clover and chicory plots

[foggy]

Earlier this year I tried to terminate this chicory plot by first nuking it with round-up....then I tilled it and planted sugar beets. The chicory came back stronger than ever.......so I left well enough alone. Now its got a bit of grass in it.....so I suppose I will cleth it pretty soon.

With all the rainfalls.....my clover trails are looking as good as ever. There is no way the deer could keep up with all the clover I now have. Solves weed and erosion issues too!

 

[foggy]

^ This years rainfalls have really put the growth on my understory cover. Really nice and thick. Feels alive with little critters....and bigger ones too. Two years ago I put down about 2+ tons / acre of lime on my trails and plots. Much easier to grow the clover above with the higher PH.

 

[SD51555]

You think 2-4D might do the job on your chicory?

Our understory exploded this year too. I could not believe the jungle out there. It's putting the pressure on to get our food plot area cleaned up and done before it gets too far out of hand.

 

[sandbur]

foggy-You have about the best clover plots that I have ever seen in north central Mn. I'm glad to hear the understory has continued to grow. Things had improved drastically between my two tours of your place.

How is the oak regeneration?

 

[NYPLOTTER]

Funny I have seen the same thing with chicory. Roundup doesn't kill it and I assume it's because it's pretty deep routed. Hitting a clover/chicory plot with a light roundup mix sure does clean them up. Looks great.

Yes 24D kills chicory.

 

[foggy]

After first wanting to kill-off that chicory in favor of a new sugar beet crop....I have reconsidered. As I had a RR crop to plant.....I considered that this weedy plot could benefit from a year of round-up treatments.

I had a drought year where the only green crop was that chicory plot and the deer really hammered it that year. Other years....not so much. The plot is a weedy, old logging deck, but it seems to have fair soils and lots of old wood chips mixed into the dirt. Sometimes odd on what thrives....and where.

 

[foggy]

foggy-You have about the best clover plots that I have ever seen in north central Mn. I'm glad to hear the understory has continued to grow. Things had improved drastically between my two tours of your place.

How is the oak regeneration?

Thanks Art. Yeah.....my regen was a bit slow in some areas. Much improved now. I have got some very good natural red oak and burr oak coming along quite nicely....and I try to release those trees when possible. More oak here than I anticipated when I bought the land. Also some fair birch and aspen stands, willows and more. I get lots of natural hazel and quite a few raspberries. Pretty fair browse now.

I can hardly hold back the red pines and fir trees that populate this land. I like the young ones.....but as they get older they are a detriment to the shrub understory. I really could use a field day on how to deal with this. It will soon become a problem for my land.....and I'm not sure what to do about it. Trees really grow here.....and I dislike running a chain saw.

 

[sandbur]

Can you just grind those young pine trees down with the stump grinder?

They make good cover until they start to lose their lower branches.

 

[foggy]

Can you just grind those young pine trees down with the stump grinder?

They make good cover until they start to lose their lower branches.

I take-out pine trees to 3" and 10 feet tall with my rotary cutter. It's a light duty model King Kutter.....but it destroys those little pine trees. Still.....I'm not sure I want to take down several acres. o_O

 

[j-bird]

Foggy - just a quick question. When doyousee the deer useyour chicory themost? For some reason in my area they really hammer it in the fall on my place especially once the cooler temps settle in. I will go from an area with lots of chicory to where you would never know it even existed in the span of a few weeks. They seem to have a take it or leave it mentality for it for the rest of the year. Wondering if you see something similar or totally different.

 

[foggy]

Foggy - just a quick question. When doyousee the deer useyour chicory themost? For some reason in my area they really hammer it in the fall on my place especially once the cooler temps settle in. I will go from an area with lots of chicory to where you would never know it even existed in the span of a few weeks. They seem to have a take it or leave it mentality for it for the rest of the year. Wondering if you see something similar or totally different.

Yep....I do not really understand what turns deer on to chicory. Most of the time they seem to leave it alone.....but when we had a drought year....my deer decimated the pure stand of chicory as it was the only "green" crop I had remaining.....save a little rye that got established. That year (of the drought) none of my other plots produced much, and the deer "mined" the roots through the snow like they do with turnips. Surprised me.

Now....one in a while I find a deer munching in my pure stand of chicory.....but I think they most-often prefer other crops. I view the chicory as insurance for drought conditions.