Wooded plot help needed

[j-bird]

I have carved plots out of hallow pastures and corners of crop fields before. This year is my first real shot at putting one in a the woods. The opening I have is fine, my concern is I have already broadcast my clover and chicory seed after I burned the area off earlier in the year. However.....mother nature is tenacious!

Burned plot to remove all leaf littler and small limbs and the like and to get to as much bare dirt as possible.

I broadcast a pound of ladino white clover and 4 pounds of forage chicory.

A few weeks ago (4/22) things started to green up:

Yesterday (5/6) things had a lot more green.....but not the green I was looking for.

I had hoped that the seed would germinate and get ahead of what mother nature would provide....but obviously I was wrong. I don't have much experience with natural vegetative woodland plants so I am not sure what to expect of these......
Currently there seems to be little if any signs of the seed I planted.....so my question is simple....

Do I spray the plot with gly to kill everything and see what of my seed may still come up? OR do I wait it out and see if my seed will fight it's way through? OR do I simply scalp the crap out of what is there with a mower/weed-eater and see what happens?

I figured some of you with far more exp than I with woodland plots may be able to offer up some advice.

 

[H20fwler]

I don't really have experience with this but woodland plants are usually more sensitive to disturbance so I would try scalping it first and give it a week to see if your seed starts to pop through.

I broadcast about forty pounds of chicory/ladino/tre-foil a few weeks ago in some "edgy" type area and it hasn't really popped yet but I'm sure it will.

 

[Someday isle]

Wow -that’s an awful lot of growth. All of my plots are wooded lot areas. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Of course mine have allbeen started in the fall. My new one is a work in progress this spring. You’ve got me worried now.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I carved out a wooded plot a couple of years ago. I didn't do a spring planting the first year and it exploded with growth. I just sprayed and mowed before tilling in the fall. I almost wish I would have just left it a native browse plot because the deer hammered almost everything that was growing in it.

If I was in your situation I don't think I'd worry just yet. Use the new growth as a cover crop so to speak. If you are able to mow it off in few weeks I think you'll be satisfied what is underneath. A couple more mowings over the course of the season should take care of it.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I maintain numerous clover plots that range in size from 0.5 acre to a little over 1.0 acre tucked back in the timber. They were all fall planted with a nurse crop as I've learned spring plantings generally result in a losing battle with weeds/grasses. You didn't mention how large the plots are but is it possible sunlight is an issue?

 

[j-bird]

The plot is about 1/4 to 1/3 acre in size. Get 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight. The sunlight is part of the reason why I chose this location and why I think the natural "weeds" are doing so well. I typically plant perennials in the fall as well, but I figured with the cooler temps of a more wooded area that I had a shot at getting away with a spring planting. The only thing I have against killing it all off is having to re-plant, which wasn't really expensive, but is frustrating. I may just attack it with a weed-whacker and see what happens and if I am not satisfied, I make simply spray and then replant in the fall with a cover crop type mix along with my clover and chicory.

 

[Someday isle]

I disced my new area (also 1/4 acre) a little over a week ago. I’ll disc lightly again this weekend and plant buckwheat. Here in mid missouri I should be able to double crop the buckwheat and see if I can build organic matter while holding the weeds at bay. I have to admit that your pictures sure have me thinking. We should compare notes over the summer and see what works for each of us. If you don’t mind I’ll post my results here in your thread as well as my own land tour.

 

[BobinCt]

I’d kill it and plant BW then in the Fall try it again. One thing with those plots is that you must rake/blow the leaves off the plot early Spring the following year so the leaves don’t smother your clover and chicory. Spring planted perennials are never easy.

 

[WTNUT]

JBird,

I would spray that plot with 2,4DB and the clover should be fine. You might have to spray it one more, but over time you will get that killed off.


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[j-bird]

I disced my new area (also 1/4 acre) a little over a week ago. I’ll disc lightly again this weekend and plant buckwheat. Here in mid missouri I should be able to double crop the buckwheat and see if I can build organic matter while holding the weeds at bay. I have to admit that your pictures sure have me thinking. We should compare notes over the summer and see what works for each of us. If you don’t mind I’ll post my results here in your thread as well as my own land tour.

That is fine - I will do the same.

 

[j-bird]

JBird,

I would spray that plot with 2,4DB and the clover should be fine. You might have to spray it one more, but over time you will get that killed off.


