Too late for clover?

[Chipdasqrrl]

I would like to plant crimson clover as cover crop before a fall food plot, but I'm worried that it might be too late for clover. Thoughts?
& If it's not too late, what are some things I can do to help it succeed? It's a 1/4 acre spot that has never been planted or tilled.

 

[H80Hunter]

I can't directly answer your question but for such a short term cover crop before fall I think buckwheat would be an obvious choice.

I don't see how clover will feed a ton of deer in 8 weeks.

 

[Chipdasqrrl]

I can't directly answer your question but for such a short term cover crop before fall I think buckwheat would be an obvious choice.

I don't see how clover will feed a ton of deer in 8 weeks.

What I'm mainly trying to accomplish by planting clover is to add Nitrogen to the soil. Feeding deer isn't much of a concern for this plot, this one is designed to be a hunting plot.

 

[Native Hunter]

Last year during the middle of the year I got an uncontrollable bug to plant something at one spot and didn't want to wait until fall. I did a kill with gly and did throw and mow with straight white clover. We got good rains and the plot established well.

By the time fall came we went into a drought, and the clover I planted in the fall didn't come up until this spring.

So by planting early, I did the right thing - but will admit it was just luck with the summer rains coming at good times.

Here is the plot a few days ago. I mowed it with a lawn mower a couple of days before this pic was taken. It looked even better and the clover was heading out the last time I was there, but didn't take another pic.

 

[Mennoniteman]

What I'm mainly trying to accomplish by planting clover is to add Nitrogen to the soil. Feeding deer isn't much of a concern for this plot, this one is designed to be a hunting plot.

I'd say it's a bad time to start clover. Any small grain type crop will start easier, scavenge fertilizer and cover the soil

 

[cutman]

If you want to add nitrogen to the soil in a short amount of time over the summer I would plant cow peas or sunn hemp. Make sure to use an inoculant and protect the plot from deer if you want anything to actually grow.

 

[swat1018]

You aren't going to get significant nitrogen credits planting anything from now until when fall plots are planted in northern MI.

 

[Chipdasqrrl]

Thanks everyone, I think I'm just gonna leave it alone until August

 

[Doe Shooter]

You aren't going to get significant nitrogen credits planting anything from now until when fall plots are planted in northern MI.

Crimson is great in a short time frame, but too short now.Frost seed clover next February for a nice spring flush for next year.

 

[Jason Broom]

Thanks everyone, I think I'm just gonna leave it alone until August

Is the ground currently bare or covered in weeds? You have the perfect amount of time for a single rotation of BW, which will feed the deer and the soil at least a little bit, while helping create a much better seed bed for your fall planting.

 

[Chipdasqrrl]

Is the ground currently bare or covered in weeds? You have the perfect amount of time for a single rotation of BW, which will feed the deer and the soil at least a little bit, while helping create a much better seed bed for your fall planting.

It's currently just weeds. I'll think about it

 

[Jason Broom]

It's currently just weeds. I'll think about it

Antrim County buckwheat being lightly disced in...before I knew that throw-n-mow is probably better.

My daughter sitting on the quad in 5' high winter rye, the following spring. We were planning to mow the rye and release the clover and chicory, but startled a days-old fawn when we walked it, so decided to leave it for fawning cover.

The clover and chicory didn't seem to mind leaving the rye standing...

I'm a BIG believer in buckwheat for a summer plot and rye/clover for a fall-to-spring plot, especially in the Sandy Land of northern Michigan, where the Fern Fighters face challenges many food-plotters couldn't imagine in their worst nightmares!

 

[bigbluetruck]

Sun hemp fixes N pretty quick IIRC, it might be worth a shot

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Chipdasqrrl]

Sun hemp fixes N pretty quick IIRC, it might be worth a shot

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I'll look into it. Is it easy to find sun hemp seed? & Would it help to mix something with it?

 

[bigbluetruck]

Green cover seed has it I believe, their youtube channel is pretty good to watch, lots of info