clover over rated?

[JoshAnderson]

Am I the only one that thinks clover is wayyyy over rated? I've planted Reds and whites and ive planted alfalfa, they get fertilized, mowed everything and the deer hardly ever hit it.. its almost like for a deer to be out in the plot it has to be lost. i have cameras out and hardly get pictures of deer in the plots. I have no Ag around me for over 8 miles and a fairly high deer density and they will not touch it. I planted clover because everyone said it was one of the first plants to green up in the spring... this spring i determined that was a lie. I planted .5 acres of rye last fall and as soon as the soon melted it was dark green and i had 8-10 deer in the field feeding at any given time... the clover didn't green up for another 3 weeks after that.... even after i worked the rye the deer still wouldn't touch the clover. Again i apply 150 Lbs of 12-40-0 with 10 pounds of sulfur and 150 pounds of 0-0-63 and nothing, the clover grows amazing... just nothing eats it.

 

[Charles Clear]

I'm in the same boat as you, but I am surrounded by agriculture. The deer at my place will hit it but not like they should and usually very late through the snow. I have a beautiful clover field that hardly gets used. I am in the process of plowing half of it under for a winter plot

 

[eclipseman]

Am I the only one that thinks clover is wayyyy over rated? I've planted Reds and whites and ive planted alfalfa, they get fertilized, mowed everything and the deer hardly ever hit it.. its almost like for a deer to be out in the plot it has to be lost. i have cameras out and hardly get pictures of deer in the plots. I have no Ag around me for over 8 miles and a fairly high deer density and they will not touch it. I planted clover because everyone said it was one of the first plants to green up in the spring... this spring i determined that was a lie. I planted .5 acres of rye last fall and as soon as the soon melted it was dark green and i had 8-10 deer in the field feeding at any given time... the clover didn't green up for another 3 weeks after that.... even after i worked the rye the deer still wouldn't touch the clover. Again i apply 150 Lbs of 12-40-0 with 10 pounds of sulfur and 150 pounds of 0-0-63 and nothing, the clover grows amazing... just nothing eats it.

what's your pH? Could be affecting the taste but likely your deer simply prefer some other browse or maybe they need to get used to it. Our deer definitely like clover and rye. Everyone swears that deer will not eat brassica until a frost or two but my deer were eating brassica in August and September well before a frost. Just my two cents.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Quite the opposite experience. I burn through camera cards over clover spots where deer feed daily.

In my Florida neck of the woods far, FAR south of you (if I'm right deciphering through your posts you're in northern MN), crimson thrives first in spring, arrowleaf next, and then white clovers do well on into the summer as long as we have adequate rainfall. Does seem to love bringing their fawns into the clover spots.

Only guess as I can offer as to why you don't see activity is that something else mighty tasty / tempting must be diverting their attention. Be curious to read what others say.

 

[eclipseman]

Am I the only one that thinks clover is wayyyy over rated? I've planted Reds and whites and ive planted alfalfa, they get fertilized, mowed everything and the deer hardly ever hit it.. its almost like for a deer to be out in the plot it has to be lost. i have cameras out and hardly get pictures of deer in the plots. I have no Ag around me for over 8 miles and a fairly high deer density and they will not touch it. I planted clover because everyone said it was one of the first plants to green up in the spring... this spring i determined that was a lie. I planted .5 acres of rye last fall and as soon as the soon melted it was dark green and i had 8-10 deer in the field feeding at any given time... the clover didn't green up for another 3 weeks after that.... even after i worked the rye the deer still wouldn't touch the clover. Again i apply 150 Lbs of 12-40-0 with 10 pounds of sulfur and 150 pounds of 0-0-63 and nothing, the clover grows amazing... just nothing eats it.

one other thought...how often are you going to that field? Maybe too much pressure

 

[j-bird]

Clover....specifically white perennial clovers.....are typically the "backbone" of most foodplot programs. The reason for this is that they provide a forage to deer for the longest window of time.....and being a perennial tend to be pretty cost effective as well. It will also take quite the beating from a browsing perspective and is pretty adaptive to different soil conditions and even less than ideal sunlight levels. Now, that said, clover isn't a magic bullet. Clover tends to be the first LEGUME to green up in the spring, but in most cases rye or even winter wheat will green up earlier. However, those planting are annuals AND will quickly loose the deer's interest once the plants mature and start to produce seed. The same holds true for the fall as cooler temps will trigger clover growth as it is established well before most of us will either have fall plots planted or those annual fall plantings have matured. Clover can also become very stemmy and tough (similar to alfalfa) if not mowed depending on the variety you planted..

