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Photo by P.J. Perea
Once established, clover plots provide good long-term forage for deer, turkeys and many upland game species. |
Give clover the cold shoulder
Try frost seeding and let nature help plant your next sweet spot for wildlife.
With hot summer weather slowly fading into cooler temperatures, it's time to think about cool-season food plots for deer, wild turkey and other wildlife.
A clover mix is probably the best all-around choice. Clovers are inexpensive, easy, perennial and relatively user-friendly. And the best time to start a clover plot is in the fall.
Why clover?
Clover is attractive to wildlife because of its high protein content, which can exceed 24 percent in some varieties. Deer need protein levels higher than 16 percent during high demand periods, and native vegetation simply doesn't do the trick.
High-protein forage crops are attractive to deer and turkey during early spring when does carry developing fetuses and hen turkeys lay eggs. As the season progresses, high-protein foods are sought by lactating does, bucks developing antlers, growing poults searching for bugs, and adult turkeys replacing feathers. These nutritional boosts are necessary from initial green-up in late March through the late fall, which encompass the majority of hunting seasons.
Frosty the food plot
Other than conventional site preparation such as disking, seeding and cultipacking, frost seeding is another technique that can be used, especially in the North, to get small-seeded forage varieties like clover in the ground. Frost seeding is the distribution of seed in late winter or early spring when warm days melt the surface of frozen soil, but overnight temperatures refreeze it.
When the soil freezes at night it gets pocked and dimpled as it expands and crystallizes, then during the warmth of the day it melts and flattens. The shrinking and swelling helps work small clover seeds under the soil surface — basically, doing the planting for you.
Planting is about seed to soil contact. So, a potential frost seeding site needs to be relatively free of debris, which can be accomplished through close mowing, disking, burning or heavy grazing during the fall.
Testing, testing
A soil test is an important step that is often skipped, but it can tell a landowner exactly what he or she needs to prepare the soil prior to planting. Properly amended soil will grow tons more forage per acre, as the legumes are optimized for growth and protein production.
Once the seedbed is prepared, broadcast the clover seed when nights where freezing weather alternates with thawing days.
Best clover plot possible
Clover plots may last up to four years with proper weed control and mowing. Here are a few more tips for optimizing your clover:
- Plant a mixture of white Dutch, regal ladino and red clover between late-February and early-March. Keep in mind white Dutch does not do well on dry, sunny sites but will prosper in shadier areas.
- All legume seed must be inoculated prior to planting or purchased pre-inoculated. Inoculants are live bacteria that attach to the roots of legumes and assist in nitrogen fixation. Be sure to purchase the correct inoculant for the species. Do not expose the inoculant to extreme temperatures or use after the expiration date, and follow package directions carefully when applying the inoculant to the seed. Allow the seed to dry in the shade before planting.
- In April, add 100 pounds per acre of 10-20-20 fertilizer.
- In August, add 400 pounds per acre of 0-20-20 fertilizer or 100 pounds per acre each month from May through August. Clover makes its own nitrogen. Supplementing it with nitrogen out of a bag only makes the weeds happy.
- Mow plots in June and September to control weeds and maintain plant succulence.
- The herbicide you use depends on the type of weed plaguing your plot. Check with local Cooperative Extension office for advice, and always read herbicide labels and follow directions carefully for application rates and timing.
- Generally, if grasses are invading your plot, treat with Select or Poast herbicide at the recommended rate when grass is still less than 8 inches tall and before it develops seed heads.
- If broadleaf weeds are invading your plot, treat with Butyrac 175 (2,4DB) at one pint per acre when weeds are 2 to 6 inches tall.
— John Burk, NWTF regional biologist