Clover

Forest Grump

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?

There's no need to disc the clover; if you want brassicas you can just surface seed radishes or turnips right into the clover. The seeds are very tiny & will come up when it rains without having to be covered. The clover won't release the N as well as if you killed it, so you might need a little fertilizer, & you would do well to kill the brassicas just prior to spring green up so they don't shade out the clover (either 2-4 D-B or Basagran will work without killing the clover), but they actually make good companion plants.
 

Bellasdaddy1611

Senior Member
There's no need to disc the clover; if you want brassicas you can just surface seed radishes or turnips right into the clover. The seeds are very tiny & will come up when it rains without having to be covered. The clover won't release the N as well as if you killed it, so you might need a little fertilizer, & you would do well to kill the brassicas just prior to spring green up so they don't shade out the clover (either 2-4 D-B or Basagran will work without killing the clover), but they actually make good companion plants.

I thought about that cause I have noticed that my turnips actually do better in area with some residual dead grass instead of bare dirt. I was just worried that sewing them in living grass without spraying them would keep the brassicas choked out to much? I live the idea of being able to plant them right through the clover without ever killing the clover. As far as killing them back off in the spring, I’m not sure I will have to we don’t have a brassica one left and they have dug all the turnips and radishes up and eaten them all as of last weekend. I never seen deer eat them this good that’s why I wanted to be able to plant them in the clover. I also realize we need more food even with year round supplemental feeding going on they wippee out the 6 acres of food plots I was able to get planted. So I was trying to get something they could eat most of the year and not be able to wipe clean out like the clover. My plane was since the clover I don’t hve to replant every year was to try and keep adding more and more food plots each year.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
Clover is the gift that keeps on giving. I love it. I consider clover the anchor of our food plotting.

Amen and amen.:cool: It takes some effort to get it going but once it's going some lime, a little 0-20-20 and some Poast and 2-4-Db and you're in business.

I screwed up and let milk thistle get to my Duranna a couple of years ago and had to start over. I'm on year 2 now and the results have been outstanding.
 

ucfireman

Senior Member
Question about clovers.
I know clovers do well with cooler temps. With that said how well will they do in filtered shade? I just had an area of hardwoods cleared of the under brush (mulched up). I left the big hardwoods. There will be plenty of sun hitting the ground and its in a flood plain area by the creek (stays cooler in the summer). I put out some Ladino clover that I had left over and want to plant more ground cover. I want to put some native grasses also.
So will clover do ok in a open hardwood setting? Or should I try something else? I did plant some crab apples. pears and plums in the more open areas.
Any suggestions on a native grass that will handle filtered sun?
 

1gr8bldr

Senior Member
Mt baker sub terrain clover will grow in the shade with hardy any hours in the sun. Deer utilization is not as high as some clovers.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
Question about clovers.
I know clovers do well with cooler temps. With that said how well will they do in filtered shade? I just had an area of hardwoods cleared of the under brush (mulched up). I left the big hardwoods. There will be plenty of sun hitting the ground and its in a flood plain area by the creek (stays cooler in the summer). I put out some Ladino clover that I had left over and want to plant more ground cover. I want to put some native grasses also.
So will clover do ok in a open hardwood setting? Or should I try something else? I did plant some crab apples. pears and plums in the more open areas.
Any suggestions on a native grass that will handle filtered sun?

If your pH is right clover should do fine in filtered shade.
 

HoCoLion91

Senior Member
This is my food plot, back side that is mowed down is clover, front is 5 Way mix of clover,oats, rye, wheat, and rape. Deer are wearing out the clover
 

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