Failed Clover Plot

[struttingfool]

So I have another failed clover plot again this year. And I am not sure why? I have had successful ladino clover plots in the past but for some reason the last two I have planted have not come back the next year. Two years in a row. My formula for the two plots have been 6 lbs of ladino, 2 lbs of red and a cover crop of rye (both plots are about a half acre each). Both planted ~July 20th Everything looks really good come late fall, rye is 2 foot tall and the clover is looking good. Deer pound it during hunting season, dig thru the snow all winter. Then come spring, ground is completely bare and nothing comes back. Very few if any new shoots. The one thing I know about these two plots is they have A LOT of water on them during the spring. Clay soils and tend to not drain very well. I have two other smaller clover plots that seem to do very well and have kept them producing for multiple years. All of these plots are on the same land, same soil, planted the same way?

Thoughts, comments, suggestions???

 

[Jason Broom]

They could be getting drowned out, I suppose. Try alsike clover and aeschynomene...both are fine with wet feet.

 

[Kabic]

Maybe try adding some radish to help with water infiltration.

 

[dogghr]

Water may be your issue. Those clovers aren't real happy staying drowned. But before jumping on that...
You say browsed heavy. Do you have exclusion cage. May just not be able handle your pressure. I've thot plots were failures before but cage can prove you wrong.
Soil test? Maybe same soil but they can vary. Ph may be off and N can be needed on startup plot.
Location. Does it get sun? Too shaded?
Too great expectations? My clover sometimes doesn't come on real strong till late May. Later for you maybe
At any rate. You could still overseed w clover and prob get good result if these other factors are neg. Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MarkDarvin]

Did your rye come back in the spring?

 

[struttingfool]

To answer a few questions. Sunlight is not an issue, it gets plenty. Cages are not used. The reason I don't is because the other plots are not hit any harder than the new ones and I have to mow them to keep at bay. The rye did not come back either. I would really like to get one of the two in clover, its closer to the house and really don't hunt over it. More of a field that I can watch from the house and will provide something for the deer. But the main reason is I don't want to mow it every week. Any thoughts on a spring planting of clover and oats, Then over seed with winter rye and mow the oats in August?

Thanks
Strut

 

[Chainsaw]

All good posts guys! A ditch dug to drain water away from the field can reduce the amount of time the clover is too wet in the spring. Also the location of the failed plots may be near better cover than the plots showing regrowth and thus getting hit harder. An exclusion cage would tell the story as Dogghr suggested.

White clover is supposed to withstand some amount of water;however the natural clover of this area said to be Dutch Clover grows well in both wet and dry areas. From where I've seen it grow you'd need to really flood it for a while to discourage it. I have ordered a bag of Dutch for this season to mix in with the more popular other white clovers. However there is plenty of clover here doing well in very wet spots.

edit-regarding spring planting--It has always resulted in too many perennial weeds sprouting with the clover; not so when planted mid august.

 

[MarkDarvin]

Strange you didn't get at least some rye to come back. Only thing I can figure is the water drowned it all out. My plots are like that, and I couldn't find any rye at all this spring.