Summer Plots

I was wondering when the best time to start planting chicory and clover would be. i want to build organic matter in my food plots, while also increasing the amount of protein thats on the property.


Is it possible to frost seed both? and will these summer stands be too thick to broadcast my fall blends on? Trying to decrease how much we till to keep weeds down, and as much moisture we possibly can in the soil.

The best time to plant clover, is after you've taken a soil test, then brought the soil ph to above 6. Chicory will prefer a soil ph at 6.5 or a little better.

The next best time to plant clover, is right now, but after you choose if you want a perennial clover or an annual clover or a biennial clover. Then you need to decide if you want to plant the chicory with the clover, which complicates the herbicides you can use, but it's done all the time.

First pic is 9 year old Durana, which surrounds my Keiffer Pear tree's. Only a few pears left, now. Chicory was planted with the Durana, but Durana covered it up in a couple of years.

Second pic is 5 year old Durana

These 2 plots, were both planted on October first, this year. The second pick is a mix of crimson, medium red and advantage ladino. The first is a pure stand of White Dutch clover (cheap), that I put down in a few spots. These 2 pictures were taken only 10 feet apart.

Some clovers take off well in the fall and get their root system established, for the summer heat, the following year. But all clovers (down here) benefit from a fall planting, but Mother Nature will only let her clovers germinate, when it's the right time for them. The White Dutch didn't germinate, till the soil temperatures cooled off a bit more.

To hedge my bets, against a drought hurting my plots this fall, I left strips of the 3 clover blend, and replanted my regular fall mix, in different spots. I sent out some taste testers to see what they had to say.

Then, I made an observation, where I left a strip of the 3 clovers and where I planted my cereal grain and new 3 clover mix. In the night, I could tell where the deer had been, by the dew, they knocked off the leaves. New wheat and "mix" on the left and old 3 clover mix, going into it's second year, on the right. I couldn't have drawn a straighter line between the 2. The 2016 planted clover won hands down.

Deerhunter12454 said:

I was wondering when the best time to start planting chicory and clover would be. i want to build organic matter in my food plots, while also increasing the amount of protein thats on the property.


Is it possible to frost seed both? and will these summer stands be too thick to broadcast my fall blends on? Trying to decrease how much we till to keep weeds down, and as much moisture we possibly can in the soil.

Click to expand...

Your best chances of success, will be a fall planting, for a couple of reasons. It will give the clover (and chicory) a chance to develop a good root system, for the next summers heat, plus, you will compete with less weeds, in the fall. Don't frost seed the clover or chicory.

You can see in "my" above picture, on "my" property, at "this" time of the year, that "Clover is King". I never thought I would see such a difference between the old clover preference over the cereal grain. But again, it's on "my" property ..... your deer may vary, so you've got to try different things.

Canuck5 said:

Your best chances of success, will be a fall planting, for a couple of reasons. It will give the clover (and chicory) a chance to develop a good root system, for the next summers heat, plus, you will compete with less weeds, in the fall. Don't frost seed the clover or chicory.

You can see in "my" above picture, on "my" property, at "this" time of the year, that "Clover is King". I never thought I would see such a difference between the old clover preference over the cereal grain. But again, it's on "my" property ..... your deer may vary, so you've got to try different things.

Click to expand...

Thanks Canuck! I'll definitely look into planting a clover plot or two and not mixing it. those stands look awesome

My white clover and chicory plot is hands down the favorite for my deer this year. I started it last fall and has been feeding deer all the way up to this point and it is going strong. In the future I will separate the chicory out and plant it in sections by itself just because it will allow easier weed control.