Is it to late to start a clover plot this year?

[4wanderingeyes]

I want to make my apple tree plot into a clover and apple plot. Is it to late this year to plant the clover in northern Wisconsin? The plot has winter wheat in it coming up from last year, it is about 2 inches tall where the deer let it grow.

 

[yoderjac]

I can't speak to WI in particular, but it is still not to late to plant annual clover here. It is way too early for me to plant perennial clover which is what I presume you want. I would wait until fall to plant that, especially in an apple tree environment. If it were me, I'd try to throw and mow buckwheat for the summer and then throw and mow perennial clover with a nurse crop of WR this fall.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Tap]

It's not too late, it's too early. Spring planted clover (perennial) is notorious for weed issues.
yoderjac is correct. Grow some buckwheat now, and plant clover around September 1st.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Thanks guys! My thought was to plant some perennial clover now, and let it grow with the winter wheat , then this fall, plant more perennial clover, and winter rye for next year. Thinking maybe just getting it started was an ok option. But I knew it was the wrong option. My original plan was to plant sunflower into the winter wheat, which I will do. Then kill that back this fall and plant the clover and winter rye.

 

[mikmaze]

what is there now? kill it if it is grass/ weeds/ whatever, toss on the buckwheat for summer interest, then go with winter rye, ground hog radish, purple top turnip, and spend some time chatting with someone and find a nice longevity red perennial clover to add to the mix. Clover could be slow to get going, the other three will be there as a nurse crop, and ring the dinner bell for the deer this fall. next spring you will wonder where the clover is, then in a matter of weeks, BAM, it will show up and grow like mad, the rye could grow up a bit and add cover, but the clover will stick around. Add a honey bee hive and tripple your polination of the apples, plus have some nice clover honey for yourself.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Last summer and fall I was to busy building my shop to spend much time food plotting. But I did manage to get a annual clover and winter wheat planted in there. The winter wheat came back up this spring. That is what is in it right now, along with a little clover. Normally I would have planted radish and turnips, and winter rye in the fall, but I knew I was converting it to clover this year, so I didn’t want the tall winter rye to deal with, so I planted winter wheat instead.

I just want to plant something to go in with the wheat now, and tie it over until Labor Day and I will plant the winter rye and perennial clover. I don’t want to plant anything that I will need to plow under, or spray to kill, the last time I had to use round up by the Apple trees it didn’t go over well. Now I just spit spray the weeds I don’t want in there, like Canada thistle.

 

[yoderjac]

If your WW is only 2", consider broadcasting buckwheat and cultipacking it. Buckwheat is aggressive enough you will probably get it to germinate in spite of the WW unless it is very thick. Buckwheat is a 60 to 90 day crop. You can throw and mow your WR and Clover into it.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I looked at a couple of my go to seed places, and they didn’t stock it. I will check for some around home this week. I have never planted buckwheat before, I assume it is a shallow planted seed? Top dressed?

 

[yoderjac]

I looked at a couple of my go to seed places, and they didn’t stock it. I will check for some around home this week. I have never planted buckwheat before, I assume it is a shallow planted seed? Top dressed?

It grows in the back of my truck. If seed falls in my driveway it seems to grow there. I get better germination rates if I cultipack with my heavy clay. This pushes the seed into the soil slightly. It is frost sensitive and will die at the first frost. Deer use it but in most cases don't abuse it. Turkey love the seed. It is a nutrient scavenger that breaks down quickly releasing them for the next crop. Great soil builder. It is often called green manure. No need to till it under, you can surface broadcast clover and WR into it and simply mow or cultipack. You just want to knock it down to get it against the soil.

Thanks,

jack

 

[rocksnstumps]

Last summer and fall I was to busy building my shop to spend much time food plotting. But I did manage to get a annual clover and winter wheat planted in there. The winter wheat came back up this spring. That is what is in it right now, along with a little clover. Normally I would have planted radish and turnips, and winter rye in the fall, but I knew I was converting it to clover this year, so I didn’t want the tall winter rye to deal with, so I planted winter wheat instead.

I just want to plant something to go in with the wheat now, and tie it over until Labor Day and I will plant the winter rye and perennial clover. I don’t want to plant anything that I will need to plow under, or spray to kill, the last time I had to use round up by the Apple trees it didn’t go over well. Now I just spit spray the weeds I don’t want in there, like Canada thistle.

I would wait on buckwheat until at least first week in June for northern half of WI. Had a light frost on my lawn again this morn. Second day in a row. Thats the problem with buckwheat its a bit sensitive to frost. By then your WW will be taller of course. Throw out some med red clover for now or some other annual you like. At least the annuals will grow agressive and maybe do ok in your wheat. Once wheat reaches end of life throw out your annual clover choice. Labor day is too late for me, I do more like early Aug. Good chance of frost again by third wk in Sept in 4b

 

[yoderjac]

Good point. I'm in zone 7a. Buckwheat will germinate at soil temps as low as 45 degrees but when I've tried to double crop it, I found that first crop to be lethargic compared to the second planted in warmer soil. The optimal soil temp for Buckwheat is 80 degrees. We can plant through June down here with no problem. If we wait too long the lack of rain for germination can be an issue.

