So Jack - are you saying that I should have let my clover stand? There wasn't a lot of weeds this year (some) but I just don't have the ability to mow clover high enough (best I could do is a riding lawn mower and that still cuts VERY low - even on the highest setting).
As with most of us, typically I was looking for something to be there in the fall. Initially when I put this field in, I was hoping to hold deer on my property (I'm in big woods) and that just turned out to be a stupid idea. Deer in my neck of the woods tend to bed on the hilltops/edge of them and then come down at night. My property is near the bottom. So for a couple of years, I had a "doe factory". I had a great crop of Buckwheat one year and then a lush/thick Winter Wheat and Winter Rye with bedded fawns in there a lot.
The e-Fence is out. I'm too cheap. Plus this is a remote area so it could be subject to thieves.
I barely hunt over it but it's in a travel corridor that the deer use. I think in the past 5 years or so I may have hunted over this a dozen times. I had the field put after some logging and the main axis going east-west. This makes for VERY tough hunting based on our common winds being from the SW or NW. I figured out last year that the best option is south winds or winds below 4 mph (which has thermals take over bringing the winds back to flowing from the S to the N).
Anyway - I've finally got a good layer of organic matter that's allowing things to grow. The clover could have been stuff I planted because it was so thick. Then again, it could have just been native. Regardless it was nice and thick. Places that have been traditionally bare are now able to grow plants so T&M is working well for me. Past attempts at Brassica, Turnips, Diakon Radish, or anything else just seem to get obliterated. I had a diakon radish take hold inside on of my tree cages and I would not believe how big it was! So I am fighting some daily/nightly browsing on a field about 1.5 acres. Right now there doesn't seem to be high traffic but once I get things planted I get pictures with a dozen deer.
I not saying what you "should" do. I don't know all the details of your situation. I'm saying that in general, if you are having a hard time establishing something, consider crops that have less attraction and more browse tolerance. In a big woods situation, a perennial clover plot has plenty of attraction and more browse tolerance than brassica.
For example, when we first bought our property, it was a food desert for deer. The locals shot anything with antlers, so the average buck age was very low. There were lots of does as the general regulations in the area had a limited number of antlerless days. The pine farm we bought had some older pines that had nothing growing in the understory and some young pines that were just beginning to canopy. So, half the property has near zero food and the other half was transitioning from the abundance of a clear-cut to the slim pickings of a canopying pine thicket.
Deer would wipe out any summer foods we planted. I got clover established on a pipeline that bisected the farm. The terrain was rolling so planted the flatter tops. I had fields of about an acre each that were 60 to 80 yards wide. Deer numbers were so high that when I would mow the clover, deer would be feeding in one end of the field when I was mowing the other and they would temporarily move into the pines as I would loop around and get closer. By the time I was back to the other end, they were feeding again.
We got into a program that allowed for heavy doe harvest and we eventually got things balanced. Now, it doesn't sound like you are trying to manage on the same scale we are, but I use this as an example. I've found nothing that will pull deer off acorns. When acorns are not abundant, anything I planted when we started was plenty attractive. The key was finding things that could handle the browse pressure and continue to grow.
It might be worth considering a tow behind mower like a Swisher. I think I saw someone on the forum selling one today. He might be able to advise you on how they work and if you can set them to 6" to 8" high. They have their own engine. You just use your lawn tractor or ATV to tow them. You might be able to pick up something like that used for mowing. Just a thought. If I had good perennial clover in the field I would certainly keep it. It is harder to kill any plant by browsing, especially perennial clover, once it is well established.
The reason I mow clover in the fall just before the season is to give it a little boost as nature is favoring cool season over warm season plants. I'm just mowing weeds to get some more sun into the clover. The cool evenings and rain do the most. I don't mow for deer. They use my plots that are weedy even more than mowed plots. They like the vertical cover of weeds.
If your only option is the riding mower, here is a thought to consider. Wait until conditions are very favorable to clover and then mow. Make sure you have a good rain on the horizon. Make sure there are no other stressors on the clover. The reason we typically mow clover high is that is stresses the clover less. It is typically when the clover gets multiple stressors that it gets hurt. Lets say someone sprays his clover field with Cleth and uses Crop Oil. The crop oil will put a little stress on the clover. Then say they mow it low. This puts another stress on the clover. Then they get 3 weeks with no rain. Put those all together and the clover will struggle. Clover handles a single stressor pretty well.
One technique I've tried was to mow a clover field flat with a bushhog. The bushhog was almost scalping the ground. I then drilled radish into the field with a no-till drill. I did this at the right time with rain in the forecast. I just posted a picture on anther thread today asking about clover. Half of that field was suppressed by spraying with 1 qt/acre gly and the other was suppressed by mowing flat. You can't tell any difference in the pic between the sides. The side mowed got more weeds the next summer than the side I sprayed, but both methods worked. I only say this to give you confidence in mowing low if that is all you have to work with. Just be sure you have rain coming soon and plentiful.
Thanks,
Jack
