Clover

Bellasdaddy1611

Senior Member
So we basically have no warm weather food plots. We have supplemental feed year round but not forage other than when we burn. I’m thinking of converting several plots to clover and then planting part of them with brassicas for the late season food. My question is what everyone’s experience with how well do the deer eat clover during the deer season? I was always under the impression that they really don’t eat it much come fall.
 

Longhorn 16

Senior Member
Acorns are king in the fall. That being said as natural food sources decline the deer on our property migrate to the food plots.
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Acorns are king in the fall! ^^^^^^

I have several perennial white clover plots or plots with perennial white clover that I leave. A couple plots are moving into their 10th year.

My mix, for a fall planting is close to the Cadillac Combo, which is now keeping food in the plots, from Fall to Fall. I don't do warm season food plots any more, for a variety of reasons. The medium red clover is a biennial, which should last 2 years, if left. I am getting smarter and will always leave some of that MRC in a plot for the deer to use, while I work some of the ground up.

I don't do the chicory (perennial) or the AW peas, but have been adding radish and PT Turnips to the mix.

The does "know" where these plots are and during the rut, the bucks follow them in. Probably 70% + of the 8 point or larger bucks we took this year, were in a food plot or right next to one.

An interesting read on food plots vs supplimental feeding ..... http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/land-management/deermanagement_wt_202foodplots/
 

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Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
This is what was left of one of my plots in September of 2016. Medium red clover was still being eaten, then. Everything else was gone, so this carried me through, from one fall to the next.
 

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1gr8bldr

Senior Member
If acorns are heavy, then you will not see heavy clover usage. They still eat it, but not a draw. As far as my clover experience, this is the only time when it is not heavily browsed. However, it needs to be a good plot. Not a poor, half grass, half clover, that was bush hogged so that you can see the clover. That's for rabbits. Some clover types are strong in competition but not as lush for browsing. Durana being one of those. It will look good, but not be as utilized as other white clovers. Mt Baker subterrian, needing little sun is the same way. My plot was 3 acres. I need almost double that. Some times of the year, it's plenty, the clover catches up, and looks great. Other times, it's eat down farther than I like to see. It's best not to see the ground level. 3inch clover is in danger because the sun will dry out the dirt. 7 inch clover will thrive because the ground beneath stays moist. My plot where I usually have clover is now in BFO, however I will replant come fall. In past years, I would get over 1000 pics per week on a single camera pointed into the field. This is year round. Clover is the way to go....... even during hunting season, unless your neighbor has a BFO field
 

Bellasdaddy1611

Senior Member
What I have been planting has clover in the mix. I was down yesterday and most plots seem to have a very good amount of clover left. Do you normally come in and spray them with herbicides to make it a pure stand through the warm months?
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
"For me", I just let the cereal grains die out and fall to the ground, as you can see in the above picture. If, in May, I see grass come in, I will use a weed wiper with a mix of 50% glyphosate and 50% water and skim over top. Glyphosate will set clover back a little, but it won't kill it. The key to using a weed wiper, is to just go slow, around 5 mph and make sure you apply the glyphosate

If a plot is taken over by broad leaf weeds, we'll bush hog it. Other than that, because the tips or tops parts of the clover are the most nutritious, I just leave it alone and let the deer sort it out.

I don't get too wrapped up about weeds any more (unless they take over the plot). The deer do eat some of them, anyway! In the second picture you can see some grasses that over took a plot, but got nuked by the weed wiper.
 

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Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
The key, for a clover plot, is the type of clover you plant. Do you remember what type of clover was in the mix?
 

Crakajak

Daily Driveler News Team
Perennial clover is the beast way to go if you are looking for long term plantings.Annuals are good,but need to replanted every year.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
My question is what everyone’s experience with how well do the deer eat clover during the deer season? I was always under the impression that they really don’t eat it much come fall.

Acorns are king but if the mast crop is poor they will wear out a clover plot. Our acorn production was almost nil this year and my clover plot had been full of deer all season long.
 

