Perennial Success?

Anyone in here ever been able to establish and maintain a perennial food plot in deep South Alabama? I believe I have a blend now that will persist for 3-5 years. My last component is going in my test plots this year. When it is all said and done, it might would be the most expensive seed blend ever. Here is what I have put together so far, please throw in ideas. Durana clover, chicory, white dutch clover (optional) small burnet, and birdsfoot trefoil. I am interested in using white crimson clover from Hancock seed. I had never seen that before. If it reseeds like crimson, but is more palatable it could be like a perennial.

If you look at someone's yard who never had it sodded, many are almost completely white clover, which I believe is Durana? Anyway, those folks aren't doing anything, and they can all maintain a perennial food plot in their front yards for decades. It's pretty amazing.

The white clover you see in peoples yard is white dutch clover. If you plant it intentionally its not quite as easy to keep going. Its a short clover, which is why I chose it. But being a short clover, alot of grasses will grow over it and shade it out. I planted three acres of it I guess in a new peach orchard and in our berry patch. It came up and did good, it just coundnt fight the grass back, mainly fescue. I have no idea why it will blow in and take a yard over but dont do as well when you plant it. I have about three acres of crimson clover that has been growing about 5yrs. All I do is bushhog it twice a year. Also have a little patch of chickory that has kept going pretty good, just bushhog it a couple times a year. Ive had fields of oats come back pretty good. But as far as a plant it and leave it alone, stay growing all the time perennial plot, not anything ive tried.

In my bigger test plot I checker board plant different stuff every year. I monitor use, growth, and persistence. Ladino clover dies on me every summer and does not come back. Durana did come back as did chicory and birdsfoot trefoil. I have small burnett in my plot this year. My white dutch did well by itself with weed control, but as you said jwalker, it does not compete well. Crimson clover reseeds itself so well it looks like a perennial. I want to find a plot mix that you just have to cut 2-3 times a year and add fertilize.

My crimson clover from my fall plots was dead as could be by mid spring this year.

How about adding a little Arrowleaf to get some growth later into the late spring/summer ?

I always like arrowleaf, apache or yuchi. I never have it spring back out the next year though. If so, maybe some reseed.

I have two 1-acre plots that are dedicated to clover.I try and keep them limed and fertilized and add new clover every year.They now have Durana, Apache Arrowleaf because it is more disease resistant, Berseem, Balansa medium red, and lots of Crimson which has been popping up for years.Probably more I cannot remember but over the course of the spring and early summer each of the different types has its time.I could do a lot better if I could be there at the right times to mow and spray.This is one plot 6 weeks or so ago when I was up last.





Unfortunately it looks like this now.But the clover is still there.

I just bushhogged my clover yesterday. Weeds were mature but hadnt flowered yet. Caught it just right. Ill bushhog it again when I start noticing clover sprouting.

We had a pasture that had ball clover, sweet yellow, and Dutch in it. It grew on its own. I never could replicate it in my plots.

That is just about ideal for deer in my opinion.....

For cover? If you mean for food, what in all them trash weeds do deer eat? Serious question.

Both cover and food.....Out of the 25+ species that I've identified in and on the edge of my field....I've observed browsing on probably about 70% of them.....with maybe 30-40% that just get hammered like an ice cream crop. They utilize them at different times from early spring to late summer.....and at different maturity levels. as well....I imagine its probably based on their needs at the current time and the current nutrient content/palatability of each plant. It also varies each year depending on weather and rainfall. I've got a pic somewhere from about 5 years ago when we had a really dry summer and I had put an exclusion cage around a patch of teaweed. The teaweed inside the exclusion cage was growing out of the top of a 4 ft basket and outside it was browsed down to about 6 inches......

The reason I say that is ideal in my opinion is not only or the diverse amount of deer food that will provide them with more than just what the clover would alone....but also because the clover needs the other plants growing with it for the soil to remain fertile.....Its the carbon produced by the other plants that gets broken down into soil organic matter.....the clover provides the nitrogen to the process......without the carbon coming from the other plants then your running a deficit basically....Any soil OM that's present when you start eventually goes through complete decomposition process and disappears because its not being replaced....It keeps decreasing until you bottom out.....all the while nature tries harder and harder to bring back in those carbon producing grasses and broadleafs and the food plotter finds themselves fighting it more and more.

