Clover Plot
Whitetail Deer
Looking to establish a few Whitetail Institute Clover plots in Southern Alabama this fall 2015-2016. I understand clover is sort of a slow grower and plan to overseed with wheat and oats. Is this the best course of action or should I add another crop to the mix. Our bow season starts Oct. 25 and would love to have a nice green kill plot to hunt over in the afternoons.
mix radish, turnip, and mustard, these will keep the deer busy while the clover gets started, by spring the clover will dominate. down south here are clover grows vigeriously during the winter and will slow down during the summer. I think oats and other taller crops may shade out the clover. you may also want to chose other clovers to mix in, see what other southerners suggest for your area.
In East Texas, I have had really good luck with WI clover. Texas heat is pretty tough on it and it goes dormant in the coldest months of winter, but it really flourishes for 4/5 months in the spring and early summer and 3/4 months of fall and early winter. I usually plant it alone but I may try to plant it with a wheat/oat mix this fall on a new property I'm hunting this year. Good luck !
I appreciate the help! And good luck to you both this season
I like to keep my clover plots clover, when I mix it gets trampled or over grown by larger leaf mixes... I keep these plots seperate, but that's just me. Good growing!
Pat would u cut the clover in its first year if rye and triticale were mixed in ?
I would wait till clover had mature seed heads.
For those willing to way overpay for seed the imperial whitetail is what your doing.
You really don't need a companion crop with it because there is one in there....the berseem clover. The berseem is 35% of that mix. It is a fast growing annual clover. The deer love it and it allows the slower growing 2 varieties of ladinos to take off. The downside of that mix is...where is the seed? The huge amount of coating and then 35% berseem , means that if you plant about 8-10 lbs of that mix per acre, calculate how little ladino seed is actually going into the ground.
Yep some will argue coated seed verses uncoated but there is only 1 reason for the incredible push for coated seed in the industry. Profit. With so few growers left in the world and with supply and demand, this is what most companies are forced to sell to compete. About the only people hard core on the uncoated seed is those in the organic markets and the NRCS programs as all formulas are requiring "pure live seed."
I advise everyone to get educated on "pure live seed" and then look at tags of anything before you buy. Heck, many in the wildlife seed business i question if they really understand what they are buying and selling.
I'm located in north Alabama and have been planting clover (usually a mix of several clovers) and chicory. The summer is hot here and the chicory provides some shade for the clover so it doesn't burn up. Last year I replanted one of my plots with that combination and added some berseem clover to it. The deer around here seem to love chicory.
Nutritionist, What are your thoughts on the blend sold by Frigid Forage? They advertise "100% pure seed, no coatings or fillers".
It is difficult, but I pulled seed from dried clover heads many times, the seed is 1/64" or less ,1/4 the size of turnip or mustard, can't imagine people trying to calibrate a seeder for it, you would have to possible use a turnip or cabbage seed wheel , but even then you would be planting 4-5 seeds per, some people mix dry soil with small seed and broad cast it. 5 lbs of coated clover seed can't be more then 1/4 oz of actual seed. I think I got 1000 per teaspoon, but I not counting them.
What is a coating? And is pre-inoculated a good way to go?
coating has a few purposes , to pretect seed, some food for it, and to take up bulk of the mass in the bag. You can inoculate minutes before it hits the soil. and yes if the soil has not have clover for yrs it aid in the first weeks of growth. But it will grow with out it, just slower at first
