I am new to food plot management. I planted about 1// acre of clover last spring and it can in pretty sparse after following the fertilizer requirements for my plot and liberally spreading of clover.
It was over run by Japanese Siltgrass this spring and so I mowed it for the first time and purchased clendethom and non ionic surfactant.r
Can / should I apply the herbicide now in late August or wait? Trying to get on a proper schedule. Thanks for any help,
forget about fertilizer. Get the pH right to start. Don't plant clover in the spring. You will have a constant battle with weeds. Plant buckwheat in the spring. It is a fast grower and can outcompete many weeds. It has low fertility requirements and is good for the soil, deer use it, and turkey love the seeds. This will smother many summer weeds.
Then in the fall, plant your perennial clover with about 100lbs/ac of Winter Rye as a nurse crop. Perennial clover takes time to put down a good root system. The winter rye will be your attractant for deer in the fall. You may or may not get some clover germination. The following spring, each time the WR get to about 18", mow it back to about 8". This will release the clover to the sun. It keeps the WR alive which continues to help fight weeds. The Winter Rye will die naturally as the clover fills in the plot. By fall you will be starting with a pretty clean clover plot.
Clover fixes its own nitrogen into the soil. As time goes on, the plot becomes more and more attractive to N seeking plants like grasses. Unless you have a particularly noxious weed, become weed tolerant. Many of the broadleaf weeds are as good or better for deer than the crops we plant. As long as you have a healthy mix of weed infiltrating the plot over time, ignore them. You can mow right before the season when evenings get cool and you get rain and the clover will rebound.
Perennial clover plots are good for 5-10 years depending on the variety of clover you plant. When you start to have more weeds than clover in the fall after mowing and letting the clover rebound, it is time to start over. You don't want to immediately plant another clover plot. Instead rotate to an N seeking crop like sorghum, sunflowers, corn, or the like. This will use up a lot of the N and the plot will be ready for clover again.
Soils tests are important especially for getting pH correct, but fertilizer recommendations are for farmers, not food plotters! Farmers harvest crops and remove nutrients from the soil. We do not. Deer leave most of the nutrients behind in droppings. Minimizing or eliminating tillage and maintaining good organic matter (OM) is important. Selecting a good mix of complementary crops reduces or eliminates the need for commercial fertilizers. Avoid monocultures and use mixes and rotation.
Have great fun and welcome to the community!
