Trying a couple of aeschynomene/Alyce clover plots.

[Bobwhite]

I missed this last pic somehow but that's a nice looking stand. Couple more questions, what is your soil ph, phos, potassium levels where you planted this combo? Did you notice any preference between the two from the deer? Is one seem more drought tolerant over the other? My cousin planted about an half acre of alyce this year and it feed lots of deer from june- early part of Sept. They were in it 24-7 and still plenty of forage. I'm definitely going to try this next year.

 

[omicron1792]

I missed this last pic somehow but that's a nice looking stand. Couple more questions, what is your soil ph, phos, potassium levels where you planted this combo? Did you notice any preference between the two from the deer? Is one seem more drought tolerant over the other? My cousin planted about an half acre of alyce this year and it feed lots of deer from june- early part of Sept. They were in it 24-7 and still plenty of forage. I'm definitely going to try this next year.

So,

PH was 5 when I started working on plots. I used some liquid lime to get things going several years ago, but had lime delivered to put in ponds so had 2 tons/acre added last year.

My phos was low and k high. These plants love phos so I did add 0-20-20 at planting.

That said, I’m not big on fertilizer and won’t add more to the plots above this next year. I will add for the plots I am starting in this mix for next summer. If you think about it, if the plants grow well and you don’t harvest like a crop, all of those nutrients stay in plot and decompose back into the plot. So after diverse mixing for a while, fertilizer is no longer needed. Also, the good plants mine specific nutrients, so the levels will actually improve over time. Most here have moved away from using fertilizer in regenerative ag fields.

The deer vetch likes moist soils better, and Alyce clover likes drier. It went exactly like that for me with lowland fields having way more vetch and upper ones more Alyce. Over time where both grow well and you get reseeding, people like Baker here (look up his posts and videos) have said the deer vetch will dominate long term.

The deer absolutely prefer the vetch over the alyceclover. In fields dominated by Alyce, they ate a ton of Alyce. In fields with both, they ate more of the vetch.

Hope this helps!

 

[Bobwhite]

Yes it does. I'm thinking about going with straight alyce because of our farm not having any lowlands and the vetch availability. Deep down inside Im really wanting to try a little vetch. Maybe I could order a small amount to test. I really appreciate the responses!

 

[omicron1792]

Yes it does. I'm thinking about going with straight alyce because of our farm not having any lowlands and the vetch availability. Deep down inside Im really wanting to try a little vetch. Maybe I could order a small amount to test. I really appreciate the responses!

Only place I’ve seen small amounts of vetch is Amazon. I think people buy a big bag and break up and sell. Might be worth it to buy 5lbs and try it on one plot. If drilling 5lbs of each is plenty. If broadcasting probably want 10 or maybe more. Seeds of each are rarely coated so you are getting true seed weight. You don’t want seeds too deep, and if broadcasting I would probably spray a few weeks before, get some decomposition, then spray again and broadcast. I had really good luck spraying with 4oz/acre of imox and 2quarts/acre of gly at planting. They start slow, and If you give them about 6 weeks of little competition they will take over and dominate.

Sharing on here is awesome. It’s my pleasure. I’ve learned a ton from the guys here.