If your clover plots are not drawing the interest of your deer, you can always reduce your clover acreage and try other plantings. Clover alone isn't going to be the only thing the deer eat. I try to balance my planting in a 50/50 ratio of perennials and annuals and then split my annuals again on a 50/50 ration between spring and fall planted. This allows me to plant a lot of variety for deer and provide something actively growing or a standing food source in the stress periods during the entire year. You can have more than the deer need as well and thus have the deer spread out.

Other things can impact plot usage as well. Presence of people, predators near a road or just overall in an area the deer don't feel safe or have no reason or desire to be in that location.

The trick to plotting and habitat management in general is having to adapt to what the situation presents.

 

[eclipseman]

Clover....specifically white perennial clovers.....are typically the "backbone" of most foodplot programs. The reason for this is that they provide a forage to deer for the longest window of time.....and being a perennial tend to be pretty cost effective as well. It will also take quite the beating from a browsing perspective and is pretty adaptive to different soil conditions and even less than ideal sunlight levels. Now, that said, clover isn't a magic bullet. Clover tends to be the first LEGUME to green up in the spring, but in most cases rye or even winter wheat will green up earlier. However, those planting are annuals AND will quickly loose the deer's interest once the plants mature and start to produce seed. The same holds true for the fall as cooler temps will trigger clover growth as it is established well before most of us will either have fall plots planted or those annual fall plantings have matured. Clover can also become very stemmy and tough (similar to alfalfa) if not mowed depending on the variety you planted..

If your clover plots are not drawing the interest of your deer, you can always reduce your clover acreage and try other plantings. Clover alone isn't going to be the only thing the deer eat. I try to balance my planting in a 50/50 ratio of perennials and annuals and then split my annuals again on a 50/50 ration between spring and fall planted. This allows me to plant a lot of variety for deer and provide something actively growing or a standing food source in the stress periods during the entire year. You can have more than the deer need as well and thus have the deer spread out.

Other things can impact plot usage as well. Presence of people, predators near a road or just overall in an area the deer don't feel safe or have no reason or desire to be in that location.

The trick to plotting and habitat management in general is having to adapt to what the situation presents.

You mentioned some clovers can be stemmy and tough if not mowed properly. Can you elaborate on some of the popular varieties and which need mowing and which do not? Thanks! Sorry to hijack thread.

 

[j-bird]

You mentioned some clovers can be stemmy and tough if not mowed properly. Can you elaborate on some of the popular varieties and which need mowing and which do not? Thanks! Sorry to hijack thread.

Clovers I have used that where more targeted for the grazing industry (ladino) I have seen where the deer use of a plot will be much higher a week or so after mowing because the clover is actively growing in a vegetative way verses several weeks later when the clover matures and tries to produce seed. As such - when I start to see my established clover start growing their white flowers....I mow. I don't have enough deer to browse enough to "mow" for me. I see the same thing with my alfalfa in plots as well. Its much more pronounced with alfalfa. Its also not like the clover turns to sticks, I think its just a matter of the growth stage. I'm not saying the deer won't eat it.....but if they have options....they may drift towards a different location. If you really want to get into it, and I did for a while, only mow part of the plot and then mow the other part 2 weeks later and rotate. I would see more use of the "fresh" side vs the "to be mowed" side. Is it enough to make a huge difference? I don't know. Some want every little advantage they can get, others like me figure out it isn't worth it and find a happy medium somewhere along the way. Heck, I am trying something new this year and not mowing at all to see if the weeds will increase daylight use of the plots during hunting season. I may regret this decision, but only time will tell. I have also seen seed from places like whitetail institute seem to not show the same condition as much.... I have not done any of this on a scientific basis, but just over time. The trick is figure out what works for you. My deer have lots of food choices and are very spread out, so spending a lot of money on fancy seed and trying to stay on top of mowing every couple of weeks to create prime clover plots faded quickly. I think my activity level in the plots actually hurt me more than it helped.

