end all, be all, clover discussion... Keying on Longevity of the stand.

[mglenn005]

I’ve had fantastic results with Durana clover. Always fall plant with a nurse crop of rye and wheat, crimson clover and fixation clover. I may look into adding some different white clovers into the mix to establish with the Durana because I like mixes over monoculture.


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[wiscwhip]

If you don't mind the fact that it is a bit spendy and sometimes hard to establish, Kura clover will last almost indefinitely with minimal yearly maintenance once you get a good stand in place.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

How is Durana in the northern cold climate?

 

[H20fwler]

My best to date has been Ladino, also have a bunch of alsike that I've had for years. I've tried a lot of blends and love the look of crimson but it is a one and done normally. Ladino and alsike like my soil and grow well for me year after year, clover seems to be a secondary or third choice for deer in my area. I like it because a lot of different wildlife seems to utilize it at some point and the bees love it.

 

[wiscwhip]

How is Durana in the northern cold climate?

In Washburn Co, WI I would use Alice White clover, you will likely get much better winter survival than Durana in that climate.

 

[wiscwhip]

For those that are looking to plant a long term, red clover variety, look for an improved medium red clover, NO stuff labeled VNS or "common", that suits your area. Go to your local University's agriculture website and find the clover variety trails and look at the 3 and 4 year long term yields, those are the types you should be planting, as they are the ones that are flourishing long term in your area. Guys in the south should look at Bulldog Red, Cinnamon Plus, Kenstar, and Redland III. Northern guys should look at Arlington, Freedom!MR, and Marathon. These improved types will last much longer than a VNS or common type and produce much more forage over multiple years than a mammoth red like Alta-Swede.

 

[WTNUT]

Mikmaze,

I have clover plots that have been in place since 2002, and are as thick and lush as ever. Here is what I do, and I believe clover plots can last indefinitely. They are not; however, maintenance free. These plots were established after trees and stumps were removed entirely, limed to get the correct PH. My plots are about 80 to 85% Alice clover and 15% to 20% quality medium red clovers like Starfire. Each was planted in the fall with a cereal grain (rye or oats). Each spring the grains are allowed to go to seed so to insure regeneration of grain come fall. I believe this is important to use some of the Nitrogen created by the clover. As soon as it goes to seed, I mow it just low enough to clip the white clover and stimulate growth. That is normally in May. I mow once a month in June, July, August and September. In July, I spray for broadleaf weeds and any grasses that have established. In August, I allow the clover to go to seed. Those seeds generally help with regeneration some that fall, but more the following spring. That is my plan and it works for me. If you think about it, when you get clover in your yard it is hard to get rid of so why can’t we have a pure stand of clover that goes year after year. If you remove the grains or allowing the grain and clover to go to seed, I am not sure my plan would work.

P.S. It is a LOT EASIER THAN ALFALFA!


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[Tree Spud]

Mikmaze,

If you think about it, when you get clover in your yard it is hard to get rid of so why can’t we have a pure stand of clover that goes year after year.

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If that were the case, I should be putting dandelions in my food plot ...

 

[WTNUT]

OH I forgot to mention that I do apply about 150 pounds of 9-27-27 every 12 to 18 months.


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[WTNUT]

Mikmaze,

If you think about it, when you get clover in your yard it is hard to get rid of so why can’t we have a pure stand of clover that goes year after year.

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If that were the case, I should be putting dandelions in my food plot ...

You are right those things are amazing. My wife likes a “perfect yard” at home. It is an undesirable trait she got from her father. My approach to my grass at home is much like Phil Robertson from Duck Commander. “Why would anyone cut something that will die in the winter”. The problem with that approach is my farm. I like my plots to look emasculate now weeds, no grasses, perfection I tell you.
This weekend we were at the farm with friends and she said “you want this place to look like a museum”. My response “finally we are starting to see eye to eye”. Lol


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[bigbendmarine]

Y'all are making this North Florida fella feel mighty lucky. My place had spotty patches of crimson clover and arrowleaf on it when we bought it in 2013. Simply by letting it go to seed before cutting I've had the patches continually spread over the past 5 years without spraying, fertilizing, or anything else (other than cutting). I have introduced a ladino variety, Ocoee, that does well in my neck of the woods and by doing so have deer focused on Crimson early spring, Arrowleaf through late spring, and the Ocoee through mid-summer. Like that they thrive at slightly different periods but trade off is cutting them at different times and dodging patches not yet gone to seed.

 

[bbcoach]

If that were the case, I should be putting dandelions in my food plot ...

Clover is very easy to terminate. Apply Trimec, 2 4D. It'll be dead in 10 days to 2 weeks.

 

[Native Hunter]

As we scratch our way through another spring I know many of us will be planing to plant clover at some point, most likely during the fall. I have planted a lot of clover over the years, from the bags of pure seed at tractor supply, to the bags you can get from NWTF, to jumbo ladino, crimson ( annual ) and right now I am being stunned by a stand of clover I planted last fall, bought 15 lbs at a seed supply store and I'll be danged that I did not write down the name of the clover. But I tell you what, it is 18 inches tall right now and getting hit HARD by the deer. I have a one acre plot of it and am flat out amazed at what it is becoming. I only hope it is not a biennial mammoth red that will do its thing and be gone after this season.

