Not tall no-till?

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5 year old buck +
I have a large 5 acre yard backyard nobody really uses. However, some of it is mine and the southern side of it is my in-laws. They dont mind me growing stuff back there, they just dont wint it 3ft tall. Been doing clover in my section. I have harrowed and planted clover in 2020 in a good chunk on their side.

I have a tow behind rough cut mower I am modifying to mow 6-7 inches high. Think it does about 4.5-5 now. I can harrow it again, got a sprayer, and in the process of building a cultipacker too.

Last year the neighbors built a house in an old apple orchard behind me. They might be more open to having taller grass. The backyard is uphill of their house, so it might screen the new building site from their backyard view.

Actually, I dont mind feeding the deer at all. however, I prefer to keep better forage near my hunting blind on my half of the big backyard. They are bird lovers, so if they had something feeding the birds or something with nice flowers, they might be more open to the idea.

I'm, planting 25 blue spruce, 25 poplar, and putting 10 white pine to make the yard more private for them this year.

The area is hard clay. It has been limed in 2020. Ph is about 6.5. All nutrients were moderate, nothing really high or low. Don't mind adding some though.

On a similar note, my half of the yard is slightly sloped downhill. I have standing flooding about twice a year for 5 days or so. It used to be 2 weeks before I dug out channels. Whats one of the best clover or possibly other animal edible grass / weed I can put down? Seemd ladino survived the last spell, not sure if it will this time around.
 
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Hard to beat a variety of several different clovers. Here is what Todd Amenrud had to say about it in this months Gamekeeper magazine.

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the clovers, for no tall no till. Or recommended for the flood resistance?

If doing a straight legume / clover no till. would you late summer seed some annual or medium red clover to get some added growth, keep the N levels and weeds at bay? How does clover recover from cultipacking / roller? Would you just spread and them mow to thatch cover it?

Benn pondering trying out oats and keep it mowed, Help green manure that heavy clay. Maybe seed in mid august and mow every 3 weeks. I'm in zone 4B / 5A.

Got to take a peek at gamekeeper magazine. I was getting sick of fishing / hunting mags that mainly promote you to buy and spend, rather than give you some skill or knowledge to work on.
 
the clovers, for no tall no till. Or recommended for the flood resistance?

If doing a straight legume / clover no till. would you late summer seed some annual or medium red clover to get some added growth, keep the N levels and weeds at bay? How does clover recover from cultipacking / roller? Would you just spread and them mow to thatch cover it?

Benn pondering trying out oats and keep it mowed, Help green manure that heavy clay. Maybe seed in mid august and mow every 3 weeks. I'm in zone 4B / 5A.

Got to take a peek at gamekeeper magazine. I was getting sick of fishing / hunting mags that mainly promote you to buy and spend, rather than give you some skill or knowledge to work on.

Once again, I don't plant single clover cultivars - never have. Like Todd Amenrud (Biologic and Gamekeepers), I believe a clover blend of 3-5 different cultivars is better than a single cultivar. Those that tolerate dryer soils will shine in the drought prone areas while those that better tolerate wetter soils will shine there. Also - variety is the spice of life. Maybe your deer might prefer browsing on Ladino one day, and Medium Red or Crimson the next. :emoji_sunglasses:

For planting perennial clovers, I always plant them in the fall - mid-August to early September here, and I always plant them with a nurse crop of rye. The clovers don't amount to much the fall they are planted but they come on strong the next spring. The rye will feed deer in the fall and winter and especially when it is the first forage to green up after the snow melts.

If you don't want anything but clovers you could terminate the rye the next summer by spraying it with Clethodim and Crop Oil, or you could let the rye go until July and mow if before the seed becomes viable. That would provide some fawning cover, turkey bugging area and eventually a nice mulch with some biomass to benefit your soil. The clovers will come right up through the mowed rye with no issues at all. Frankly, that would be the only mowing it ever got from me unless you really enjoy mowing.

Of course, you could always plant alfalfa or an alfalfa/clover mix if you want just green and short. Alfalfa looks nice and it is also a great wildlife forage. My deer keep the alfalfa mowed so I don't have to although I have mowed it once each of the last 2 years.

This is an alfalfa/clover mix (16#/acre alfalfa and 2#/acre each Med Red and Ladino clovers). This is on May 31

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Same mix in another field on June 16th when clovers are going to seed

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Fall planted clovers the following Mid July - You can see the standing rye on the outsides where it wasn't mowed

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This is another plot I fall planted and then just mowed a single strip down the middle. The rye doesn't hurt a thing if left standing.

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I seeded this plot in the fall and then due to early summer back surgery I never got out to mow the rye until August 5th. You might think that this much thatch would smother the clovers...\

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but here it is on September 18th. The rye thatch is still there retaining soil moisture, keeping weeds at bay and feeding the soil as it decomposes.

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There are other options of course....
 
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