Innoculant costs I think $3.00.


My only comment is that I would never blend Red & White Clover. The reason, In order to maintain the plot, you will need to mow to encourage clover domination. White clovers are generally mature at 6" and Red at 16" - Red clover - can only be mowed once - maybe twice on good soil over the course of the year. if mowed more often with the blend - White clover easily dominates, and the red clover disappears.

Alsike, is a different clover that works better in a blend than Red Clover when mixed with white. It can be mixed with Red or White - but will peter out in about 2 years.

ditto what Farm Hunter said.

Clover cannot store/use Nitrogen from the air unless the correct bacteria (innoculant) is in the soil. Clover will grow well without an innoculant, clovers can and will use nitrogen in the soil just like any other green plant. The innoculant (bacteria) only function is to give the clover the ability to store (afix) Nitrogen, from the air, to the root noduals. Red Clovers, white clovers, birdsfoot trefoil, alfalfa, each use a different innoculant bacteria to afix nitrogen. The innoculant bacteria is easily killed buy heat and sunlight.

For a foodplot, innoculation may not make any difference. But, a properly innoculated clover plot, maintained for 3-4 years could store 100-150 lbs of Nitrogen in the soil. This could be a huge advantage in labor and $ savings when the field is tilled and replanted with corn, oats, wheat, ect. in reduced need for Nitrogen applications.

PopGun, We Olanted about 6 acres with it and it was reqommened to us to plant 3LBS per acre. We wound up with seed left over. I broke some ground in openings in the timber and just broadcasted it out. That did not come up.

Slobby, what did you plant and did you soil test??

PopGunWill,

I spent many years in the quality assurance area of a major coop and can agree there are many different varities of clovers, alfalfas, and other legumes. But I can also guarantee you that when any feed or seed is bagged in small bags and labeled for deer it is going to cost you double what the same product will when bagged for farm use. And they will be the same seed just bagged on a different line. If the seed they sell for deer was superior in any way they would be selling it to the dairy farmer too. Deer minerals the same story. There is no special limestone or phosphate that will make deer mineral better than any other mineral.


Ezzy

I reciently compared the lables on 25 lb bags of deer mineral, and purina horse mineral. The lables were almost identical. The deer mineral was $13.80, the horse mineral was $8.50. This is loose sandy type mineral mix, with less than 20% salt, and some flavoring added. After reading the ingredient lables very carefully, I bought the horse mineral. The deer seem to love it.

PopGun we planted a mixure of Huia an pitua New Zealand white clover. We did not due a soil test due to the fact that the owner of the property has been growing grass hay on this land for quite sometime and the ground is right. Evry 3 to 4 years he plows under and plants new. Just before he plants he limws the fields and he never has had any problem except mother nature when it comes to planting grass.

If I rember correctly he soil test the ground every 6 to nine years just to see if the ground is staying the same.

Sag, you can't assume minerals are the same based on what's on the tag. There are micro-nutrient packages that are not listed and that's where the difference begins. The other difference is the source of the minerals and vitamins. Some are digestable by the deer and some can pass right thru the animal without being used at all. At a conference we discussed minerals and one guy claimed that he could copy a tag from any mineral and cut the cost 30%. The only problem was due to the cheap ingredients most would pass-through without be used by the animal at all. Was he really saving money?

This forum spends so much time worring about saving $10 bucks, it amazes me. Count up everything you spend on hunting and then figure what you spend per year on plots and minerals.....it's so small. We would be better off drinking one less coke per day then we could have the best stuff and save money and be more healthy. How bout that be healthy, use the best food plot products and save money. I may have just broken the code.

Sorry COKE your stock is headed to the toilet. SELL SELL SELL

SlumpBuster to me it is not about saving money as much as it is about stupid with my money. If I am going to make somebody rich I just prefer it would be me over someone else. I will use the best stuff I can find. Now after saying that I studied and talked to to people and found what I think is the best money can buy. The stuff I use is reccommend by the MDC biologist, it is giving the deer what they need. That is what is important. If you compare my mix to the commercial stuff I believe iam giving the deer more of what they need than alot of the commercial stuff and alot of it is the same.

I do belive in buying the best stuff availible, I just don't believe in spending more money for it when I can by the exact same stuff cheaper.