[Killin'time]

Well my buddy and I took advantage of the weather and decided to begin prepping our new food plot. We have 2 late season plots on the property which we plant with winter rye grass, brassica, turnips, etc... Well we decided we'd put in a clover plot for an early season plot. Since it's been so cold, and we're starting from scratch we're going to wait until April to till and plant instead of frost seeding. Here's before and after from today.

Here's before mowing, pic from the stand.

Here's from one of the ends of the food plot, from the ground.

Believe it or not, my buddy is standing in the briars in this picture. that's how thick and tall the briars are!

Here's after mowing, from the same spot pics were taken on the ground. Sorry no tree stand pic of after as we spray painted the ladder stands before I could get an after pic!

Hopefully in the next 2 weeks things will start to sprout back, and I'll hammer' it with some glyphosate (Roundup) and kill everything, then a week or two later (Mid April) I'll till/lime and plant the clover! Yes, I can smell the backstraps on the grill already!

 

[DDX]

Not to pee on your parade but you are setting yourself up for a huge weedy failure of a clover plot. Its is near impossible to just mow a weedy spot, spray once then try to spring seed clover. The weed seed load in the spot in massive and all the briar and multifora rose you mowed will resprout after seeding.

It will be best to spray atleast 3 time this spring and summer and fall seed clover with oats in Sept (and add some turnips too). That will still give you an early plot, plus alittle late and then next year clover (but still could be weedy). If it were me I would do just what I said for 2 years then clover. Good weed free clover plots take lots of prep and patience.

 

[Killin'time]

10-4.. thanks for advice! Our first clover plot so it's a learning curve for us. Our fall plots came in really great, but then again, all the weeds were about done growing that time of year. I"m sure this will be a process.

 

[DDX]

If it were me, I would wait until mid-May, spray, wait a week, add lime and till/disk it, wait until end of June, spray again. Another tilling a week later is optional. Spray again early August. At this point you can either do a fall plot like rye and turnips and do everything over again next year. then next fall do clover/oat/turnip and by the following spring you will have a weed free pure clover plot.

Or you could try to do a clover/oat/turnip this fall if you don't have much weed germination between the June and Aug spraying but I would recomend the tilling after the June spraying.

 

[boyswillhunt]

Hit the tractor supply, 2.5 gallons of 41 percent gly for 50.00.
Scorch that earth!

 

[HomeintheWoods]

Or you could till and plant a heavy buckwheat crop. Of course you need to do a soil test and see how much lime to add and get that process started. Buckwheat will allow you to feed wildlife while adding organic matter to the soil. Then mow in mid to late July and till in the residue. Then go with the Brassica blend.
I'd also knock down those few white pine. You have plenty. The stumps will rot away in a couple years. Depending on what equipment you have you could leave the stumps high and push them out with a bucket.
Looks like good cover. Blackberry bushes ot multi-flora rose?

 

[Joe the Logger]

10-4 on nixing the white pine, they will just put dead shadow spots in your plot in years to come. Much better to deal with them now. I am currently cutting some 80-100 footers, don't do that to your grandkids, LOL!
Don't overthink a plot too much either, its not that tough to do a decent job. As mentioned above, a soil test (Penn State or similiar) is the first step to your plan.

 

[Michaux Hunter]

A Penn State soil test..he may have some connections.

 

[wildernessjournies]

If you decide to do it in the fall I would go with rye along with radish.This will hold up in the winter better.Also add some crimson clover to aid in attraction this year while the white clover is being established.Come spring you will have early greenup of rye to feed the deer and help shade the clover during the heat of summer.It will also shade out the warm season weeds sure to come.Deer will use it for fawning and turkey will love the mature seed heads.

 

[Killin'time]

UPDATE!!!!

Well here's the plot 3 months after mowing.. I'm rather impressed, and judging by trail cam pics, it's gonna be a "killer" plot!




Tree stand shot.. BIG difference from before we mowed it!


I used Oat grass for the cover crop to allow clover to fully establish. I'd say the oat grass is knee high, with about 6-8" clover underneath.








Here's a few trail cam pics from the past couple weeks.

 

[swpahoytguy]

looks good!