Chicory?
- Thread starter split toe
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Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Grass in clover/ chicory is easy; clethodim will work fine. Broadleaf weed control is also available but expensive, such as Raptor (Imox)
Here's your broadleaf spraying options for chicory;
http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/2006/poster/pests/4499_hackneyb.htm
And some good info on this site;
http://deerhunterforum.com/index.php?threads/herbicide-basics-for-food-plots.86/
Here's your broadleaf spraying options for chicory;
http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/2006/poster/pests/4499_hackneyb.htm
And some good info on this site;
http://deerhunterforum.com/index.php?threads/herbicide-basics-for-food-plots.86/
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Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
I intend to usually plant chicory with every clover planting. We have it in some of our clover plantings and the deer love it at times. It is not a staple like clover but there are times when they devour it. My only tip is to follow the directions regarding amount of seed at planting; it is easy to over do it. As Tap said it grows well in the driest of soil or conditions here. Actually there are miles of It growing here in the shoulders of the town roads.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
The stuff is useless. Deer won't touch it...........
The one thing I love the most about Chicory is that it never loses its palatability with my deer. I have pictures of deer walking up to a stalk 5 feet high and just taking 18 inches out of the top in one bite.
Keep in mind too that there is a heck of a difference between wild chicory and improved cultivars of forage chicory. The wild stuff grows here and gets some use but not like forage chicory. You can examine both and see why that is. Forage chicory leaves are much bigger and the entire plant is more tender than the wild.
My favorite way to plant it is with medium red clover - and the key is getting it thick. With a little luck the clover and chicory will choke out weeds so well that I can go an entire season and not mow it - yet, they never stop eating the stuff regardless of how big it gets.
Plant in the fall with grains and you can throw in a few brassicas - just don't get too the brassicas too thick.
Good luck and best wishes.
The one thing I love the most about Chicory is that it never loses its palatability with my deer. I have pictures of deer walking up to a stalk 5 feet high and just taking 18 inches out of the top in one bite.
Keep in mind too that there is a heck of a difference between wild chicory and improved cultivars of forage chicory. The wild stuff grows here and gets some use but not like forage chicory. You can examine both and see why that is. Forage chicory leaves are much bigger and the entire plant is more tender than the wild.
My favorite way to plant it is with medium red clover - and the key is getting it thick. With a little luck the clover and chicory will choke out weeds so well that I can go an entire season and not mow it - yet, they never stop eating the stuff regardless of how big it gets.
Plant in the fall with grains and you can throw in a few brassicas - just don't get too the brassicas too thick.
Good luck and best wishes.
j-bird
Well-Known Member
Deer here will eat chicory all year, but for some reason the cooler temps of fall trigger something and the deer absolutely hammer it then. I am actually going heavy on chicory in an effort to use as a early season bow plot. I will have chicory very visible in a clover plot and then in late october/early november when the night temps start to get cool - it's like the deer come thru and specifically eat just the chicory and in a matter of a few weeks its all gone! Having chicory in a clover plot does reduce herbicide use.....so keep that in mind.
shawn cox
Well-Known Member
That has been my experience also. Right when it cools down boom, all the chicory has been eaten. I am planting a bunch more this year for just the reason you stated.
j-bird
Well-Known Member
I tried planting a kill plot that was very heavy in chicory (4 lbs of chicory and 1 lb ladino) that didn't do well so I had to re-do it (my fault with weed control), but that narrow window of time I think a plot of chicory in the right place could be a real game changer for some. I am not sure the mechanism of what happens, but it is obvious that something happens.....and the deer notice. As such we have to make note and try to use that info to our advantage. Being observant to things like this I call "listening to the deer". The deer don't talk to us, but if we watch real close we can see some things that we may otherwise miss. Mixing chicory and clover due to them both being perennial and the chicory getting some N from the clover and the chicory being more drought tolerant makes it a very good combination. Just makes herbicide choices difficult.
shawn cox
Well-Known Member
yes exactly. That's the only drawback is herbicide usage is limited.
What seeding rate are you using for the chicory and red clover? I'm thinking about adding both to my crimson/arrowleaf clover to extend summer feeding.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
The following is what I plant in the fall per acre:
3 pounds chicory
10 pounds medium red clover
50 pounds of oats and wheat mixed
If you want to add a brassica, don't go over 1 pound.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
That would be sprayed and lightly disked. Throw and mow should be increased a little.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
This picture shows a strip of Red Clover and Chicory planted September 2017. It had oats and wheat but they are gone - deer just recently finished off the mature heads. It is being eaten hard right now, but I have low enough deer numbers that they can't put much of a dent in it - maybe 15 - 18 deer right now.
This has not been touched with a mower or any spraying since the day it was planted. Sometimes I am lucky enough to get a stand like this that is so thick that it chokes out all weeds and doesn't have to be mowed. It's nice when it works like this.
My plans for this is to let it grow and make seed, then in September of this year, spread a few more grains (and maybe a little more red) and mow it at about 10 inches high. It will be good to go again this year.
I will admit that sometimes I get enough weeds that I can't let it go a whole year without mowing. When that happen, just mow it high and take care of the weeds to keep them from seeding.
This has not been touched with a mower or any spraying since the day it was planted. Sometimes I am lucky enough to get a stand like this that is so thick that it chokes out all weeds and doesn't have to be mowed. It's nice when it works like this.
My plans for this is to let it grow and make seed, then in September of this year, spread a few more grains (and maybe a little more red) and mow it at about 10 inches high. It will be good to go again this year.
I will admit that sometimes I get enough weeds that I can't let it go a whole year without mowing. When that happen, just mow it high and take care of the weeds to keep them from seeding.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Why
Just curious why you go with red clover instead of ladino?This picture shows a strip of Red Clover and Chicory planted September 2017. It had oats and wheat but they are gone - deer just recently finished off the mature heads. It is being eaten hard right now, but I have low enough deer numbers that they can't put much of a dent in it - maybe 15 - 18 deer right now.
This has not been touched with a mower or any spraying since the day it was planted. Sometimes I am lucky enough to get a stand like this that is so thick that it chokes out all weeds and doesn't have to be mowed. It's nice when it works like this.
My plans for this is to let it grow and make seed, then in September of this year, spread a few more grains (and maybe a little more red) and mow it at about 10 inches high. It will be good to go again this year.
I will admit that sometimes I get enough weeds that I can't let it go a whole year without mowing. When that happen, just mow it high and take care of the weeds to keep them from seeding.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
My deer prefer red clover over any other. Also, it grows taller and chokes weeds out better. I do mix ladino in sometimes but always use more red than any other.
See the difference below: All that extra height and shading makes a difference with choking out weeds. Plus, it doesn't matter how mature the red gets, they will keep eating it.
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Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
My experience with Red Clover is the same. I'll also add that it grows quicker than the white. I still use a mix of whites when I know I might not rotate it out as the whites will last years with proper timed mowing. I occasionally see another difference. I see more evidence of deer digging through snow for the whites than the red. I've assumed it was a nutritional difference. When I have plenty of both on hand, I like to throw some red in with the white and vice versa.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I'm learning something here. We always grew red on the farm but I always planted mostly ladino for deer. So your observations are that it's a myth that red clover has too many stems and deer therefore prefer white? Also, how many years on average are you keeping your red clover plots growing before they start to fade out?My deer prefer red clover over any other. Also, it grows taller and chokes weeds out better. I do mix ladino in sometimes but always use more red than any other.
See the difference below: All that extra height and shading makes a difference with choking out weeds. Plus, it doesn't matter how mature the red gets, they will keep eating it.
