Ugly Clover Plot

[Barndog56]

This is year 3 of a ladino and alfalfa plot. Broadleafs and grasses are getting pretty bad. No rain projected in near future and ladino is starting to get crunchy. Only spray I have is gly. Only mower is a rider that will cut at 3" on highest setting. What would you do?

 

[JohnL48]

Mine looks pretty much the same due to a busy schedule, I mowed to control the broadleaf and will spray cloth for the grass and hope for the best. If it doesn't come back I'll till it and put in some brassica. This is the 3rd yr

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[JohnL48]

Mine looks pretty much the same due to a busy schedule, I mowed to control the broadleaf and will spray cloth for the grass and hope for the best. If it doesn't come back I'll till it and put in some brassica. This is the 3rd yr

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That's clethodim not cloth....

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[Bill]

How big is the plot? Doesn't look huge, take the weed wacker to it on a cool day.
There are some spots that look thick with clover. Those area should bounce right back with rain.

Three years isn't that old. I just hit some of my clover with cleth today and some of the plots are over 6 years old.

 

[jsasker007]

Don't even put the deck down when mowing if that's an option. Weed whip works but just isn't as enjoyable. Drive on it with mower tires and the clover comes back stronger than grass---abuse it a little. Really light discing would benefit the clover also especially if the clover is ready to drop seeds.

 

[BC Buck]

Clearcast early Spring will do wonders. Use Raptor rates. I would just keep cut for this year.

 

[John-W-WI]

If the clover is crunchy I don't think I would do anything.

Otherwise I would hit it with a LIGHT dose of gly. Or get some grass selective herbicide and 2-4 DB.

 

[Barndog56]

Kind of feel like an idiot for asking now as Bill's suggestion is so obvious. It's only a half acre so the weedwacker will work fine. And I've used it on that plot previously. Then I'll hit the bad spots with Gly once we get some rain so the clover will bounce back.

Clover is all flowered up now, but don't think I saw a single honeybee in there.

 

[bbcoach]

Clover can handle lower doses of glyphosate not sure about the alfalfa unless it is RR. Break out the glyphosate at about 1.5 to 2 oz per gallon and get rid of the weeds. Get some 0-20-20 or 0-25-25 fertilizer and give the clover a good dose. I just hit my 2 year old durana plot with the glyphosate and fertilizer Saturday.

 

[yoderjac]

This is year 3 of a ladino and alfalfa plot. Broadleafs and grasses are getting pretty bad. No rain projected in near future and ladino is starting to get crunchy. Only spray I have is gly. Only mower is a rider that will cut at 3" on highest setting. What would you do?
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I'd do absolutely nothing. Looks great! Mine look much worse in the summer. Wait until the fall just as the weather is starting to cool down. Then wait until you have a good rain on the horizon, set your mower as high as you can, and mow it. You will be surprised how well the clover will come back in the fall with the cool season conditions favor it.

There is plenty of clover in that field. Deer are browsers not grazers. They will use that clover just fine. Many broadleaf weeds are just as good deer food as the things we plant. If you have a specific problematic weed, you may want to consider strategies to control it, but other than that you are doing fine!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'm with yoderjac on this one. My clover looks like crap every year (I never use herbicide on it unless I'm terminating it for rotation) and after a mowing it comes in great in the fall. My question is if you don't have access to mowing equip. why plant clover at all?

Personally I think clover is overrated. I have 6 plots and never have more than two of them planted into clover/chic. The only real reason I use it is because crops should be rotated frequently and for the N. it puts in the soil for the chicory (which my deer use more) and the N for brassica rotation. My plots aren't all that big. I'm in big ag area and although most of it is dairy production with most farmers planting little to none of their land in soybeans my soybeans still last into December.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I wouldn't be too concerned either. It wouldn't hurt to broadcast some clover seed into thin spots, but it's probably not needed either since you have a lot of clover flowers there that will be producing seed. I agree with S.T. about clover though - it's really not preferred in my area either, especially during the hunting season. They may occasionally browse it on their way to the soybeans, but that's about it. The only places I plant clover now are areas between my fruit trees that will never get sprayed. I just mow the clover/weeds there twice a year and call it good.

 

[yoderjac]

For me, clover is king. It is the anchor of our food plot program. It provides more deer food across more months for a lower cost than anything else. With the exception of the dead of our summer where our soybeans fill the gap. There are very few months in my area where clover is not producing for deer when quality native foods are lean. But everything is regional. In my area, I find attraction very overrated.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[H20fwler]

Looks like a good stand of clover underneath, sometimes the "other" stuff isn't a bad thing deer eat a lot of variety. Wait till early fall and mow it high.

 

[j-bird]

The last pic looks like what I call horseweed or marestail and at least here it is VERY resistant to gly. Mow to keep the weeds form producing seed and to keep the annual "weeds" in check, but many annual weeds are also deer browse. As for any perennial weeds those will require a herbicide to remove. Cleth will kill grasses, but not sedge so make sure you know what your trying to kill. I have had success with light gly applications over summer dormant clover and had it bounce back come fall. However it may wipe out you alfalfa. You may have to do spot treatments if the plot is small enough and then let the plot fill in.

 

[Barndog56]

I've got two weeds in this plot that will take over next year if I do nothing. Deer dont eat either of them. Took the weedeater to them today.

This one doesn't flower til late but gets pretty big and sucks up lots of water. Produces a ton of seeds when it gets to that point. Had to spray two horse pastures with 2-4,D to kill it off as neither the horses or cow will eat it.


This one the horses don't touch but the cow eats it like candy. It flowers pretty early and will keep trying every time I cut it.

 

[BC Buck]

The first pic looks like rag weed. Deer love rag weed and good for quail.

 

[Barndog56]

It's definitelt not ragweed. I know what ragweed looks like and yes my dear love it so I don't bother with it. Here's a couple more pics of it. Perhaps it's bull thistle? Second pic above is white cockle.

 

[Native Hunter]

Your weed is Knapweed. Probably Spotted Knapweed, but if not its one of the other closely related Centaurea spp.

A deer would have to be desperate to eat it.

 

[Bill]

Kind of feel like an idiot for asking now as Bill's suggestion is so obvious.

Ha, I missed this. I'm the king of missing captain obvious. Called my brother when I was in Florida because the boat wouldn't start. Cracked over but nothing. Brother says did yo hook up the safety tether? Dooohhh