[Blackeagle]

Well, here goes.

3 years ago I planted a couple plantings of clover. The idea was it would be used by deer for food & pheasants & quial for nesting in. Hasn't worked out that way very well.

This is in good, although slightly heavy soil, I top dress the clover late each winter with 6-24-24 @ 250lbs to the acre. The clover is a blend made for deer called "Rack Master". Yeah, expensive but I wanted to make a good effort to include the deer. Worked a bit to well.

The deer love it, but they eat it down to the point that in the early spring it does my game bird population no good. The deer eat this to the point that I don't have to mow it. It did the best this year it's done to date, it got up to about 8" for a while in late summer/early fall. But this was a great year for extra moisture.

Heres my question. I could tear out the "Rack Master clovers" but then what do I plant?

Can anyone advise me on clover types that will still help the deer, but grow faster so as to provide some good nesting cover? I'd love it if I could broadcast it onto the existing clover stand, but will tear it out and start over if I need to.

Thanks!

 

[Liver and Onions]

Alfalfa for pheasant nesting & deer. Can't beat it, but it is hard to manage for the average food plotter. Have you been in touch with your local Pheasants Forever group ?

L & O

 

[Blackeagle]

To be honest, I didn't think there were enough deer in my area to do this. Heh, neighbor guy told me the other day he's really impressed with all I do for the deer, he saw ten in it the day before. And gun season hasn't been over for very long!

Alfalfa is a good idea, I can broadcast it over the existing clovers, and it should increase the tonage per acre.

Havn't been in touch with the PF guys yet. That's another pretty good idea though.

 

[Liver and Onions]

Forget trying to frost seed alfalfa. You need to start with bare ground. Also forget alfalfa if you don't have the equipment to make 2 cuttings per season and to get the hay off the field. Do you have a brush hog or Amish neighbors ? They might take the hay off the field for you. For pheasant nesting, make your first cutting just after the 4th of July. 2nd cut around Sept. 1st. From my experience, deer will hit the new alfalfa a lot more than the clover.
Buckwheat is another great plant for deer, pheasants, quail, & turkeys. I would put in a strip of this if you don't have any already. The critters will eat most of the buckwheat by Labor Day. Disc it under(or some of it) and put in field rye or winter wheat at that time.

L & O

 

[Luv2hunteup]

Clover plot is not the best cover for birds. When it's growth slows the deer will always eat it right down to the ground, at least at my place they do.

I see both ruffed and sharptail grouse feeding in my clover plots but both seem to find heavier grasses and blue stem around the outside more to liking for cover, at least that's where they go to hide when they see me out there.

 

[Blackeagle]

Liver & Onions,

Do have brush hog, no Amish local though.


Lov2hunt,

That is exactly what is happening to my clover as well. It keeps up fairly well through the summer.

But nothing much left for nesting cover by spring.

I wish there were grouse where I live, but that's about a 2 hour drive for good hunting. But pheasants are doing pretty well here.

I and a couple buddys shot 15 roosters over my shorthair this fall. Today's the last day of the late season here, perhaps we'll get a couple more tonight.

 

[SalmonSlayer]

My clover I planted this fall around labor day. It came up to about 2 inches and now it is nowhere to be found...every tender plant has been eaten to the ground by deer. Will this come up in the spring or do I need to start over? BTW, I got wheat and rye mixed in with the clover in the same planting. Wheat or rye is up, but not realy dense. what does young wheat and young rye plants look like? anything like grass? or am I having a grass problem?

Thanks all!

 

[Blackeagle]

Both the wheat and the rye do look like grass as it first comes up.

 

[Luv2hunteup]

SS

You are indeed looking at rye/wheat. The clover growth slows in the fall but your root system should hold up well through the winter. In the spring when the wheat starts to grow and get stemmy mow it down and your clover will take off.

Hopefully you planted annual rye and not perennial rye.