Food Plot in Woods

[turkeyfan]

I have cleared out an area in the woods around a creek were the soil tends to stay a little moist what is the best to plant in an area like this?

[Racer 99]

Clover Blend would be my choice due to favorable moist and shady conditions with forest plots. As long as the water doesn;t hold for extended periods of time then you'll be fine. I'd do a soil test then lime accordingly now with adding some potash and phosporous. Around the middle of august, go back and sow the clover and you'll be good to go.

[turkeyfan]

What types of clover would you recommend?

[Racer 99]

TF,

I would stay with the white clover family. I would recommend using white (patriot), (will) ladino etc. These clovers do well in moist moderately shaded climates. These clovers, as do most clovers, will also attract beneficial insects that turkeys love also.

[Old Oak]

white dutch does well in high shade areas

[Hammer]

plant a whole lot of lime and white clover. Woods foot plots are tough.

[turkeyfan]

The plot does have 1 big shade tree in it but it still gets a lot of sun. I am more concerned with the moisture of the soil it seem to stay a little more wet this year compared th last year. But last year was like we lived in a desert. I was thinhl of putting in clover wheat rye and chiorey.

[rick243]

Pregnant Does feasting knee-deep on your Durana clover, Alfalfa, Birdsfoot Trefoil plot. I have 3 of these about 2/10 to 3/10 acre each in clearings left from a logging operation that were started in March 07'. I thought they were toast after the drought but they came back strong this spring. The plots have been mowed once this year and are in need of it again. It was a lot of work but well worth it. We spread 2 tons of pelleted lime and 1 ton AG lime with ATV spreaders. The Durana is durable and spreads faster than other clovers. This is an advantage for competing with weeds.
http://www.penningtonseed.com/section_images/forage/Durana_Stockman_ad1.pdf

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b192/rick243/Trailcam%2008/Doe8855.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b192/rick243/Trailcam%2008/Doe8862.jpg

[Al]

Nice plot Rick, was that a blend you put together or was it already blended in the bag? If it prebagged what do they call it, My computer never fully loaded the link.
Thanks

[rick243]

I just bought the seeds and blended myself. The Durana clover is marketed by Pennington Seed.

[turkeyfan]

Man that is an awsome looking plot for sure and I can bet it was a labor of love. I am waiting on my soil test results but I am almost sure we are going to need a lot of lime. I am going to plant the durana and patorit clover along with chicorey.

[rick243]

Yes I would bet you will need lots of lime. I like the pelleted to get it jump started as it is faster acting but more expensive. Then top it off with AG lime. I will use AG lime from here on out.

IMHO, It might be getting a little late in the season to start a clover plot. It might not have time to develop a strong root system before the hot weather sets in. If it were mine I would go ahead with the liming and fert. and maybe add a tad of Nitrogen and sow some oats or wheat. Then about Sept. disc it in and plant the clover along with some more oats or wheat for a nurse crop. At that time spread another sack of 5-20-20. I would also forget about the Birdsfoot Trefoil I used. It has low seedlng vigor and the Durana has about crowded it all out. The Alfalfa however is holding it's own so far.

[turkeyfan]

Rick,
I was going to wiat until sometime in August before I planted anything. Last year we just planted our seed without doing a soil test and it was a disaster. The only thing that really looked good was the WW. We planted clover, birds foot and chicory. I am going to take your advise and stay away from the BF this year and try it in a different plot later on. I am going to be getting my lime from a rock quarry for a good price so I was going to put it on a little heavy if that was what the soil test showed. What do you think?

[rick243]

You have a good plan. In my part of the state it would be hard to put too much lime on a plot. For our hayfields we have seen test results that recommended 5 tons/acre of lime for red clover/fescue. That's a lot when you are talking about 100-200 acres.

There is a big difference between "stays moist" and bottom ground that floods and is under-water occasionally. There is a type of clover that will withstand some flooding I read about in the QDMA book. If that is your case let me know and I will look it up.

IMHO again, an advantage of a woodland plot is that there is not a bunch of weed seeds in the soil waiting to germinate when tilled. The first few years you can have a nearly weed-free plot except for the tree sprouts. They are easily controlled with a bushhog. Good luck.

[longtimegone]

How did you sew your durana? I roughed up some ground and frost seeded the afternoon before that foot of snow we got layed on it...moon was right too:D I was quite proud of myself thinking it was the perfect set up. I had pitiful results but still have probably 7lbs left.

[rick243]

If the ground was loose when you sowed, the melting snow may have caused the seeds to burrow down too deep. This is one of the most common mistakes made when planting clovers. The best way I found is to prepare the ground with a disc, then cultipack or roll TWICE, then sow the seed, then one more pass with the cultipacker. You need good seed to soil contact on a firm seed bed.

[longtimegone]

So you are a born again Durana believer? Sounds like it came through the drought quite well for you. I was ready to write it off but your pics of that plot are beautiful.

[rick243]

I don't know about born again? This is the first time I ever grew it. I do know the deer on my place are eating the heck out of it. Here are a couple recent pics. This little feller is big enough to follow mama around. I strolled around this evening before dark trying to get a glimpse of him but no luck.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b192/rick243/Trailcam%2008/DSC05728.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b192/rick243/Trailcam%2008/DSC04249.jpg

[DearDoctor]

Rick those are great looking pics. What type of camera are you using over that clover?

[Swarm]

TF,

I have a spot in the woods here in SE Iowa that now gets only a couple hours of sunlight per day. All I did was rake the leaves off in late March, spread the seed by hand then ran my 4-wheeler over it a few times to get the seed to soil contact. I planted a mix called Sweet Spot (www.sucraseed.com (http://www.sucraseed.com)) and as you can see, it is thriving in the shade. The high sugar perennial ryegrasses and the white clover both will do well in poorly drained soil. The turnips are absolutely thriving. The forage in this plot is thick and lush and about 14" high after about 10 weeks. I used no lime and applied 30 lbs of 13-13-13 a month after seeding.

Swarm