Clover Planting Schedule
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Frost-seeding clover in PA is a late Feb through mid March type of thing.
Couple questions though....what is the current status of the plots and trails? Bare dirt? Grasses? Weeds?
Do you plan to spray the clover to help with weeds and grasses?
What equipment do you have at your disposal?
Spring plantings are tough (main issue is weeds). Depending on the answers to the above, you may be best to prep the plots and trails for a fall planting of clover with some oats/barley/wheat/rye for a lush clover plot/trail for the spring of 2021.
Couple questions though....what is the current status of the plots and trails? Bare dirt? Grasses? Weeds?
Do you plan to spray the clover to help with weeds and grasses?
What equipment do you have at your disposal?
Spring plantings are tough (main issue is weeds). Depending on the answers to the above, you may be best to prep the plots and trails for a fall planting of clover with some oats/barley/wheat/rye for a lush clover plot/trail for the spring of 2021.
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dad and have a small plot roughly 1/4 acre . when we do it we spray it with weed killer , 3 to 4 weeks before we harrow it under. then dad drags it with an old shaker screen. then we plant , fertilize , pelitize lime , then drag it again . then pray for rain. we usually do it mid to late August. hope this helps.
OAWC-It's technically the backyard of the cabin. Right now it is a mixture of grasses, clover, cover crop and weed. I planted a mixture seed last year, but it got overtaken by weeds until we mowed it and then the clover and see took over. The clover didn't get much time to establish before the deer took over.
So far we have raked the ground to break it up and remove all of the dead growth from last year. Since it is less than a 1/4 acre, I have no problem spraying it for weeds, but I'm not sure what to spray to kill the weeds, but not kill the clover. I also want to plant clover on our trails which are just bare dirt at this time.
My equipment consists of a mower, hand rake and backpack sprayer.
So far we have raked the ground to break it up and remove all of the dead growth from last year. Since it is less than a 1/4 acre, I have no problem spraying it for weeds, but I'm not sure what to spray to kill the weeds, but not kill the clover. I also want to plant clover on our trails which are just bare dirt at this time.
My equipment consists of a mower, hand rake and backpack sprayer.
Butyrac (2-4DB) will kill broadleaf weeds(not clover)
Clethodim will kill grasses
Imox will kill both broadleaf weeds(not clover) and grasses
RGrizz gave you good info on the spray to use on the clover. I have not used Imox, but cspot has had good results with it. I have used Butyrac 200 and Clethodim separately with good results on our clover.
For the trails that are bare ground - pick up some clover seed soon and let Mother Nature help you out with the frost. Take a look at the extended forecast and seed the clover (a little heavier than you would with a warm season planting) when there is still a week or two of freezing temperatures over night. The frost heaving the ground up and subsequently melting pulls the clover seed down into the soil for you. Then when the warmer temps allow, the seed will germinate for you and get going before a lot of other plants and weeds.
Do the trails get enough sun for the clover to do well?
For the 1/4 acre plot, I would spray with at least the Clethodim for the grasses (and maybe Butyrac for the broadleafs if they are bad) through the spring and early summer to see how the clover responds. Going that route might save you some time and money. If the results are not what you are looking for, then you could do a Labor Day time planting with clover and oats/barley/rye. Spring of 2021 you can mow of the cover crop and the clover should be rolling.
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OAWC and others gave you some good advice above. Also when you spray in the summer, I wouldn't hesitate to spot spread some seed if you have some spots with no clover. This way when the spray kills the grass/weeds the clover seed should germinate. The dead plants will help hold the seed and the moisture. I just frost seeded and limed yesterday at my camp in Ohio. Only difference is it was my front yard.
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Thanks for all the info guys!
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Planted clover last fall & want to frost seed mid March. I tried butyrac for weeds no luck. Is there an alternative I could use?
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Imox is what I have been using. It kills grass and weeds. Here is the thread about it.
https://www.huntingpa.com/forums/41-habitat-forum/272266-imox-herbicide.html
Make sure you read the label. If the weeds are too tall, it will be inefficient. Also, make sure you're using the proper adjuvants. I think Butyrac calls for a surfactant. Applying at proper rates is also key. Too little, and it won't work.
