Best clover plot

[Mennoniteman]

Thanks for the great clover info. Clover has been my go to crop for the last 6 yrs of planting food plots. Started out with WTI clover and it's the best. Just frost seed my 3 clover plots with WTI clover.

I've also had good success with WTI clover, and other top producing varieties, but the best are also the most expensive. I think it comes down to how many acres is a person planting for wildlife, if someone only has one half acre plot I'd advise buying the best seed, lime and fertilizer you can get. However, with more acres the cost gets to be a big factor. I'm planting about 20 acres in 12 plots, and in my bigger fields that get terminated oftener I will plant bin run rye, wheat and oats purchased at the feed mill for $10-$20 per hundred to save money, VNS (variety not specified) clover, and ag beans rather than BOB seeds, also save money so that I can put out more acres on my food plot budget. I use ag lime or stone dust lime delivered bulk by truck is much cheaper than bagged or pelletized lime, but is harder to handle. Something I read on this forum that I haven't tried yet is to buy a 20lb bag of generic birdseed at Walmart for $6 and plant a food plot...

 

[Tap]

Noticed this is an older thread but it is a subject that deserves more discussion and exchange of experiences. Here are some miscellaneous observations and conclusions noticed about clover here and deer here;
1.The clover the deer here like the best judging by what they hit the hardest and spend the most amount of time in is the kind that grows in fields that are close to cover and are seldom disturbed by people.

2.Here wherever one mows a path thru a fallow field over and over again the growth will change over from many types of weeds to clover and timothy. There are times when the deer are seen more in those paths than they are on planted fields of the latest and greatest clover varieties and vice versa.

3.Some clovers grow better in zone 3 or 4 while some grow better in zone 6, 7 or 8 or whatever. To grow the very best clovers possible I have noticed it pays to grow the kinds known to grow in your area. The guys in the feed stores know which varieties they are.

4.The old saying that every dog has it's day certainly applies to clover. Keep in mind that every one of the new types of clover were created and kept because someone saw something special in their growth rate/taste/ nutrition/reproduction/takes heat, cold, wet or dry well or has great attraction to certain animals.. Thus one could say at some point in the year they are all good some days and on some days they are all bad somewhere but not necessarily in your plot or mine.

5. Every clover variety is unique to one or more attributes. Within a variety and especially after a few years the clover plants in a plot can be very different from the clover plants originally planted. The pollen from one variety lands on another and bingo we have a stronger or weaker variety but not the same variety. Thus if you plant any poor performers in your plot (garden) the poor performers become part of your breeding pool for future clovers in that garden. So to plant the best clover field it pays to avoid those plants that will be weak performers in your garden. Staying away from those is just as or more important than which ones are best.

6.Some of the quality food plot seed companies like Whitetail Institute and Real World package varieties according to where in the country they will be planted. These people study all the characteristics of clover and have even developed some of their own varieties. They really know their clover. There are other companies that I'd bet do the same and I don't mean to omit them but am just not familiar with them.

7. A small amount of chicory has shown to add to the overall attraction of our clover fields so it is planted in each.

So what I do is pay attention to observation number 1 first. And then I purchase great clovers of different varieties for my area. Each year I buy a fifty pound bag or two of a variety that works in this area. I usually have five or so different varieties which get mixed together and planted. Having the different varieties makes up for each one having various peak times and differing growth characteristics. Some years I will buy a Whitetail institute bag for northern plots or Real Tree bag for northern plots and use it as variety to mix in with my other known varieties. And as mentioned a little chicory is mixed in as well. Yes some of my seed will get older by the time I use it and may not germinate at as high a rate as when it was first purchased but I haven't noticed that to be a serious problem.
What I do not do is plant something that is known to grow well in another area but just isn't known to grow in our weather zone. If someone gave me a bag of clover seeds and the variety was unknown I would not plant it. I want to know that what I put in my garden will likely improve the clovers' long term effectiveness and not eventually diminish it.
Clover is expensive and getting a new plot started is a lot of work. Here the end of summer/early fall is the optimum time to plant clover and that is now the only time we would. And as Native mentioned annual grains are planted with the clover seeds. It's OK to throw in winter peas to spice it up for the first season.

Excellent post, chainsaw.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the difference in the digestabliity factor of different clovers. Cattle can digest coarse forages much better than deer can. Clovers that are lower in lignin are more preferred for deer. Coarse clovers are better for cattle and also for baling because it dries better.

 

[Lewi B]

Excellent post, chainsaw.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the difference in the digestabliity factor of different clovers. Cattle can digest coarse forages much better than deer can. Clovers that are lower in lignin are more preferred for deer. Coarse clovers are better for cattle and also for baling because it dries better.

Which clovers are coarse?
Am in the south so most clovers grow here.

 

[Tap]

Which clovers are coarse?
Am in the south so most clovers grow here.

In general, red varieties tend to fall into the more course category. That's not to say that there are no reds with decent digestibility.
I have to guess that most commercial deer plot mixes, if they're worth a hoot, don't contain coarse clovers. But a lot of us buy our seed from ag sources because they're usually cheaper than a bag of seed with a picture of a buck on it. Just remember that most ag suppliers are geared toward livestock forages.

