Plant now or late summer?

I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I couldn’t find it…maybe I shouldn’t drink so much Anyways..I have a small tract of land with 2 areas that I’m planning on planting for the 1st time this year. These selected sites are small…probably less than 1/4 acre. I’m looking to provide kill plots more than nutrition plots.

After soil testing, I’m planning on planting Whitetail Inst Clover. Should I plant this in the near future, or wait until late july/August? What will happen to the clover after a frost? My available equipment consists of a small tractor,disc,sprayer,fertilizer spreader.

Clover you can plant anytime. If you plant early you may have to mow it a couple times over the summer.

Pats right, you can plant clover anytime you have the time to get it done. If it were me I would plant it in the spring based solely on the fact that you would have more time for it to really establish it self, or replant if something goes down the shoots. You would need to mow it a few times over the summer if it really takes off. In my experience the least number of times you need to mow a clover plot will be the first year, just because it will take some time to germinate and then grow a solid stand. But your options are open to plant when ever.

From what I have learned from Bob and Qdm the sooner you plant the more trouble you will have with weeds. I would plant as soon as you can after you work the ground up and then spray the weeds that start growing. Good luck and have fun!

Tilling now will plant a hole bunch of weed seeds that have laid dormant in the ground waiting for proper conditions to sprout, tilling will do just that. Your best option would be go in now and break ground starting the breakdown of sod and root clumps, let the weeds grow up 8 to 10 inches then spray wait a week and till again, repeating this process afew time during the summer establishing a preium seed bed allow time for the lime to break down if required by a soil test.Then late june prepare and seed your plot.Being that it is a small kill plot that your looking and you want to use clover I eould lean towards Double Cross by W.I.N.A., or Trophy Clover by Antler King as they both have Rape pre blended in as a cover crop and a added treat to intice deer later in the hunting season after the clover begins to go dormant. A late summer planting ond fallowed ground can show huge results by hunting season and minimal weed compition reduce the need to mow vital tonnage down and enter the woods for no reason other than to mow. The next spring you WILL have new weeds that can easiel be takin care of with a shot of Herbicide(Bobs department )

Great point on getting a good weed kill first QDM, I guess I was kind of taking that part for granted in my response.

As far as spraying your plot next year: I know Bob really likes spraying his plots with a dilute solution of roundup and it sounds like he has good success with it. There are alot of other options you have though. Some of those being Poast, Poast plus, Selec 2EC, 2 4 DB (Not 2,4 D !!) and most available to sportsman over the count retailer style is Arrest and Slay.

Arrest is the same as poast and poast plus and it is a broad spectrum post emergence grass herbicide safe for your clover. It will not affect your clover so you can spray when ever.

Slay is a broad leaf herbicide that is safe to use on clover. Spray after your clover is at the second trifoliate, so when the plant is 2-3 inches tall or taller.

Like I said, there are alot of options depending on what you can find available. All application information is on the labels of the herbicides and are very clear for food plots on the Arrest and Slay bottles. Hope this helps

Thanks for all the help!!! Both of my sites are currently crabgrass that is very thick. Excellent point on the clover with rape. I was wondering what the deer would do after a frost with the clover…the rape should help keep them interested. Would it be overkill to also sow some turnips in this area when I plant the clover in June?

In regards to clover as a harvest plot, I see the best deer usage of it in september in my area (SC/SW Minn) then they start to really prefer my other plots. You can throw some turnips in. The only thing I would say is that with your small plots and 3 species per plot the deer could really motor through the turnips in a short amount of time. I guess I dont know when you are planning on hunting over these plots, bow, slug, muzzle? there can be big swings in what I would use as a harvest plot depending upon when I am going to be hunting.

Have you considered maybe doing one of your spots in clover like you first stated and the other being a blend a blend of brassicas? Brassicas in my area are what would be considered the most traditional style harvest plot along with corn and beans. Plants like chiocory, rape, kale, turnips, and radishes have been golden for us here. Time period starting in Oct and then going well after hard freezes. They then come back and nail the turnips and radishs in late season.

