I wish every foodplotting hunter would read your post, planting a small grain into existing longterm clover plots is such a critical part of maintaining the C:N balance that determines what weeds grow, what sprays you need, what fertilizer is needed etc. This balance of C:N is very important, and can save foodplotters lot of money on fertilizer and herbicides.
Note on the chart below that clover hay (which already fixed excess nitrogen in the soil when it was growing) and grass clippings (which is what the average guy gets when he mows his plot to control weeds) are both too high in nitrogen, which is going to boost grass and fescue growth, which then chokes out forbs and legumes. The simple and easy magic answer to escape this
cycle of death for clover food plots is to plant a small grain like barley, wheat, rye, or oats into the clover plot. The small grain takes up the N fixed by the legumes and reduces the free N in the soil, the legume rhizobia respond to the low soil N levels and fix more N, resulting in higher overall N fixation and hence greater biomass, and raises the C:N ratio, prolonging the release of N to subsequent crops,
putting the clover plot into a long term cycle of life. In addition the small grain straw residue provides soil cover, protecting the soil from the elements such as heat, freezing, erosion and drought.
I'm still experimenting with some different methods of growing balanced long term clover plots and will continue to share results, I know Mark likes barley, but my two favorite plantings to balance C:N in clover for zone 6B are;
Early spring oats no-tilled, scarified, throw-n-mow, or disced into (existing or new) clover just before the clover starts to green up, I let these oats go into grain and expire on their own in midsummer, this makes early spring deer forage and turkeys and deer eat the grain into late summer.
Late summer rye, mow the clover short after the summer heat is over, and no-till or disc the seed into the soil, the seed needs soil contact and some light to grow. This rye will feed deer all fall and winter as the clover freezes, I let the rye expire on it's own, it makes for some great fawning cover in late spring.
Here’s a list of C:N ratios of crop residues and other organic materials. These can aid plotters in approaching the optimum 24:1 C:N ratio to maintain soil balance.
- Softwood bark: 496:1
- Sawdust: 325:1
- Rye Straw 82:1
- Wheat Straw: 80:1
- Pine needles: 80:1
- Oat Straw: 70:1
- Leaves: 60:1
- Corn Stalks: 57:1
- Rye Cover Crop (Flowering) 37:1
- Pea Straw: 29:1
- Rye Cover Crop (Vegetative) 26:1
- Mature Alfalfa Hay 25:1
- Ideal Microbial Diet: 24:1
- Clover: 23:1
- Fresh grass clippings: 20:1
- Rotted Barnyard Manure: 20:1
- Legume Hay 17:1
- Beef Manure 17:1
- Sheep manure: 15:1
- Young Alfalfa Hay: 13:1
- Hairy Vetch Cover Crop: 11:1
- Aged chicken manure: 7:1
