|
Post by smsmith on Jun 19, 2020 12:45:01 GMT -6
I've got a plot with a really nice, thick, lush stand of a few white clovers, red clover, and some alfalfa. Deer are in it most nights and mornings. The white clovers have been blossoming for a week or so now. What happens if I don't mow this plot this year? I did hit it early with 2-4db and was pleased with the results. Next year I'll need to hit it with cleth too. If I just let it go, what will the white clovers do? Drop their seed heads and start over growing? I've let red clover go before without mowing, but not white.
|
|
|
Post by badgerfowl on Jun 19, 2020 12:55:17 GMT -6
I had some white flowering 2 weeks ago in our river bottoms. I mowed everything except a patch that looked great. Wasn't too high (it's mainly white dutch I believe), tons of flowers. I wanted the free seed. I'll mow it eventually but I've never let it go a full season w/o mowing.
|
|
|
Post by nhmountains on Jun 19, 2020 13:11:14 GMT -6
If it were me Stu I might try mowing half of it just before a rain. That would stimulate it and you’d have half a plot if the rain didn’t hit.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Jun 19, 2020 13:25:05 GMT -6
My white clover, red clover, vernal alfalfa and chicory are growing really well and I only mow them if it looks like a bunch of weeds will be forming seed heads. I haven't mowed most of it this year yet and last year I mowed it as little as possible. The 4 varieties are still present in roughly the same % as last year, so I think you will be just fine. The white clover seems to do just fine.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Jun 19, 2020 13:26:37 GMT -6
I would not mow it during drought conditions just to mow it. Only mow if weed control is a must.
|
|
|
Post by sd51555 on Jun 19, 2020 13:41:19 GMT -6
I've got a plot with a really nice, thick, lush stand of a few white clovers, red clover, and some alfalfa. Deer are in it most nights and mornings. The white clovers have been blossoming for a week or so now. What happens if I don't mow this plot this year? I did hit it early with 2-4db and was pleased with the results. Next year I'll need to hit it with cleth too. If I just let it go, what will the white clovers do? Drop their seed heads and start over growing? I've let red clover go before without mowing, but not white. I mowed mine last year on June 8th at 11am. Never mowed the rest of the year, for strategic purposes, and I didn't have a mower. Never got wirey or lodged or nothin. Also wouldn't let a damn thing come up through it. I watched a wolf walk into it, and the clover opened up and ate it like a venus fly trap.
|
|
|
Post by wiscwhip on Jun 19, 2020 17:25:43 GMT -6
No reason to mow it, just to mow it, especially the white clover, and particularly when it has been dry. The seeds will drop and will sprout this fall. Some white clovers do produce hard seed, which could mean you will get a flush of new seedlings next spring as well. None of those are bad things. Alfalfa would likely "need" to be mowed, if any of them, and I doubt even that. The only issues I can see are if it were really wet and the plot got overly thick. Could pose a disease issue under the canopy in that case?
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Jun 19, 2020 19:39:40 GMT -6
Tonight we sat on the back porch and watched a 2.5 year old buck eat clover/clover mix for a couple hours (while the radio was blaring) For at least an hour he was within 30 yards. We'd talk to him, tell him to run away, etc. He just kept eating. Spent his time eating and flicking his tail to discourage flies. During that time at least two more bucks that were older (bodies much larger...neither of us had binocs) passed through further away feeding.
I think I'll just let this plot go and see what happens
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Jun 20, 2020 19:56:52 GMT -6
Got back to the house an hour ago or so after eating/drinking with my stepson (and his momma) for the day. Sat down, popped the top on an Old Milwaukee and looked out the window. The same 2.5 year old buck was eating clover in the same un-mowed plot. Message received...
|
|
|
Post by Catscratch on Jun 20, 2020 20:38:00 GMT -6
I sometimes mow some of the clover. Mostly just let it go. It will get well over knee high and even though I see deer in it every night it looks ungrazed... except for in the exclusion cages. Almost weekly the blooms and dominant plants in the cages changes. Outside the cages it's just a jungle, in the cages it's a never ending shift from one plant's dominance to another's. A field doesn't have to be grazed to the ground to have heavy use.
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Jun 20, 2020 20:48:15 GMT -6
I sometimes mow some of the clover. Mostly just let it go. It will get well over knee high and even though I see deer in it every night it looks ungrazed... except for in the exclusion cages. Almost weekly the blooms and dominant plants in the cages changes. Outside the cages it's just a jungle, in the cages it's a never ending shift from one plant's dominance to another's. A field doesn't have to be grazed to the ground to have heavy use. That's pretty much why I started this thread. Deer eat in the plot I'm talking about all day (and night I'm sure) long. Since deer food is beyond plentiful here for most of the spring/summer it can be difficult to determine "usefulness". I'm interested to see if the deer chow this plot to the ground between now and winter. If they do, it will be one heck of a bunch of tonnage that gets consumed
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Jun 20, 2020 20:57:33 GMT -6
How many different clovers in that plot stu? Any good weeds for the deer in there as well?
|
|
|
Post by Catscratch on Jun 20, 2020 21:02:13 GMT -6
Have you looked at protein content and minerals in clovers? That's a determination factor for "usefulness" in my opinion. Digestibility and crude protein are supposed to decrease with maturity but what my cages show me is that even knee high clovers don't necessarily reach maturity as that constant grazing is keeping a lot of it from blooming. If you can create a mix that blooms all summer long you'll have at least one type of plant at high nutritive levels at all times. If you can match or exceed native plant levels with your plots you are golden!
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Jun 20, 2020 21:03:37 GMT -6
How many different clovers in that plot stu? Any good weeds for the deer in there as well? A bunch. 2 or 3 VNS ladinos (different sources), New Zealand white clover, White dutch, Freedom red, Arlington red, VNS red, VNS Crimson (probably Dixie). There's some weeds out there, but not a lot. This a plot that I have spent an embarrassing number of hours pulling weeds (I have two plots like that).
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Jun 20, 2020 21:05:41 GMT -6
Have you looked at protein content and minerals in clovers? That's a determination factor for "usefulness" in my opinion. Digestibility and crude protein are supposed to decrease with maturity but what my cages show me is that even knee high clovers don't necessarily reach maturity as that constant grazing is keeping a lot of it from blooming. If you can create a mix that blooms all summer long you'll have at least one type of plant at high nutritive levels at all times. If you can match or exceed native plant levels with your plots you are golden! Only casually. I know well managed clover is about "as good as it gets" for whitetail nutrition.
|
|