Fall Clover Planting

[bowhunter1023]

I'm contemplating the idea of putting clover in my smallest plot which is adjacent to soy beans. I've never planted a full on clover plot and certainly not in the fall. I have concerned about it being an effective planting for this season. If there is not much benefit this year, I'd rather go with an annual and start fresh in the spring.

Thoughts on this?

 

[MK111]

Not a food plot expert by any means. But in 2013 I planted a crop of Evolved Harvest Winter Peas with clover. The deer moved in one weekend when the peas were 3-4" high and eat every plant. I seen no clover at all.
This late spring when getting ready to till it under I find 12" high red clover covering about 80-90%. What a surprise. It's filling out this summer just great.
I would plant a annual crop with clover in it and have a nice 2015 clover crop.

 

[Big_Holla]

Most say the best time to plant clover is in the late summer. You won't get much to speak of this year for clover but if you plant it with a cover crop like forage oats you will have a food source for this year AND it provides shade and moisture for the clover to take root. A light frost seeding in late winter and you will have a pretty good and weed free clover plot. The benefit for doing it this time of year is you will have less competition with weeds to contend with. That cover crop is an important step for the fall planting as it also helps keep weeds down along with that necessary moisture I mentioned. Forage oats will die out over the winter and not be any competition for the clover next spring.

 

[Buckmaster]

I would plant a annual crop with clover in it and have a nice 2015 clover crop.

yep, white clover lasts longer over red.

 

[MK111]

Most say the best time to plant clover is in the late summer. You won't get much to speak of this year for clover but if you plant it with a cover crop like forage oats you will have a food source for this year AND it provides shade and moisture for the clover to take root. A light frost seeding in late winter and you will have a pretty good and weed free clover plot. The benefit for doing it this time of year is you will have less competition with weeds to contend with. That cover crop is an important step for the fall planting as it also helps keep weeds down along with that necessary moisture I mentioned. Forage oats will die out over the winter and not be any competition for the clover next spring.

My 1/2 ac. plot of WT Inst. Forage Oats surely didn't die off over winter. It came up almost full crop this spring and I left it mature out, cut it down, and tilled it under. I have a great 2nd year crop up now.

 

[Big_Holla]

My 1/2 ac. plot of WT Inst. Forage Oats surely didn't die off over winter. It came up almost full crop this spring and I left it mature out, cut it down, and tilled it under. I have a great 2nd year crop up now.

That's surprising, every time we've used them they die out.

 

[MK111]

That's surprising, every time we've used them they die out.

It stayed green over winter even though the deer eat it off to the ground. Then when warm came in the spring it started growing and got 4' tall. Full heads of grain on each plant.
The deer didn't seem to even touch it in the spring that I could tell. I guess with all the new green plants growing there was no need to. Don't see any evidence of the deer hitting the 2 plots of same forage oats I have out now. With the 1/2 ac. I tilled under I only planted 1.0 more even though I planned on 1.5 ac. So I ended up with 1.5 ac.

 

[Big_Holla]

And those were the Whitetail Institute Forage Oats? I know there are winter oats you can get through your co-op that are like a winter wheat, you plant in the fall and it continues to grow in the spring for your crop.

 

[MK111]

And those were the Whitetail Institute Forage Oats? I know there are winter oats you can get through your co-op that are like a winter wheat, you plant in the fall and it continues to grow in the spring for your crop.

Yes Whitetail Inst. Forage oats. According to their advertisement a University had it in a oats development test but removed it from the test because deer ate it up. It's supposed to be sweeter than other oats. Sounds good anyway.
I can tell this that the deer flocked to it last fall and eat it to the ground. It did so well I planted 1.5 ac. this year. 1/2 ac. is volunteer with WT Inst. Winter Greens in it. I'm sold on the results.