Clover Question
 

I picked up a new lease of about 700 acres that is pure river swamp flat bottomland. There are 6 food plots on the area. I don't think a cereal grain mixture will work well unless it stays dry. Would clover work better in that kind of soil? I'm thinking about a white/crimson blend.

RE: Clover Question
 

It is unclear what your goal is waterfoul or deer or turkey? What ever the other food plots are, go with that.

RE: Clover Question
 

Clover will not do well in poorly drained soils

RE: Clover Question
 

Timbercruiser; if it doesn't flood every year you should be OK. Otherwise you still should be able to plant smaller high areas that drain well. Clover lasts long enough that it's worth putting in extra effort.

Dan O.

RE: Clover Question
 

It probably floods every year, but I don't mind planting each year. I'm just trying to put in some plots that will graze deer from about Nov. 21 through Jan 31. The plots havn't been planted in two or three years and you can't tell what was used before. The area is very flat without ridges on the majority of the property. Very wet natured soil.

RE: Clover Question
 

timbercruiser; the attached link offers a nice breakdown of the different plants recommended in different moisture areas. It might give you some ideas for alternatives to just using clover.

http://www.ernstseed.com/Pricelist/SeedMixtures.htm

Dan O.

RE: Clover Question
 

timbercruiser; I was going to suggest that you might want to try some Bird'sfoot Trefoil. It gets flooded on my property every year and grows well. BUT; it doesn't seem to be a big deer draw. They eat it but other crops like clover are more attractive. Check the link below. It might work in your area.

http://www.wildlifeseeds.com/info/aeschynomene.html

Dan O.

RE: Clover Question
 

Birdsfoot trefoil and Alsike clover have thehighest tolerance to wet spring, lower PH type soils. Both do very well in northern climates, MN, WI, MI, PA, NY.

RE: Clover Question
 

TC, IF YOUR AREA IS RIVER BOTTOM AND YOU CAN GET THE PH TO AT LEAST 6.3, CLOVER WILL BE YOUR BEST OPTION. WE'VE DONE TESTING ON JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING AND IN OUR SOILS THAT HOLD MOISTURE, THERE'S NOTHING THAT GETS CLOSE TO CLOVER. IN FACT YOU ARE LIMITED TO WHAT WILL WORK BECAUSE OF THE MOISTURE IN THE SOIL.

THE CRIMSON CLOVER IS, IN MY OPINION ONE OF THE LOWEST CLOVERS FOR USAGE WE TESTED.IT LOOKS GREAT BUT THE DEER DON'T EAT IT, MUCH.

I HAVE HAD THE BEST LUCK WITH THE IMPERIAL BRAND OF CLOVER. IT SEEMS TO BE MORE HEARTY AND SO FAR MY BOTTOMLAND PLOT HAS LASTED 3 YEARS. IT DOESN'T FLOOD BUT IT STAYS WET NEARLY ALL YEAR.

I KNOW IT'S A FEW DOLLARS PER ACRE HIGHER. THE LAST TIME I PRICED IT, THE COST WAS ABOUT $5 PER ACRE HIGHER THAN THE OTHER PERENNIALS BUT FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, IT'S BEEN WORTH MUCH MORE THAN $5.

AGAIN JUST MY 2-CENTS. HERE'S WHERE I ORDERED IT. http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/

CALL THEM AND THEY CAN TELL YOU IF IT WILL SURVIVE THE FLOODING.

O

RE: Clover Question
 

huhhh? Only $5 more per acre? Where are you getting it that cheap?

I bought 50 lbs ladino this spring for $112.50, or $2.25 per pound, dutch white was the same price. At 8 lbs per acre, thats $18 per acre.

Just saw Imperial Whitetail Clover online 50 lbs for $260(free shipping), or $5.20 per pound. At 8 lbs per acre, Imperial costs $41.60 per acre.

At that rate, Imperial costs $23.60 more per acre than Ladino or Dutch white clovers.

RE: Clover Question
 

The Imperial Whitetail Clover sounds like it might fit our situation based on their website. Heavy, moist bottomland, 30" of rain per year and the planting season is right. I don't have time this year to get the ph tested and corrected, but I might try 25 pounds and see how it works. The downside to their product is the $145 per 25#, but if it works...............

RE: Clover Question
 

I calledthe WHiteTail Institutethis fall and bought 50lbs for 214.00. There was a coupon in the back of their magazine. I don't have their number but I'm sure it's onn the web. Tell them you have the coupon. I think it comes with a two-year subscription to their magazine. Pretty good read, and it's free. I'm supposed to get 3 issues a year. ONly one so far, but it was informative.

Ask for the Dvd, it was free to,it gave me some pointers on planting that I didn't know.

Mine is planted in a river-bottom, only floods about once every two years. They told me that it could survive underwater for about aweekto 10 days. Past that it was hit and miss. It's doing great now that we've had rain.

RE: Clover Question
 

Money spent on seed is the lowest of all the costs of creating and maintaining a food plot. Check with your local seed store or co-op for the best seed for your area. Specialized seed developed specifically for whitetails are worth the extra money. Most generic seed has been developed for livestock and will not be preferred by deer, nor does it have the required protien level needed by deer. Commercial seed companies have developed plants that cater to whitetail needsandyou can findplant typesthat will grow in almost any soil. Clover seems to be the choice for wet areas, instructions say that the soil should retain moisture well but not stay wet all the time. Proper ph is the most important part of the food plot equation, without the proper lime and fertilizer amounts, the forage will not reach its full potential. You may want to try some greens developed for deer, such as collards, turnips, etc. These work well and deer love them. The optimum time deer utilize greens is just after the first frost, this causes the sugar content to go sky high. Deer have a sweet tooth, they crave sugar loaded plants and will taste test different forages until the sugar level becomes high, then they will wipe out a food plot withhin a few days. Then they move to the next preferred food source. I wish I had soil adequate to plant deer clover.