Annual clovers

[DIY]

I remain confused by annual clovers. Not sure when to plant which varierty, how long they last, which varieties reseed well, when they germinate after reseeding, how they can produce enough to draw during deer season. Basically, a lot about annual clover and deer hunting remains a mystery to me. I get how they help deer and turkey in the spring and early summer and how they benefit soil. How do they help deer hunting in the fall?

 

[mglenn005]

My opinion is that they only benefit in the fall if you get timely rains. They do well in a throw and mow setting or no till setting. If you disk, you get spring time benefits. Regardless, spring time benefits dominate over fall. That’s why it is important to plant wheat, rye, or triticale in the fall.


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[DIY]

My opinion is that they only benefit in the fall if you get timely rains. They do well in a throw and mow setting or no till setting. If you disk, you get spring time benefits. Regardless, spring time benefits dominate over fall. That’s why it is important to plant wheat, rye, or triticale in the fall.


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This has been my experience, but the guys at deerbuilder raved about how Blackhawk arrowleaf clover was a big forage producer and a huge draw in Sep and Oct during their 2018 season. I don’t get how any newly planted clover can pump out that much forage by Sep.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Crimson and arrow leaf don't do much in east texas in fall

They take off late march and thrive through late may

They reseed,but its the second year after planting in my experience due to seed coat

As mentioned, that is why most add oats,winter peas,etc to the fall mix

bill

 

[Mibowhunter91]

Bumping this since it’s what I’ve been wondering.

Would frost seeding an annual clover work well as a cover crop in my plots so I have something for the deer in spring/summer untill I start my fall plantings. Also what would be good clovers to frost seed in


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[SD51555]

Annual clovers are a mystery to me. I made a custom blend of cover crop clovers (no fancy names in front) and planted them in July. They grew, but didn't put out much until September. Once it cooled off a bit, I got a good burst outta them and they were wiped out just like white clover. Most of those cover crop clovers are cheap enough, just find a place that will make you a custom batch and try it. That's how I learned most of what I've got going on.

Another way to get some spring and summer food out there is to just fire up the chainsaw and cut some stuff down. It isn't just stump sprouts that feed deer, lots of new stuff grows when sunlight hits the ground.

 

[Mibowhunter91]

O for sure that will happen as well just thought maybe some clover or over seed some rye in the plots so there’s something growing and I don’t have to fight the weeds as much when I plant fall plots


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[Catscratch]

I always throw them into my mixes. I figure they do a few different things; take pressure off perennials that are also in the mix, provide flowers for pollinators, seeds for birds and small mammals, provide diversity for prey insects to help control problem insects, provide diversity below the surface to help mineral mining and promote mycorrhizae for dissolving nutrients bound in the soil.

 

[j-bird]

My ONLY experience with an annual/semi annual clover was by mistake. I bought a BOB bag of seed and spread it in the fall. I bought the product because of the brassicas in it. Come spring time.....I noticed a clover coming in/up....at first I was like....OK, not a big deal. Then it continued to grow and became a thick blanket of knee high clover that the deer and turkey loved. They seemed to like it even better than my perennial clover planting which was right next to this area.

I hope this works as I am re-posting pictures from my land tour thread here.

This is what it looked like in April 2 of 2017. Seed was broadcast the fall prior.... This was when I first even noticed there was a clover in the mix I spread.


April 29....the yellow is the bolting of the brassica that survived the winter. You can see just how thick it is already...


Close up of the clover and the brassica bolting and creating seed....


Top two pics show the same area on June 19th . The upper left pic shows where I mowed the clover in strips in an effort to see what would happen as I was looking into planting a fall annual plot but wasn't sure how it would react. The upper right is a close up of the clover and you can see how the critters are hammering it with all the nipped stems. The lower left pic is what grew from the tilled area I tried after mowing....as those brassica seed that I grew germinated.



Same plot July 8th....no spraying no nothing....it's roughly knee high here and still getting hammered. That is a fresh ag soybean field in the upper left of the photo....and the deer are still hammering the clover. You can see where I also tilled some more of the mowed strip as well.



I eventually tilled the entire plot and let the seed bank do it's thing. The clover did a wonderful job in providing a spring and summer forage for the deer. My original intent was to till this area and plant beans or corn....but I couldn't bring myself to till under such a fine stand of clover that was seemingly being so utilized. I had to investigate what the clover was....I found out it is a variety called Barduro Red Clover. It's an annual in my area and considered a biennial in the deep south. If you struggle to plant a summer annual to feed your deer with say like soybeans or cowpeas or the like....I can certainly see an annual clover being an option as long as you get one suitable for your conditions. I simply got lucky....in fact this thread has me thinking of maybe trying to find some seed and giving it a shot again vs planting a bean or corn plot.

 

[scott44]

Bumping this since it’s what I’ve been wondering.

Would frost seeding an annual clover work well as a cover crop in my plots so I have something for the deer in spring/summer untill I start my fall plantings. Also what would be good clovers to frost seed in


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I've never had good luck frost seeding annual clovers, you will get some but not quite like perennials. I always seed a mix of clover and oats in my last year's spent brassicas and it's worked good. Usually the brassicas are ate down to the dirt so all I do is broadcast and cultipack and walk away.

