WI Steve

I planted a 2 acre plot of white/ladino clover mix a couple of months ago and it is doing pretty well and is now about 4 inches high in most places. However, I haven' t noticed much use by the deer yet but I see a fair number of deer using a neighbors alfalfa field already. Have others of you seen this? Do deer usually prefer alfalfa? Will the deer turn on to the clover more later in the year? Does the clover need to get taller before they like it? Now I' m wondering if I shouldn' t have just planted alfalfa to begin with.

greg-dude

I have not heard of anyone doing a side by side scientific deer preference comparison of clover and alfalfa so I don' t want to make a comment on that. here may be a few other thoughts.

1) The alfalfa field probably has been around for a few seasons and the deer are use to it as preferred food source. They may not have found your plot yet.

2) Check the surrounding habitat around your plot and the alfalfa field. The neighbors field may be in a better location then your plot.

3) Fertilization! The more fertilizer put down (up to a point) the more lush growth will be present and the greater deer preference. So who did a better job of fertilizing, you or your neighbor?

4) The alfalfa is taller then your plot. This will lead to more deer use especially by doe/fawns earlier in the year.

5) A combination of one or more of above.


Don' t give up on your plot yet. With less deer use now, the clover will have a chance to become establish. Keep it mowed and fertilized and deer should come. In a few years and if there is an abundance of alfalfa in your area, you may want to convert your field into a late year plot by planting corn, milo or something similar, that the deer will have accessed to when the alfalfa has frozen out. Good luck.

greg

Dan O.

The clover will probably get used more over the full year than alfalfa. Deer use my alfalfa field through the early part of the summer when they bed in it. If it isn' t cut they migrate to the shorter clover areas. The alfalfa is used because it is a bedding area, not because the deer prefer to eat it.

greg-dude is right about other factors affecting the clover use. You may plant something else and get the same results.

Dan O.

WI Steve

Gred-dude I don' t believe it would be any of the reasons you mentioned because we have had alfalfa in this same plot other years and deer used it heavily and it is located close to good cover. Also, the neighbors alfalfa field isn' t even that prime, it is about 5 years old, has a fair number of grasses and weeds mixed in it and hasn' t been fertilized for several years. As far as the neighbor' s alfalfa being taller, yes it is but it' s only about 8" , and I' m seeing mostly buck use in it.
Dan O., if your alfalfa is cut so as to maintain fresh growth do the deer still seem to migrate to the clover later? I can understand why they would if the alfalfa isn' t cut because the alfalfa would be far past the succulent stage.

greg-dude

The above were just some thoughts. Seems to me you may have answered part of the question about which deer prefer most. In your area, it may be alfalfa. However, I would still wait a few more months before you make any direct statement. Here' s another thought. The weeds in your neighbor field may be a preferred source at the moment. I would still not worry too much yet and give the clover at least a whole year to see what the deer will do with it.

Dan O.

After it' s cut they feed on both the clover and alfalfa. As the alfalfa gets taller they migrate to it again for use as a bed. It happens to be the crop that grows on the crown of the hill where the deer prefer to bed.

Dan O.

lunchbucket

Usually there is no competition when clover, the right kind, is in the area. It would seem that your pH needs tobe checcked.

WI Steve

Lunchbucket, I had the soil tested before planting and the pH was around 6.5 if I remember correctly. Also, there was no fertilizer or lime addition recommended. The plot is on the lower end of a farm field that has been plotted for years. The soil is heavy and some what wet depending upon the weather conditions. However, the clover I planted, 50/50 mix white dutch/ladino, should be suited to these type of conditions and appears to be coming in quite nicely. Last year the entire field including the 2 acres I planted was on about the 5th year as an alfalfa field. The alfalfa was sparse with grasses and weeds mixed in and hadn' t been fertilized for 2-3 years. Yet I was watching deer using it consistently by this time of the year. This year the field is corn except for the 2 acres I planted in clover and I' m not seeing any deer use in the clover but plently of deer using the neighbors alfalfa?

lunchbucket

Kinda odd there wasn' t any reccomedations for any lime or fertilizer. Go grab some of the clover leafs and taste them. See it they are sweet or bitter. Are there any coyotes or poachers?

WI Steve

Lunchbucket, I tasted the clover and it didn' t seem bitter. I' m quite sure it' s not due to poachers or coyotes. The neighbors field is only a half mile away and it' s getting plenty of deer use. Have you ever tried a specific comparison of clover in one plot with alfalfa next to it to see which deer preferred?