years deer seem to prefer the chicory in extreme but 100% will walk past it for the regular clover. Fusion sounds good but I wonder what the Clover to Chicory mix rate is? I might call them tomorrow and ask. 

[LET EM GROW]

8 hours ago, corydd7 said:

I've tried wti extreme and the regular clover. In two years deer seem to prefer the chicory in extreme but 100% will walk past it for the regular clover. Fusion sounds good but I wonder what the Clover to Chicory mix rate is? I might call them tomorrow and ask. 

My neighbor loves his 3 acre Fusion plot. From the pic she sends me the mix look great, i would guess 2/3 clovers 1/3 chicory. 

You can usually google seed labels for Whitetail institute products if you dont want to call. 

[LET EM GROW]

15 hours ago, chas0218 said:

Dont really need kill plots as there isn't much around for deer to graze after they turned the alfalfa field to corn and harvested it early bow.

Looking at some decent sized plots for grazing and lots of hinge cut maples and aspen around the plots. Yeah I've really been considering the WI stuff they have a buy 2 get 1 right now on the perennial clover mix.

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I used to strictly only use WI products most all of them. Always had good results. Id definitely do a real nice blend for a perennial plot. And if possible add a nurse crop, that way you dont have to worry about spraying the same year its planted. Just mow before nurse crop goes to seed. That is, if you tilled the soil. If no tilled.. and everything is sprayed dead, just spread your perennial blend before rain

[landtracdeerhunter]

Alsike can be plowed down, years later when it's plow up, it will regrow. It will get bitter, at the seed making stage.

[sailinghudson25]

Plant what you like for the whole general area.

It doesn't grow up in a spot here n there.

A.) No big deal, deer eat plenty of stuff we call weeds.   I was hunting the edge of  400 acres of corn last year.  Shot a big 8 eating the weeds on the edge.....

or.

B.)  Wait till end of summer, scratch up the soil with what you can.  Then put in wheat, oats, or italian Rye.  It'll enjoy the extra moisture.   If you can't scratch it up, spread it and roll it in with whatever will drvie through it.  I like using an ATV aired up to 10psi.