 

[Mibowhunter91]

I’m totally fine with adding rye as well this spring plots full of rye and clover would make me a happy plotter this spring and summer


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[yoderjac]

Another thing to consider is a short-lived perennial like Medium Red. It establishes faster than long-lived perennials like ladino or durana so you can get away with spring planting. I've used it as part of a fall cover crop mix in place of crimson. It comes on strong in the spring and produces well into our fall season. It kind of reseeds like some annuals, but the field gets pretty thing in just a couple years.

The reseeding aspect of annual clovers depends on your location. For example crimson acts as a reseeding clover in my area, but not in all areas.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[DIY]

For deer hunting purposes, it appears that the key is to plant select annual clovers in mid-summer instead of early fall. A successful July planting will have enough time to crank out plenty of forage to draw deer during Sep/Oct bow season, assuming adequate rain and manageable temperatures.

Blackhawk Arrowleaf clover was planted in early July in NY and was a very good draw for deer in Sep, Oct and into Nov.

 

[yoderjac]

For deer hunting purposes, it appears that the key is to plant select annual clovers in mid-summer instead of early fall. A successful July planting will have enough time to crank out plenty of forage to draw deer during Sep/Oct bow season, assuming adequate rain and manageable temperatures.

Blackhawk Arrowleaf clover was planted in early July in NY and was a very good draw for deer in Sep, Oct and into Nov.

I suggest that you put your USDA zone in your profile. This is a good example. Planting time and technique varies with location. As you say, in some areas, if you get the timing right with respect to rain. a summer plant of annual clovers can make them attractive in the fall. In other places summer planting can be problematic. You did mention your location in the post, but putting it in our profile is a good practice. That way it shows up with every post.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[DIY]

I suggest that you put your USDA zone in your profile. This is a good example. Planting time and technique varies with location. As you say, in some areas, if you get the timing right with respect to rain. a summer plant of annual clovers can make them attractive in the fall. In other places summer planting can be problematic. You did mention your location in the post, but putting it in our profile is a good practice. That way it shows up with every post.

Thanks,

Jack

Good advice. I'm actually in 7A. My reference to NY was this 2019 food plot review from some guys on the southwest edge of the Adirondack Mtns.

2019 Food Plot Review

I'm envious of the tall and lush annual clover plot they were able to produce for Sep and Oct with a July 4 planting. Some years the conditions at my place would work, but years like 2019 would likely be a failure. Check out the knee-high Sep clover....

Blackhawk Arrowleaf Clover Review

 

[yoderjac]

Good advice. I'm actually in 7A. My reference to NY was this 2019 food plot review from some guys on the southwest edge of the Adirondack Mtns.

2019 Food Plot Review

I'm envious of the tall and lush annual clover plot they were able to produce for Sep and Oct with a July 4 planting. Some years the conditions at my place would work, but years like 2019 would likely be a failure. Check out the knee-high Sep clover....

Blackhawk Arrowleaf Clover Review

I'm in 7A as well but in VA. Summer planting can be iffy here. It can work out great. It is important to time the plant before a rain. On problem is that subsequent rain can be pretty unpredictable. If it gets established, it can really take off. If the weather does not cooperate, we get a failure. If you are willing to make a call and replant in September if necessary, it can be a workable strategy.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[James P. Bipps]

I remain confused by annual clovers. Not sure when to plant which varierty, how long they last, which varieties reseed well, when they germinate after reseeding, how they can produce enough to draw during deer season. Basically, a lot about annual clover and deer hunting remains a mystery to me. I get how they help deer and turkey in the spring and early summer and how they benefit soil. How do they help deer hunting in the fall?

I am confused too. I have always fall planted perennial clover (red and white) with rye. Now, with more cold tolerant varieties of annual clovers showing up such as Frosty Berseem Clover, Balansa FixatioN clover, and Kentucky Pride Crimson clover. I wonder if they would work better for my situation. My questions are as follows:

1). How long is the attraction of these annual clovers in the fall compared to red clover? (Fall planted)
2). How do annual clovers compare in attraction to perennial clovers?
3). Does the first frost wipe them out?
4). Do they survive the winter if fall planted? (It is my understanding that Balansa will survive a UP Michigan winter)
5). Would the use of annual clovers help improve my sandier soil plots better than perennials?

I guess I would be looking to replace my perennial clovers with the annual clovers in my rotation. What has worked on my better soils is a once a year planting of rye and red/white clovers in mid-August (Oats,peas, groundhog radish,
chicory, optional).

6). Should I be considering a spring planting of annual clovers for my sandier plots?

 

[PoorSand]

I can only speak to my experience. I planted Alsike on sand with 0.8% organic material content in 1992. I limed it to neutral pH. I have left dead pine trees stand around the plot for native bees to nest in. In summer, I have mowed it shortly after the clover has burned out from the summer drought, to disperse the seeds. It has always come back from seed in early fall and the deer visit it regularly. It meets my goals and I have no plans to replant it.