As I stated I see deer using clover the most around here in september, however, this pic was taken on Dec 24th and is a plot of 4 different clover species that buts up against a harvested bean field (right were that line is). Deer usage of your plots will also depend alot on what other food sources are available for them in your area.

I bow hunt…so Oct 1st-January is when I hunt. I usually hunt 2-3 days/week. I’m surrounded by corn/bean fields here in northern illinois. One of my proposed plots will see foot traffic as it is next to the shed where my tractor and other tools are located….does this make a difference in regards to species to plant?

You would need some pretty serious foot traffic to be able to notice an affect in most any plot.

My land scape here is a lot like yours in Northern Illinois where it is dominated by corn/soybeans and not much else for small grains ect. What I was getting at is you would probably find deer in the northern pine forests using a less traditional ‘harvest plot’ species like a clover a lot more and/or later because there is not a lot of other food sources competing against it. Where as being in an area that is dominated by corn, beans, small grains, natural browse, and acorns, the deer have many more food sources in general as well as sources that are going to become more desirable to eat at different times of the year. Like QDM said, having that rape seed in with the clover is what is going to pull deer to your plot once the clover has gone dormant. Thats because brassicas like rape really become desirable to deer after the frosts of the year, even in a food rich environment like you are in, thus drawing deer to your kill plot.

Maybe my experience with clover just isnt up to par with every one else’s in regards to it being a ‘harvest plot,’ or maybe you just really wanted clover so it comes up right away the next spring. But like you said, you are looking at a harvest plot, liked the idea of having rapeseed, and mentioned maybe turnips… maybe its worth considering having a rape/turnip or brassica blend plot; I think you would have a very hard time finding some one in the midwest who doesn’t see brassicas as a very solid ‘harvest plot’ choice. Don’t mean to lead your plans a stray, just throwing out some other ideas for you

(on a side note: the picture above is not what I see on a typical year, this is the first heavy late season use I have witnessed on my clover because my other plots got eaten out, but it also goes to show that there is no absolute concrete answer to some of this stuff)

I would avoid adding turnups to the mix because the deer paw them up pull them up and disrupt the surface inturn leaving open ground for more weeds sprout. There is plenty of rape in the mixs, you dont want to muchor it will totaly shade your clover out.

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I bow hunt…so Oct 1st-January is when I hunt. I usually hunt 2-3 days/week. I’m surrounded by corn/bean fields here in northern illinois. One of my proposed plots will see foot traffic as it is next to the shed where my tractor and other tools are located….does this make a difference in regards to species to plant?

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I don’t know how far north that you are in Illinois But My last lease was in Pike county. My lease was surrounded by a huge outfitter “HADLEY CREEK” and I think “EAGLE LAKE” I remember sitting High and watching 10-20 deer in their food plots while I was seeing very little activity Most of all the plots that they had was winter wheat or Brassicas, mainly Biologic maximum. Illinois is far enough south of us here in mn.so that what works here may not be the best choice for your plots down there. I honestly can’t make a proven suggestion for you based on personal experience. One thing I do agree with is that Clover is more of a nutritional plot than a mid to late season “KILL” plot
Given a choice I would plant a mixture of winter wheat and Brassicas in mid to late July. (no more than 1# of Brassicas per acre in the blend) Those fields will be green and very palatable all through your hunting season. Then next year let the winter wheat head out put some fertilizer down and disc it in. in 3-4 weeks you will have a great stand of ww with no added seed cost

Thanks for all the help guys. I really would’ve screwed this up without your guidance. It sounds like a late summer planting of brassicas is the ticket for me. One final question…If I experiment with one of my locations and plant a mix of clover/brassicas(ie Shot Plot,Double Cross, etc), after the first year I’ll be left with just clover..right? I would then need to drill brassica seeds or till the clover and plant brassicas.