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Yes. Imox requires nitro-surf along with it. I try to spray mine about a week or 2 after I mow. By then everything is greened back up and is starting to grow.
CSPOT-Thanks for the information. I was trying to read the label yesterday and I really couldn't decipher what to mix up with the nitro-surf and Imox. What is the mixture for an acre if you don't mind helping me out.
Thanks!
Sprayer calibration is the real trick. There's no "mixture" per say. You'll see a lot of guys say stuff like 2oz/gallon. Beware of the advice from these people. I can fill my 25 gallon sprayer with a "mixture" like that. Am I supposed to drive 1 mph or 10mph while spraying? You'll get a much different coverage rate. The general goal is to know how much ground you get out of a full tank of your sprayer. Then add enough herbicide for that acreage.
The Raptor label is much better. (Imox is generic Raptor)
http://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/labels/Raptor.pdf
For clover - (grown for seed per label)
4-5 oz /acre (chicory 4 oz/acre)
25 gallons of spray - 4 oz Imox - 30,000 sq ft (5.3 oz/acre rate)
Apply when weed leaves are 1"-3" tall, when clover is NOT in bloom
USE Nitrogen (Nitrosurf OR AMS) AND Adjuvant AND Basagran(if necessary, sedge)
Adjuvants
0.25% surfactant (1 cup/25 gallons)
OR 1 pint/acre crop oil
OR high surfactant oil concentrate (0.5%v/v) (1 pint/25 gallons)
The Raptor label is much better. (Imox is generic Raptor)
http://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/labels/Raptor.pdf
For clover - (grown for seed per label)
4-5 oz /acre (chicory 4 oz/acre)
25 gallons of spray - 4 oz Imox - 30,000 sq ft (5.3 oz/acre rate)
Apply when weed leaves are 1"-3" tall, when clover is NOT in bloom
USE Nitrogen (Nitrosurf OR AMS) AND Adjuvant AND Basagran(if necessary, sedge)
Adjuvants
0.25% surfactant (1 cup/25 gallons)
OR 1 pint/acre crop oil
OR high surfactant oil concentrate (0.5%v/v) (1 pint/25 gallons)
So if I understand correctly, if I have a 1/4 then I should use 1 oz of IMOX and 2 oz of Adjuvants? I only have a 2 gallon sprayer.
That's generally correct, although most labels will specify a minimum number of gallons of water to mix into. 2 gallons is very likely below that number. It's going to be hard to EVENLY cover 1/4 acre with a 2 gallon sprayer. You might want to try finding a bigger sprayer. A lot will tow behind a lawn tractor and run off their battery. I started learning on my lawn, and then on our food plots.
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The other thing I have done with a small sprayer is to split your food plot into sections. For 1/4 acre you would need approximate 6-8 gallon. Lets say 8 gallon. Roughly cut your plot into 4 equal pieces so that you know that those 2 gallons have to cover each piece. You can use something to mark boundaries. Another thing I do is try not to walk in the plot prior to spraying. When I start spraying I can then see my footprints in the clover. I will spray from the edge of the plot to my footprints. Next pass I go from my previous footprints to the current footprints. This way you get better coverage. They also make dye that you can put in so it is easy to see what you sprayed already. Stuff is a bit messy though to cleanup.
You will likely miss some but the worst case is in a couple of weeks it will be really apparent what you missed and you can mix up a couple of gallon and go hit those spots.
You will likely miss some but the worst case is in a couple of weeks it will be really apparent what you missed and you can mix up a couple of gallon and go hit those spots.
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If you missed a spot then you never sprayed it the 1st time. :grin2: I read that somewhere to about 1 time per year (maybe Raptor Label?), but I also read that you can do it twice per year on the Imox label. See link below. Look on page 2 under terrestrial restrictions
http://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/labels/IMOX.pdf
Really appreciate the help guys! Still trying to learn all this stuff. I did find out my in-laws use Raptor on their farm for Alfalfa so I may be able to sneak a few ounces off of them since they buy it in bulk. I did think about buying a backpack sprayer so that would up it for me. Its a lot of work to make your backyard look nice and plot worthy, haha.
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