Chicory and Cold Temps

[useyourbow]

My plots of clover, daikon radish and chicory are doing awesome. Lush, green and thick. I know what to expect with the clover and the radish as winter progresses but how will the chicory do after below freezing temps?

 

[Mennoniteman]

Mine always kinda disappears right along with my clover. But it's mixed in with the clover, don't know if it would make a difference if the chicory was a separate planting.

 

[j-bird]

Chicory here never lasts that long....once the cool air comes in the deer eat every leaf of it they can find on my place. Seriously - now that I have had some good frosts....you will be hard pressed to see it on my place where it hasn't been chewed off. if i was a more dedicated bow hunter I would be tempted to plant a plot just of it to see how it did and how the deer reacted to it. It's a perennial so I would look for it to stay fairly green but I doubt it will stand. It will bounce back come spring.

 

[Baker]

In the deep south chicory overwinters just fine. Growth slows but it stays green and palatable. I see primary grazing pressure thru the summer and especially late summer if droughty. In dry times it can be the best game in town. Here at least there are lots of other preferred cultivars in winter.
I did see a doe eating chicory ...along with everything else ...just last week.

 

[Chainsaw]

We had our first hard frost of the year last night and tomorrow the temp is forecasted to be in the low twenties. Up until now the chicory and clover have been growing just fine despite heavy grazing on both. I'll pay extra attention to it after tomorrow to see what effect the twenty degree temps have on it.

 

[Elkaddict]

Our chicory/clover gets hit hard until the snows pile up. I’ve watched deer repeatedly dig through 6-10” os snow to get to it before hitting the rest of our buffet. My sense is chicory gets hit harder in the fall than the rest of the year. I’m assuming it’s the mineral draw. For perennial plots, I don’t plant clover without chicory.

 

[cutman]

I watched a button buck frolic across two fields yesterday. He was looking for chicory. He stopped right in front of me and ate last years chicory and this years clover. I knew they ate it but that’s the first time I’ve seen a deer actively seek it out. Cool.


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