Posted: 4/4/2026 1:16:01 PM EDT
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In four separate food plots, about 4ish acres total, I planted clover for the first time. There was some natural clover already, but I wanted more. The adjacent land owners have really kicked up the hunting pressure, and I'm trying to give deer and turkey a better habitat and keep them in my place. One field is an open hill, the rest are bottoms in between limestone hills. I had always just done ryegrass in the fall and fertilized with 13-13-13 so I was excited to try something different. I soil tested at the end of January and the hill area had a PH of 5.8. The bottoms were between 6 to 7.5. First weekend in February (our deer season ends on Jan 31) I put out 200lbs/acre of dolomitic lime and lightly disked it in. On the weekend of March 7 I re-disked lightly, cultipacked the dirt, and broadcast Ladino clover seeds at 10lbs/acre. Two weeks later I had sprouts. Our March had a cold snap and a fair amount of rain. Yesterday I lightly fertilized 50lbs/acre with 0-20-20. I dont want to risk burning the sprouts. I mixed in the remainder of my bag of seeds with the fertilizer because why not. Supposed to get rain today and tomorrow. In the next weekend or two I'll clip over the ryegrass to keep it from crowding over the new clover. So far I'm pleased with how it's coming.  4 weeks after planting seed. |
"I said,'I don't know how to vomit softly.' That's like telling someone to shit perfume."
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Nice! I try to keep some planted for the deer and the bees. I plant in the fall and need to reseed every few years Attached File |
| If your bottom area stays wet or tends to have standing water for periods of time like mine. You may want to read about balansa clover. Had planned on planting the Fixation Balansa in my field in the area that is part of my wooded bottom. Supposed to be able to survive being in water. Turnips and radishes will help break the compaction of the soil and turn into good organic matter in the soil. |
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Make some exclosures, circular fences 2-3 feet in diameter for different spots in your plots to help judge how much use they are seeing. Food plots can be fun, I think I am cutting down this year (I say this every year), but am actively opening up and pruning apple trees (I have probably a hundred on 115 acres). |
| I just overseeded a part of my property with white clover. Partly for the bees, partly to make a clover field instead of grass I have to mow every other week. Lazy, yes. I don't care. I live in the country and I'd rather have happy hives than hours of grass mowing every month. |
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Originally Posted By billth777: I overseed it every fall. 50lbs of white and 50lbs of crimson. It seems like fall seeding takes better than spring. That's what I have read also, I'll probably mix some more seed in with my wheat in September. But I wanted to try to have some already up this year. |
"I said,'I don't know how to vomit softly.' That's like telling someone to shit perfume."
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Out biggest clover plot is roughly 30 acres with several smaller plots as small as an acre around the property. In those we plant clover mixed with 10% Chicory. Adjacent to these we plant turnips, alfalfa, rape seed done years, and if we happen to catch a blowout at the feed store whatever “food plot mix” some celebrity is pushing and we segregate that plot somewhere and it’s just for giggles. Next weekend it’s time to refresh the salt and mineral licks as well. |
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Originally Posted By penrod72: Make some exclosures, circular fences 2-3 feet in diameter for different spots in your plots to help judge how much use they are seeing. Food plots can be fun, I think I am cutting down this year (I say this every year), but am actively opening up and pruning apple trees (I have probably a hundred on 115 acres). Several years ago I put in a food plot with clover and iron clay peas. Everything sprouted and looked good a few weeks later then it seemed to stall. It was about that same time I went to a Quality Deer Management seminar locally and the speaker mentioned the enclosures. I put some tomato cages I had on hand out in the plot and was amazed how fast what was inside the cages grew. The deer were mowing everything down as fast as it was growing, hence the perceived stall. |
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I'll try to get some updated pictures this weekend, hopefully I'll be able to clip again. Some areas are doing better than others. I've tried to keep everything clipped and maintained in these fields, but you know, life and such. I think our super rainy summer really helped. And I will be planting more this fall with the usual food crops. |
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Originally Posted By GravyLegs: Nice! I try to keep some planted for the deer and the bees. I plant in the fall and need to reseed every few years https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/455068/IMG_1592_JPG-3741183.JPG That's gorgeous. Worth doing just as a cover crop and for bees. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
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Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By backbencher: Is clover good for an urban lawn outside an HOA? Is it expensive to plant on a small lot? How's the mowing? That clover is too tall for an urban lawn IMO. The only "lawn" clover to my mind is the little white dutch clover. It grows very low. No taller than typical lawn gets mowed. My dad used to mix it in with bluegrass and fescue for his lawn. People now think that's heresy but he loved the bees and thought it was good to not have a monocrop. Edited to add: Here is a link to the clover I'm talking about. That is not a recommendation. I just grabbed the first link that came up on a search for the correct clover I'm talking about. There are a lot of clovers. Be aware these little clovers aren't good for heavy traffic, ball fields in the back yard for kids, etc. They are slippery when wet or when they get crushed. They are hard for barefoot kids cuz bees and wasps. They die back in winter if you live in a cold place. (They are perennial and will return, but you can't count on a green lawn all winter with this clover that I have seen.) I would not make my entire lawn clover.  Edited again: I see you are in Texas. You might be able to grow clover year round. HOWEVER, although it says "drought tolerant" that only goes so far. Just don't make your whole lawn dutch clover. You won't be happy with that I'm guessing. Maybe some of the Texas homesteaders can speak to winter clover in the lawn. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe