Clover/Chicory
Whitetail Deer
Planted a White clover and chicory plot this year. This plot is in south GA. The Chicory and clover is lush about 6-8 inches tall with a complete food plot coverage. I have a camera on this plot and also a corn site. This plot has been in the ground since the last week of august. As of yet the deer have not started to eat either the chicory or the clover. I am getting about 1000 pictures a week off of the corn pile at the end of this food plot. So I know they are there. I have another food plot about a 1/4 mile away on this property with SUNNHEMP, iron clay peas and Australian winter peas. On that plot they nibble at the corn, but they graze heavily on the food plot. Guess my question is, was the chicory and clover a bad choice. Has anyone else had a issue with deer not eating it or does it have to get to a certain stage before they start. Felt I did enough research on planting this plot being something deer loved
They hammer mine in Tn.maybe a little cooler weather might be the ticket.Lewis
Chicory at times people report that the deer are slow to take off after. What variety of white clover did you plant? Is the white clover blossomed out?
Ladino clovers grow taller and are higher quality. The alsikes tolerate lower pH's and are of medium quality and white dutch are lower growing clovers.
Any clover or alfalfa that has went to full bloom is mature and consumption will be reduced, no matter what the plant height is. This is where clipping is very important.
If the deer are not hitting clovers, there might also be plant health issues, low pH soils or low sulfur levels.
The clover and chicory were both imperial. It has not blossomed out yet but about 5% is starting to flower. This plot was planted in a iron rock red clay soil. was going to fertilize but 36 hours after planting the clover was out of ground so I held off on the fertilizer. Its very green here right now and about 500 yards away they just turned about 50 acres of peanuts. I am hoping maybe after a few good frost they will pay it some attn.
The deer aren't hammering my clover/chicory yet in north Alabama. I have three small plots with clover mix, berseem clover, & chicory that are just showing minor browsing. There are so many white oak acorns around here right now I think the deer are staying in the oaks. These plots will see late season browsing for sure. Yours probably will as well.
Frost doesn't help consumption of clovers just brassicas. But then again there are things one can do to help consumption of EVERYTHING.....
The answer is: Have your pH correct Have a healthy amount of organic matter in the soil Use the right fertilizer for whatever your planting Have your sulfur and micro nutrients up to par Have fresh forage. Clip regularly, EVEN BRASSICAS Have a solid insect and plant diease reduction program Use the correct foliar plant foods for your soil
People might be skeptical on all the above but i was able to demonstrate this year with a product i invented how i can make deer walk into the middle of a clover field to eat the areas that were foliar fed. Next year i'll be in year 2 of that unique trial. Many of you have probably seen some of my huge brassicas that get eaten and clovers are the same way. It's really not that hard to increase protein, minerals, sugars and energies on anything you plant.
I planted chicory and clover in September- approximately 40 days ago. My plots look absolutely horrible. How much rain does one need for clover/chicory to establish well. We only had about 1 inch for the first 30 days, but have had 3 inches in the last 10 days (and I haven't been back to check).
Nutritionist, if this does turn out to be a PH or other soil issue. Is there anyway to salvage this plot in the spring. Can I add granulated lime over the top or what ever it is the soil may be needing? Or just disk it all in and start over with. The plot looks amazing. But I guess if it taste bad I wouldn't eat it either. Also this plot very well could have some over spray from a crop duster defoliating cotton in a field that's less then 50 yards away. however if it did it wasn't enough to discolor the leaves in anyway.
Top dress it with lime if the ph is low you should be fine Lewis
The plot I posted a picture of above had five does in it yesterday afternoon. I can see this plot from my house and about an hour before dark they showed up to munch on chicory. I watched them through my spotting scope until it was too dark to see.
My experience is that deer eat way more clover in the spring and summer than they do in the fall. Chickory, I don't know , because I only have it in a plot with other plants. Can't say what they are eating since there are three plants in the plot. My overall experience is they know what they want and when they want it.
Well guys I guess patients as always with hunting is a virtue. Pulled camera cards yesterday and had some really nice deer on the clover and chicory. a couple of nice 8 points and some does. Some of the bucks stayed in this plot for almost 3 hours. I was really concerned because I was guilty of no soil test. guess I dodged a bullet this time. but for sure will test on future plots. guess the good thing about them holding off on eating it was the plot had plenty of time to get established to handle heavy grazing.
To address DC...
If one has a pH problem the best time to lime with conventional lime would be NOW. Also for people who have low pH issues that require a higher amount of lime than one can either afford or physically get out into your fields the solutions are: Super Cal98 from www.calciumproducts.com It is a pelleted, faster acting lime.
One can also use foliar chelated calcium. I do custom blend some mixes with that in there. The calcium is absorbed by the plant and that also can be a cheap option.
A third option is a fall application of a food plot mix like one I invented that contains super cal and humics. Humics are huge for many reasons and it's a huge discussion topic in a book i'm writing.
Also the trick to making low calcium soils work is to increase the soil organic matter. This is why I talk up plot rotation, double and triple cropping. I want at least once a year to have some new organic matter included into the soil. This is how I can grow 5 foot tall brassicas on lower pH soils.