I think the OPs challenge on timing will be the WW. At 2" it won't be a problem unless it is very thick. If it grows too much more it may be hard for the buckwheat to get enough light. He should listen to you and others in his area for timing, not me as I'm way south of you guys.

Thanks,

jack

 

[DIY]

I would like to pose the OP’s question a different way.....what is the best strategy to have a nice stand of clover to hunt over this fall if you currently have a plot with zero clover in it?

 

[Tap]

I would like to pose the OP’s question a different way.....what is the best strategy to have a nice stand of clover to hunt over this fall if you currently have a plot with zero clover in it?

Plant Balansa.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I would like to pose the OP’s question a different way.....what is the best strategy to have a nice stand of clover to hunt over this fall if you currently have a plot with zero clover in it?

If you plant an annual right now, you should get a decent crop of clover from it.

 

[yoderjac]

I would like to pose the OP’s question a different way.....what is the best strategy to have a nice stand of clover to hunt over this fall if you currently have a plot with zero clover in it?

I would say that it depends on what a "nice stand" of clover means to you. Deer don't care about weeds in perennial clover. In many cases they use the field more because of the weeds. In many cases, I intentionally let weeds go in my clover. Keep in mind I'm in zone 7a and location matters. Weeds actually shade my clover in the summer. My clover fields can be knee to waste high in the middle of the summer and from a few yards away you wouldn't even know there was clover in their. Deer still feed in these fields in the summer. They know there is clover underneath and I don't care if they are eating the clover or the weeds.

We get reliable fall rain. Our archery season starts in early Oct. A week or two before the season I start mowing clover. The rain and cool nights favor the clover over the summer weeds. The clover quickly bounces back and fills in by the season. Some years, you wouldn't think it was the same field.

So, if by "nice stand" you mean attractive to deer, you could either plant an annual clover in the spring as others suggest, or simply tolerate the weeds and mow before the season depending on your zone. Most of the weeds that grow in our clover during the summer are annuals or don't fare well after mowing in the fall.

If after fall mowing and the clover has time to bounce back, if I have less than 50% clover in the field, it is time to rotate. I never assess the state of the field I the summer.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[DIY]

I’m not concerned with weeds.

By a nice stand I mean enough clover to attract deer throughout Sep and Oct.

Sp you guys are saying that if I plant annual clover(s) now and the weather cooperates, I should have a huntable plot of clover in the fall. That would be great.

I see very few people talking about spring planting annual clover to hunt it in the fall, so I was wondering if it’s a good strategy.

If you frost seed annual clover will it continue to produce into the fall?

 

[SD51555]

I want to make my apple tree plot into a clover and apple plot. Is it to late this year to plant the clover in northern Wisconsin? The plot has winter wheat in it coming up from last year, it is about 2 inches tall where the deer let it grow.

This is a very common question. I don't know the answer about spring planting.

I think the simpler answer is to fall plant white clover every year in every plot if you don't already have it. It's much easier to kill and start over than to start it at an inopportune time of year. Same goes for rye. Plant it and kill it if you don't want it come spring.

Hedge your bets.

 

[Bill]

I’ve planted spring clover with winter rye and came back mid summer with 2,4-DB and Clethodim in July and had a clover plot in September that looked like it should be on a food plot ad. I’ve also tried to repeat that process and had a plot of weeds in September. :(. Spring is a crap shoot. But clover is cheap.

 

[yoderjac]

I’m not concerned with weeds.

By a nice stand I mean enough clover to attract deer throughout Sep and Oct.

Sp you guys are saying that if I plant annual clover(s) now and the weather cooperates, I should have a huntable plot of clover in the fall. That would be great.

I see very few people talking about spring planting annual clover to hunt it in the fall, so I was wondering if it’s a good strategy.

If you frost seed annual clover will it continue to produce into the fall?

Annual clovers are much faster to germinate and grow. Perennial clover spends a lot of energy that first year putting down a root system. Without a nurse crop, weeds get an advantage. I like to start with a clean clover plot by using best practices and fall planting with a WR nurse crop and mowing the WR to release the clover in the spring when the WR begins to shade it out. This keeps the WR alive and combating weed infiltration. After the first year, I let nature take its course.

The annual clover I use the most is crimson. It acts as a reseeding annual in my area. It does not frost seed well. You may want to check the specific annual clover you are using for frost seed compatibility.

 

[Buckly]

Contrary to opinion I always planted perennial clover in May. I think I am far enough North that we never get dry in the summers so it grows well all summer. If the weeds get going to much I just clip them off above the clover with a brush hog. I would also plant a bit heavy. Always worked for me and the plots were really nice. I plant the annuals in September in the kill plots. I’d go for it and get it established, especially if you can mow it regular