Planting clover question.

[HavocTec]

I have a little spot that would be great for a clover patch. Its away from my archery stands and would serve the propose for a camera area, to see whats around. My question is, what time of year does a person plant? And do you just broadcast it? Any help would be great thanks...

[brassman]

Well make sure there is decent sunlight, otherwise it will look pretty pathetic. (I speak from experience) You can "Frost" seed it but make sure you have plenty left to do another insurance seeding. Frost seeding is where the ground is still frozen to some degree and soon the be green-up. Otherwise I would just plant right before some rain and then hope for the best. It would be adviseable to spread some aglime in there but clover can grow in lower ph soil if it has to. I put in 2 plots last year in late july early august and the plant only grew 2-3 inches, but that was due to little rain. my best bet would be early spring maybe throw some more down a little later, broadcast with a simple grass seeder if its not a big area. hope this helps

[archerystud]

I've had pretty good luck with clover if the ground is wet. The other nice thing is that you don't have to seed it every year. Typically every 2 to 3 years is good.

I think Spring is best. You have moisture and the plants should be good to hunt during the Fall. I think you can plant clover later, the only problem I hit one year is that we didn't get any rain for about 4 weeks after I planted.

Read the labels or check HSOforum. Most of the stuff you will buy will tell you when you can plant it.

[Cooter]

I have a spot in the woods that would be great for clover IFFF it gets enough sunlight - I'm not sure but think I'll give it a whirl.

[Code-Man]

Cut some trees down now and then you will have a bigger gap during the summer.

[Cooter]

I would but its not my land and its surrounded by nice oaks.

[Code-Man]

I have heard of people planting grass seed in some spots where they wanted a food plot but no light. They planted Shade Grass seed and it worked great.

[brassman]

FIELD RYE, not "ryegrass" works well in less than desirable spots and will work well as an attractant, but don't let it get too long, if gets past 8 inches or so the deer wont like it. hopefully the deer will keep it mowed down. rye would also be a good cover crop for clover.

[brassman]

Friged Forage out of Onamia sells winter rye (the good stuff) for .51 cents a pound, at 20lbs per acre you are talking about ~10 dollars, cheap and easy, Throw some ladino or if you can get it Durana clover in and next spring hopefully you'll have a stand of clover.

[Cooter]

I've grown rye in the spot for several years - grows just fine but doesn't provide much of a draw during bow season for me.

I'm competing with corn, soybeans, acorns, apples, blackberry leaves, etc.

[brassman]

Cooter,

I'm sorry to say that whatever you plant, it is going to be second to the agriculture around you, the best you could hope for is a late season draw like brassicas which hopefully will become attractive after harvest.

[Archerysniper]

ever thought about fertilizing the oaks so you get a better acorn crop that will draw them over anyting especially during bow season

[WaitForIt]

You will almost certainly need to lime, fertilize, and prepare the site prior to planting. A spring planting on a weedy site will NOT produce a good stand of clover.

What I would do is spread pellet lime at a rate of 1 ton / acre and 200 lb/acre of 13-13-13 fertilizer after the ground is thawed. Spray roundup as soon as weeds are 6-8" inches tall. Repeat at the end of june / mid july. For this year, plant a mix of rye GRAIN (not grass) and a mix of clover. The rye will grow and attract the deer and take pressure off the clover.

Next spring, when the day temps are 40 and night temps are below freezing, broadcast clover at 1/2 the recommended rate - this is called frost seeding.

Next spring/summer you'll have a great lush clover plot. Don't try to shortcut this process.

A soil test is a good idea for a long-term plot. You may also want to add chicory to the clover as it is drought-tolerant and clover will wilt away in a bad drought.