When I first started food plotting, we went to tour Craig and Neil Daugherty's farm in NY. One of the 1st things Craig addressed was digestibility. We walked over to a mixed clover plot and he pulled up a red clover stem and a white clover stem and asked the group what was the difference between the 2. The group just kinda stood there looking at him but I chimed in..."The one stem is less digestible??". Bingo!
Sometimes we look at a pristine clover plot and see what we think to a lot of digestible tonnage. But it's not alway high in accessible (to the deer's system) nutrients.
Clover management also effects digestibility. If left to fully mature and isn't either mowed or grazed, it becomes less desirable and less nutritious.

And remember, just because a deer is eating it, doesn't necessarily mean they are fully digesting it.
I believe that the charts I've seen shows white clover, and ladino in particular to have a higher percentage of digestibility. And even then, it's still not 100% digestible. I can't remember ever hearing of a forage that is 100% digestible by deer.But I may be wrong about that.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Which clovers are coarse?
Am in the south so most clovers grow here.

The red clover family (and yellow&white sweetclover, arrowleaf, crimson/scarlet & alsike clover) is more coarse, its plants look more like a little tree with a thicker hairy stem and branches going out with leaves and is often used to make clover hay, but not for grazing cattle because of bloating issues, whereas white clover is usually only used for grazing. Red clover is easier to establish and makes a better soil builder than white clover. Red & Yellow sweet clover often grows wild and is an excellent food source for deer, but if not mowed, the clover stems get tough and the leaves fall leaving no late season browse.
The White clover family is more fine stemmed, and is great for plots, but harder to establish and not as good of a soil builder. Also called Ladino, White Dutch, Alsike, Kura, Durana, Patriot, Regalgraze, WTI, etc. it is thin stemmed with a smooth wiry stem and compound leaves. White clover is usually what's in the BOB mixes.
I will often plant a more expensive brand of straight white clover with a nurse crop on smaller 1/4 to 1 acre shooting plots, which I then will take better care of and expect to last longer, and do a mix of red, yellow and white mixed with a grain species on bigger 2-6 acre destination fields, which I will terminate sooner and turn into something else.

 

[dogghr]

No dedicated clover plots anymore. Mix in whites , reds , brassicas , grains, oats, peas in a hopper and spread it. Mow occasionally and if needed spray grasses every few years. Deer will thanku and u will save money and sweat on seed chemicals and fuel. My deer have not complained that I no longer have a magazine cover field of monoculture clover. And feeds all winter w early greenup in spring.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SwampCat]

I have found ladino/white clovers - Imperial Whitetail, etc - do not do well on my drier sites. Arrowleaf grows on the driest sites I have - but does not do well in areas that might become inundated. You will learn what grows best in the individual plots on YOUR ground - not someone else's ground - through trial an error. I have many times had someone tell me - "you need to plant "X" - it is the best thing you can plant". That might be the case on their ground - it might not be the case on your ground. Do what works for you. For me, I like imperial whitetail on sites that don't dry out too bad, non-south facing slopes. The imperial whitetail, once established, will even survive a month - or more - of total inundation. However, it will not survive through the summers and come back on my upland sites. Arrowleaf will. The arrowleaf is also a big, rank, ugly (to me) clover. The deer eat it well and the does love it for fawning cover. Durana also does well on the sites that don't dry out, but I have not had it survive extended periods of inundation. I plant about 60 acres. For me, simpler is better. Once I get the clover established, I plant wheat into the clover plots each fall. The light disking seems to rejuvenate the clover, the wheat provides a quick, bountiful food source in the fall and early winter, then the clover takes over through spring and summer.

 

[Tap]

I have found ladino/white clovers - Imperial Whitetail, etc - do not do well on my drier sites. Arrowleaf grows on the driest sites I have - but does not do well in areas that might become inundated. You will learn what grows best in the individual plots on YOUR ground - not someone else's ground - through trial an error. I have many times had someone tell me - "you need to plant "X" - it is the best thing you can plant". That might be the case on their ground - it might not be the case on your ground. Do what works for you. For me, I like imperial whitetail on sites that don't dry out too bad, non-south facing slopes. The imperial whitetail, once established, will even survive a month - or more - of total inundation. However, it will not survive through the summers and come back on my upland sites. Arrowleaf will. The arrowleaf is also a big, rank, ugly (to me) clover. The deer eat it well and the does love it for fawning cover. Durana also does well on the sites that don't dry out, but I have not had it survive extended periods of inundation. I plant about 60 acres. For me, simpler is better. Once I get the clover established, I plant wheat into the clover plots each fall. The light disking seems to rejuvenate the clover, the wheat provides a quick, bountiful food source in the fall and early winter, then the clover takes over through spring and summer.

"Planting by the compass" is another aspect that the Daughertys preach. Don't treat a dry, South slope the same way you treat a cooler and more moist North exposure slope.
I'll add that certain areas of a particular plot can be a lot more (or less) suitable than the area just a few yards away. I notice that the clover in the wide open areas of a plot that are exposed to summer heat is not nearly as lush in late summer when clover is starting to go dormant as the clover along the edges that get a little shade throughout the day.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Applies to chestnuts as well

Mine do better on well drained east and north facing slopes

bill