 

[bbcoach]

I have a 1/2 acre durana plot that gets hammered through the winter and early spring. It will normally be 6-8 inches in November and by the end of April the deer will eat it down to an inch or less. I've tried other varieties including Red and White clovers and Durana is the ticket for me. Ph maybe a factor but have you installed an exclusion cage to see how much growth you have and what the usage really is. Deer maybe utilizing the clover but you aren't getting them on camera. Here's a few pics.

 

[Barndog56]

Location, location, location. If your plot doesn't provide enough security for them to feel comfortable, it doesn't matter what is growing in it.

That being said, I'm not as big a fan of white clover as most are. Deer here seem to prefer red clover and alfalfa every day of the week.

 

[wiscwhip]

What happens when you plant that field to soybeans?

 

[Bill]

It's got to be something else drawing thier attention or like Eclipseman says something in the soil affecting taste. Rye is great in the fall and early spring and for a few weeks until it gets to tall. Clover seems to be a long season attraction for me. Except for now in the drought. They don't care for brown twisted stuff :(.

 

[Bill]

What happens when you plant that field to soybeans?

They eat them :)

 

[yoderjac]

Am I the only one that thinks clover is wayyyy over rated? I've planted Reds and whites and ive planted alfalfa, they get fertilized, mowed everything and the deer hardly ever hit it.. its almost like for a deer to be out in the plot it has to be lost. i have cameras out and hardly get pictures of deer in the plots. I have no Ag around me for over 8 miles and a fairly high deer density and they will not touch it. I planted clover because everyone said it was one of the first plants to green up in the spring... this spring i determined that was a lie. I planted .5 acres of rye last fall and as soon as the soon melted it was dark green and i had 8-10 deer in the field feeding at any given time... the clover didn't green up for another 3 weeks after that.... even after i worked the rye the deer still wouldn't touch the clover. Again i apply 150 Lbs of 12-40-0 with 10 pounds of sulfur and 150 pounds of 0-0-63 and nothing, the clover grows amazing... just nothing eats it.

I find perennial clover underrated. In may area there is nothing I can think of that can feed more deer over more months of the year at a lower cost than perennial clover.

Perhaps your area is different than mine, but have you used an exclusion cage?

 

[g squared 23]

I've only tried white clover (ladino I think), but have had the same experience. A big "MEH" from the deer. Exclusion cage showed no difference from the surrounding clover outside the cage.

Now the turkeys REALLY seemed to like it in the spring, so I'll keep it for a while for them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tree Spud]

Am I the only one that thinks clover is wayyyy over rated? I've planted Reds and whites and ive planted alfalfa, they get fertilized, mowed everything and the deer hardly ever hit it.. its almost like for a deer to be out in the plot it has to be lost. i have cameras out and hardly get pictures of deer in the plots. I have no Ag around me for over 8 miles and a fairly high deer density and they will not touch it. I planted clover because everyone said it was one of the first plants to green up in the spring... this spring i determined that was a lie. I planted .5 acres of rye last fall and as soon as the soon melted it was dark green and i had 8-10 deer in the field feeding at any given time... the clover didn't green up for another 3 weeks after that.... even after i worked the rye the deer still wouldn't touch the clover. Again i apply 150 Lbs of 12-40-0 with 10 pounds of sulfur and 150 pounds of 0-0-63 and nothing, the clover grows amazing... just nothing eats it.

How have your quantified that the deer completely ignore your clovers? Have you put out exclusion cages? Maybe you are over fertilizing and the clovers are growing to fast making them unpalatable or too stemy?

 

[John-W-WI]

have you installed an exclusion cage to see how much growth you have and what the usage really is

That's my thought exactly.

It can be very misleading without a cage.

-John

 

[Jake]

You ever try Chicory?

 

[Nova]

Cannot possibly overrate clover, like J-bird said it is the backbone of many food plotters. I have outstanding luck with it.

 

[Tap]

It's not overrated IMO. In fact, sometimes I wish the deer would leave it alone a little bit. They browse mine throughout the winter so hard that I get erosion in places.
As much as they like it, they still prefer natural browse. I often watch deer standing along the edge of my clover plots eating Multi Flora Rose, Grape leaves, Elm hinges, Bittersweet, Virginia Creeper and other natural browse (I said natural browse, not native browse). Seems like, during a feeding event, it's often not until after they browse the non-clover, that they finally start working on the clover.