may also be possible to establish perennial clover using this method, but the perennial clover will not germinate and get established as quickly as crimson clover. Mixing 3 to 5 pounds of perennial clover per acre with a lesser amount of crimson clover (8 to 12 pounds per acre) would be recommended if desired.
A light application of fertilizer at planting will get the clover off to a good start. Do not apply any with very much nitrogen (the first number), as clover is a legume
that can fix nitrogen from the air. An application equivalent to approximately 100 pounds of 5-10-10 or 0-10-10 per acre should be adequate. Soil sampling prior to planting to optimize liming and fertilization is always best. Fertilization may not be absolutely necessary if the area was recently farmed (and limed and fertilized), but deer and other wildlife do prefer to graze on vegetation that has been fertilized. Rainfall following planting should knock the clover seed down through the dead vegetation so that the seed can make soil contact. Soil contact is critical for germination. The dead vegetation from the herbicide treatment acts like mulch for the seed.
Deer and other wildlife will eat crimson clover as readily as ladino clover from sprout stage through the winter. In the spring following planting (March through May) the crimson clover will get quite large and bloom. It is not as palatable for wildlife at that later stage of growth, but other food sources should be available during that period. Crimson clover will generally re-establish itself from the seed produced the previous spring if left alone until the following fall. Leave the plot alone, allowing native plants and grasses to become established after the clover dies out in the late spring. Mowing, or another application of Roundup in mid-August will normally encourage the clover to sprout back the following fall.
Crimson clover is not as expensive as the white and ladino perennial clovers commonly sold for wildlife food plots. Crimson clover can be purchases at a local seed store for $0.80 to $1.50 per pound (compared to $4 to $5 per pound for perennial clover). A good backpack sprayer will cost between $80 and $150. Roundup, Roundup Ultra, or the generic brand of glyphosate is fairly expensive. A 2 ½ gallon container will cost approximately $115, but that container should cover between 2 and 4 acres, depending on the mixture and weeds to control. The backpack sprayer, Roundup, and clover seed is a low cost alternative to purchasing a tractor, plow, disk, and trailer to haul it on.
Article reprinted with permissions from, N.C. Division of Forest Resources
