Question on establishing chicory into existing alfalfa/clover plots

[Hoytvectrix]

I've got a quick question for you all. I have a few plots of clover and/or alfalfa+clover. I am looking to plant some chicory into them to add some more diversity and to try it out for the first time on our place. I have some predominately alfalfa plots that range anywhere from 0.1 to 1.0 acres that have some clover mixed in. The deer are and have been absolutely hammering the alfalfa and not really touching the clover. I was thinking of incorporating some chicory into these plots to thicken them up and see if deer could give the alfalfa a break. Because of browse pressure, the alfalfa has been set back a bit compared to the clover, and I want to make sure I plant something that isn't going to add insult to injury for the alfalfa. The plots are currently clear of all grasses thanks to a few apps of clethodim, so I am not quite as worried about losing the ability of controlling grasses after planting the chicory.

My questions are related to how to establish the chicory? Should I plan on frost seeding it? I will be renting a drill in the spring when we plant the beans. Could I drill in chicory? To make things even more interesting, I will be establishing a few other smaller plots (~0.25 acres) of alfalfa via frost seeding this spring and I might just include the chicory with them from the start if you all think this would work. The newer establishments of frost seeded alfalfa will hopefully be going into a field that has been burned.

 

[Bassattackr]

Frost seeding only works well IMO if you have bare soil. Need seed to soil contact. If your soil is predominantly covered with little bare spots, you will have a much harder time.