Deer don't eat stemy clover

[Bill]

So that's what I read long ago. I never mow clover these days, only above it.

Don't think my mower goes this high. But they don't seem to mind knee high stemy stuff.

This is a natural stand. Was beans 2 years ago. I left the rye mature last summer and tried brassica's with 2 lbs red clover per acre.

No way this is 2lbs per acre. Native Clover choked out the brassica's.

The seed bank blessed me because this is one thick stand.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[wiscwhip]

Total wives tale. Does usage slow a bit, maybe, if there is something better and more palatable around??? Then when all other crops are gone and they have twigs left, they will dig through snow to get at that "tall, stemmy" red clover.

 

[Native Hunter]

They just hate those stems.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

They look to be enjoying it quite well in both pics!

 

[scott44]

Couple years ago I let a clover plot go, I've never had them dig through snow before but that's the only thing that was under the snow here.

 

[wiscwhip]

It is even more effective that way if you don't mow it after about early-mid August and you let it get about knee deep or more like in Bill's first pic. Tons of thick biomass under the snow then and it will stay greener if it isn't stressed from mowing before going dormant later in the fall.

 

[Bill]

I used to mow several times each summer. Then a few years ago I started mowing and wondered why I was cutting off all the flowers and soon to be seed. Raised the mower above the flowers and just mowed the weeds above the clover. Been doing it this way ever since and I haven't noticed any differance in usage.

Like Wiscwhip says, the clover isn't stressed and it stays greener through the dry heat of a typical August.

Do a search on clover as living mulch system. Some crazy farmers are planting corn into killed rows of clover. In between the rows of corn is living clover covering the ground and it actually holds more moisture than bare dirt. Pretty cool stuff.