What my perfect world clover would be:
grow from seeding and be able to compete against grasses and weeds.
last as a pure stand for 4 to more years
shrug off the maybe once a year hit with gly at about an oz per gallon to knock out things it can't compete with
not need a moving
forgiving as for soil types as I have some clay, and only one sandy plot on the 300 acres I manage


so what do you folks say? I've tried alfalfa, and that was a bust, so clovers, lets hear the ideas, input, success/ failure.
sources are always a bonus!
thanks, mike

Perhaps the perfect clover doesn't exist, but maybe something else that is close to perfect for deer plots does exist:

• Never loses it's palatability, even when getting 5 feet tall. Deer will sometimes bite off an 18 inch section of stalk and inhale it.
• Is virtually immune to drought due to the deep tap root.
• Competes extremely well with most weeds.
• Has high protein levels and other great nutritional attributes.
• Provides a food source from spring green up deep into the fall.
• Reseeds when not mowed.

That plant would be chicory. But, it is best not planted alone, and clover is a great companion plant. White clover is okay, but an improved variety of medium red mixed with white is the perfect companion because it gets very tall and helps choke weeds.

 

[mikmaze]

I been eyeing up chicory for a bit, just not sure how well" my6 deer " like it. I put an email out to the county agent today, with a by all means, forward on to someone in the know locally with input, shall see what they have to say.

anyone with luck planting fixation balansa?

 

[Native Hunter]

I been eyeing up chicory for a bit, just not sure how well" my6 deer " like it. I put an email out to the county agent today, with a by all means, forward on to someone in the know locally with input, shall see what they have to say.

anyone with luck planting fixation balansa?

I've given up on fixation balsana. I've planted it twice in a mix with other white clovers and not sure I've seen the first plant. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with it.

This year I wanted to try something new just for a change, so I have 10 pounds of Birdsfoot Trefoil on order right now. If anyone has any input on it, I would like to hear.

 

[scott44]

I've given up on fixation balsana. I've planted it twice in a mix with other white clovers and not sure I've seen the first plant. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with it.

This year I wanted to try something new just for a change, so I have 10 pounds of Birdsfoot Trefoil on order right now. If anyone has any input on it, I would like to hear.

I've planted Trefoil in with clover/alfalfa mixes and they will eat it but they didn't hit it like they did the clover or alfalfa, I noticed that the trefoil would remain green in the heat of the summer when some of the clovers were turning brown. I haven't bought any in a few years but I think it is a good compliment with clover and alfalfa because of it being more drought tolerant.

 

[Wild Thing]

I've given up on fixation balsana. I've planted it twice in a mix with other white clovers and not sure I've seen the first plant. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with it.

This year I wanted to try something new just for a change, so I have 10 pounds of Birdsfoot Trefoil on order right now. If anyone has any input on it, I would like to hear.

Birdsfoot Trefoil will grow anywhere...and it spreads fairly well on its own. Now for the bad news. Once you plant it you can never get rid of it. It is very deep rooted and difficult to kill. I have never, ever, seen a deer browse it - not even once. I hear people tout it as a great deer forage but in 30 years since I first planted some I have never found that to be true. I planted it by mistake once but I will never plant it again.

Just my two cents NH. YMMV.

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks for the info guys. I was planning on putting it on some of my poorest ground, because I have read that it niche in places like that. I hate to hear that deer don't browse it much in some places. They gave a 4 stars in the food plot manual, so we will see.

 

[Wild Thing]

I usually plant 2 types of white clovers along with Medium Red Clover. My favorite whites are Alice White, Ladino, Alsike and I recently started planting some Dutch White as well.

I almost always plant in the fall and I always plant with a cover crop of cereal rye. The first spring after planting I will usually frost seed some additional seed on top.

For maintenance, I usually do mow it as needed and I will spray it when I start seeing more weeds than I like. I used to fertilize annually but I have kind of gotten away from that after seeing some clover plots which are never fertilized. I found the same thing when I planted clovers around a new pond we excavated. I never fertilize it as I don't want the phosphorous getting into the pond. That clover almost always looks as good as the clovers I fertilize.

I used to plant clover plots and then graduated to clover strips (Doubletree method) and have since gone to just planting a ring of clover around the outside edge of all of my food plots, which was recommended to me by Steve Bartylla. If you think about it, the outside edges of your food plots are often lacking in either sun or moisture and don't grow the best crops anyway but clover does just fine.

I also usually plant clovers on travel corridors and 2-tracks we plant after logging.

 

[WTNUT]

I been eyeing up chicory for a bit, just not sure how well" my6 deer " like it. I put an email out to the county agent today, with a by all means, forward on to someone in the know locally with input, shall see what they have to say.

anyone with luck planting fixation balansa?

I've given up on fixation balsana. I've planted it twice in a mix with other white clovers and not sure I've seen the first plant. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with it.

This year I wanted to try something new just for a change, so I have 10 pounds of Birdsfoot Trefoil on order right now. If anyone has any input on it, I would like to hear.

Oh Native Hunter,

Birdsfoot, the rage of years gone by. Your deer may eat it, but I have planted it in plots many many time. I have gotten it to establish easily. I have it growing along my roads (private and public), as well as the transmission line right of way, and some of my water holes. It was part of a reclamation mix. I have NEVER EVER seen a leaf nipped off by deer and have never ever seen a deer eat it.

What type of chicory do you plant. I don’t like mixing it with clover because it is not immune to some of the broadleaf herbicides I use in clover plots.


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