Cover and food. I see a lot of ragweed in that photo which is a preferred deer browse and has very high crude protein.

When Dr Grant Woods lets everyone in on the secret that Deer eat Kudzu I'm going straight to his house and kick that dumbarse right in his the nuts so hard he'll be wearing them as a necklace.

What does a deer eat.... let's see Beggars Lice. Ragweed. All kinds of stuff. Green Briar in the winter. All true and accurate. No doubt.

Why not plant a huge patch of Green Briar and just hunt over that. Instant Food Plot.

Right? That's coming.

There are some astronomically stupid things being thrown around within the QDMA crowd. Most seem to have Grant Woods name attached to them. He is the Dr Fauci of Deer Hunting.

I drilled around 10 miles of roads with ladino ten to thirty wide six years ago and lime it every few years, fertilize twice a year . One of the best things we have done. We’re on flat prairie that used to be farm land se we already had a good seed bank to start with. Ladino sure likes the shade.

LMFAO.

If you could get out there and mow it weekly like homeowners do you'd get a fine stand of clover eventually. That's what makes those yards (and pastures) full of beneficial clovers exist, the constant act of mowing the grass down so the clover can thrive.

Here’s the pic of the patch of teaweed I mentioned earlier. The exclusion cages are on the tall stuff in the back. You can see just how much they were actually utilizing it toward the end of summer….This was right before we really turned off dry for a while if I remember correctly….The teaweed held up well for quite awhile….That’s one of advantages to most of these plants…..they’re much more tolerant of things like drought and browsing pressure…..When you get a chance, take a look at the nutrient content of teaweed. It’s pretty dang close to that of a soybean. I’ve got pretty good abundance of it growing around my fields now. This was one reason I made the comment in the deer feeding thread about trying to determine what nutrients, if any, the deer are actually lacking. If they’ve got plenty of high quality forage such as this to eat then they may not really be lacking.

Something to consider as well in this discussion is that the plant species will change over time as the soil conditions change. If you’ve depleted your soil organic matter then you’re likely gonna see a lot of the pioneer species who’s job is to come in and repair the soil by covering it over with thatch, reestablishing root channels, produce lots of carbon, etc..etc…..Many of these plants will be the ones you guys call the nastiest and worst ones. As the soil improves though and things begin change…..much more preferred species will begin to establish ……Again here is the pic of the teaweed….

You sure that’s prickly sida? Or teaweed as you call it?

Thanks CNC.

I'm pretty sure that's what it is.........

Yes sir.......just trying to balance out all of the yin with a little yang....

Prickly sida or teaweed has yellow flowers. Not pink or purple

Looks yellow to me.......

Amongst the other weedy shucks I guess. A yellow zoomed in flower around 500 pink. Learn your weeds.

Those are dried out seed heads that have already bloomed.....the pic may distort it a little but they're actually grey.....look back at the first pic and you'll clearly see that unless maybe you're color blind

I’m reminded of that scene in Tombstone where Wyatt Earp walks into in the high end casino that’s nearly empty of people and Billy Bob Thorton is dealing farrow. The character Billy Bob is playing is………..ahh…..piss on it…..never mind….I don’t even feel like explaining it…..you’ll figure it out sooner or later.

“Christ almighty….it’s like playing cards with my brother’s kids…..nerve racking sons of @#!$%%.....”

That sure is some pretty weeds. However there’s no way deer on any land that I have control over will have all that to eat. No way my weed hatred would not let them get sprayed and killed. You feed your deer all the weeds you want, I can’t do it. I will spend my money on actually planting seed to grow food.

I used to keep may place bush hogged all spring and summer. But I havent in the last few years because I think the taller weeds give the turkey poults some decent cover and a place to get some bugs. Also still see deer out in those weeds browsing on something.