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If I'm going to spray - I will kill EVERYTHING. I'm not going to risk allowing grass to slip thru the cracks to save a pound of clover seed.....and gly is pretty cheap.

 

[WTNUT]

JBird,

I would spray that plot with 2,4DB and the clover should be fine. You might have to spray it one more, but over time you will get that killed off.


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If I'm going to spray - I will kill EVERYTHING. I'm not going to risk allowing grass to slip thru the cracks to save a pound of clover seed.....and gly is pretty cheap.

Ha. Very true. I could not tell how large the area was even though you did say it was 1/3 of an acre or something like that. I have several small plots but none where they would get that many leaves on them in the fall. Not sure what that does to the clover, probably not much harm if any.


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[j-bird]

Ha. Very true. I could not tell how large the area was even though you did say it was 1/3 of an acre or something like that. I have several small plots but none where they would get that many leaves on them in the fall. Not sure what that does to the clover, probably not much harm if any.


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My intent for this plot is to be a early archery staging/kill plot. I had planted a heavy mix of chicory with a splash of clover. Deer here hammer the chicory in the early fall once the temps start to drop and I intend on using that trait against the deer and to my advantage. That time of year is archery season for us and the chicory is all gone by mid-November when our firearms season start and the deer tend to move on to other grains like corn and then soybeans. Acorns are pretty hit or miss and tend to be an early season food when we do have them. I will address the leaves if/when I need to.....I figure a leaf blower may be in the works.

 

[Jake]

Isnt 4#s of chicory alot for a 1/4 acre?

 

[Peplin Creek]

Chicory is roughly 4#s an acre. So it’s definitely more than needed most likely but seed rates can vary give different situations and a lot people put down more than needed so they feel good about the coverage spread over the plot.

 

[Nova]

I'd hit that hard with gly and then plant a cover/nurse crop like oats or BW. Oats are much cheaper. My experience with plots in the woods is the crop you are trying to grow already has an uphill battle with competition for sun, water and nutrients just because of the tree roots. Having additional stress from weeds makes it very tough! NUKE it ASAP and start fresh with a cover crop. Then in late July early August, take the oats down and plant your clover/chicory. You should have decent growth from the chicory by archery season.

 

[j-bird]

Isnt 4#s of chicory alot for a 1/4 acre?

My goal was for a very chicory heavy plot and thus the higher rate. I am targeting a specific time of the hunting season with this plot. Here, for some reason, in the late october early november time frame something changes in the chicory and the deer just hammer it. As such I am trying to use that to my advantage and essentially making a chicory only plot. I added a bit of clover for some N in the soil. My hope is/was to have nearly a solid chicory stand.

 

[Someday isle]

J-bird, I got out today and got the buckwheat seed in the ground in my two wooded plots. One is brand new this year and is 1/4 acre. We disced for the second time today, spread buckwheat, and cultipacked. The second one was a new plot last fall. It’s 1/3 of an acre and still has too many trees in it. It’s going to be ineresting as well. I seeded last fall in a cereal grain mix and we had a drought right after so I ended up reseeding with more cereal rye - then it rained like crazy and it ALL germinated. The rye was really thick. Hopefully discing the rye will terminate it and the buckwheat will take hold -or I’ll have a mix of rye, red clover, and buckwheat for the summer. I’ll post follow up pics in two weeks and we can compare notes.

 

[H20fwler]

My goal was for a very chicory heavy plot and thus the higher rate. I am targeting a specific time of the hunting season with this plot. Here, for some reason, in the late october early november time frame something changes in the chicory and the deer just hammer it. As such I am trying to use that to my advantage and essentially making a chicory only plot. I added a bit of clover for some N in the soil. My hope is/was to have nearly a solid chicory stand.

Same exact thing with chicory here. Deer barely touch it all year then after a couple hard frosts or a freeze they eat it to the dirt in a very short time. Any more I plant chicory everywhere and anywhere I can fit any in, it is most definitely a preferred food source in my area mid fall.

 

[j-bird]

Well, I was hoping against all hope, but what I saw this weekend put an end to hope. The plot needs nuked. There is lots of diversity in there, but I saw no signs of deer browse, so a good dose of gly is in order and I will start over....... There was one small spot where I found some clover and chicory, but the rest is knee high and shading out any possibility of the rest of the good stuff surviving.