Triple C

Senior Member
Clover is the gift that keeps on giving. I love it. I consider clover the anchor of our food plotting. I've had great luck with Regalgraze ladino clover. I added durana to the mix this past fall. Unless we have a full blown summer drought which we seldom do, deer will be feeding in the clover throughout next spring, summer and into the fall when we will over seed with grains.

Here's a pure stand of clover in a 1/3 acre plot that was planted with wheat as a nurse crop last fall. Looks like wheat from a distance but up close in the 2nd pic, you can see the base is all clover that was planted in early October.
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I had a couple rows of pines removed from either side of our main interior road in order to put enough sunlight down to support clover year round. This is planted in wheat and clover and will be a pure stand of ladino and durana clover after the wheat is terminated next spring. Leading out into the field from the road, the lower end of this large plot is planted in ladino and durana.
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This large plot has the entire perimeter planted in ladino and durana with wheat as a nurse crop.
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Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Triple C, your property and food plots should be on the cover of "Better Homes and Food Plots!" :biggrin2:
 

Bellasdaddy1611

Senior Member
Man those are beautiful!! I think I’m gonna have our limed this spring disced under and come this fall I’m gonna plant ladino and durana clover with oats or wheat. Then the next spring I’m gonna treat it once and hopefully it will turn into a pure stand. From that point I think I’m gonna start discing under 1/3 of the clover each fall and plant a brassica to give them a late winter food source. Each year I will plow under a different 1/3 of the clover And plant brassicas there. I was thinking this way the nitrogen the legume produces would be great for the brassicas. Thoughts?
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Man those are beautiful!! I think I’m gonna have our limed this spring disced under and come this fall I’m gonna plant ladino and durana clover with oats or wheat. Then the next spring I’m gonna treat it once and hopefully it will turn into a pure stand. From that point I think I’m gonna start discing under 1/3 of the clover each fall and plant a brassica to give them a late winter food source. Each year I will plow under a different 1/3 of the clover And plant brassicas there. I was thinking this way the nitrogen the legume produces would be great for the brassicas. Thoughts?

When you're sitting on your tractor, at the edge of one of your beautiful perennial clover plots, contemplating discing it up, you might change your mind. However, if you take a note from Triple C's play book, you'll see in his larger food plot, he's planted clover in the shadier part (around the perimeter) and planted something else in the center. Clover tolerates more shade than some other plants. That's what he did and what I do, so consider just planting the center of the plot, annually, if that's what you'd like to do, to give a little more variety to your deer.

BTW, many perennial clovers are hard to kill, unless you use a very specific herbicide, which is absolutely fine by me. If you let it go to seed a few times, you'll always have a seed bank of it, and that I am happy about.

Choose wisely, Grasshopper! :biggrin2:
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
BTW, I have Durana that's going in to it's 10th year.
 

Triple C

Senior Member
When you're sitting on your tractor, at the edge of one of your beautiful perennial clover plots, contemplating discing it up, you might change your mind. However, if you take a note from Triple C's play book, you'll see in his larger food plot, he's planted clover in the shadier part (around the perimeter) and planted something else in the center. Clover tolerates more shade than some other plants. That's what he did and what I do, so consider just planting the center of the plot, annually, if that's what you'd like to do, to give a little more variety to your deer.

BTW, many perennial clovers are hard to kill, unless you use a very specific herbicide, which is absolutely fine by me. If you let it go to seed a few times, you'll always have a seed bank of it, and that I am happy about.

Choose wisely, Grasshopper! :biggrin2:

Canuck...You got a good eye! The best clover in that large plot is a 30 ft wide strip up against the pines opposite side of that pic. Get's less direct sun during the day and mid summer, will be producing lots of clover.
 

Jim Boyd

Senior Member
Yes - they should be!

Looks awesome!


Triple C, your property and food plots should be on the cover of "Better Homes and Food Plots!" :biggrin2:
 

Bellasdaddy1611

Senior Member
We have several kill plots and one huge field that the landowner lives that we can plant sections of. I would say mojoraty of our plots in on the power line. I actually considered doing what you said as well. Plant the edge of it in perennial clover and the middle do something else.
 
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