Thoughts On Whitetail Institute's Clover and Extreme?

[EasternNChunter]

I really wanted to try their clover and chicory mix but it doesn't seem like there is anything you can spray on it to kill the weeds/grasses without killing the chicory.  I just got my PH tests back for the two sites I plan on planting.  I used Secret Spot last year in a lowlands area that is planted in pines and was thinned in the fall of 2009.  It is a PERFECT spot as the deer have to cross my 300+ yard lane/foodplot on their way to the beanfields in the afternoons and I catch them coming back from the fields in the mornings.  I did not do a PH test down there last year but put out lots of lime.  Well, the PH tests I just got back say that the PH down there is 5.6 and the Whitetail Institute suggests that I put out 5600 lbs of lime per acre down there.  That isn't going to happen, at least not all within the same year ($$$).  If I hadn't already bought my clover seed (enough for 4.5 acres), I am thinking I should try Whitetail Institutes' Extreme that can tolerate PH as low as 5.4.  However, it is pretty pricey.  The other spot is the field right above the lowlands with a creek and about 200 yards of woods in between the two.  It will be a 2.5 acre clover plot.  This farm will have corn and beans on it, so there is plenty of food for them, but I want a perennial so that the deer will have food year round.  Thoughts?

[selinoid44]

I put a couple of small plots of clover and chicory out last year and was quite impressed with the deer activity. This year I got enough for 4 acres 'free' from pheasants forever. I'm still trying to figure out the right concoction for weeds, we farm over 8000 acres and have plenty of go to people in the weed killin buisness. I'm confident some one will know the answer. If not I am going to mow the weeds right above the clover. Thats what I did last year and it worked out fine.

[EasternNChunter]

Yeah, but isnt the chicory significantly taller than the clover?

[selinoid44]

Well I guess I can't answer that, mine didn't get any taller then what the clover is. I didn't fertilize or anything else, I just tilled the soil, sowed it and left it go. God did the rest.

[FANMAN]

I found this.
http://www.qdmaforums.com/archive/index.php/index.php?t-32326.html

[EasternNChunter]

Thanks.  That stuff in there is why I chose to plant clover instead of a clover and chicory mix. 

[strutter]

I just put down a 1/4 plot of WI chicory plus and on their website it says that you can spray a herbicide on it, forgot which one they say to use though.

[Scout24]

I have a little 3/4 acre clover foodplot I put in about 8 years ago that the deer loved. After a typical lifespan of 4-5 years it gets weeded out and it's time to replant. Replanted with Tecomonte Monster Mix (clover/chicory) however the chicory over ran the clover and my NH deer really didn't care for it. Sprayed everything with Roundup 3x's this spring, but learned it kills the tops of chicory and some of the young plants but the 2-3 year old plants start regrowing their tops after 2 weeks. I've pulled hundreds of their 8" carrot looking roots by hand and have some 2,4-d herbicide on the way that is supposed to kill chicory. It's been a nightmare for me to get rid of, hope your deer like it more than mine did. It is very drought resistant, tolerant of poor soil and will continue to thrive after your clover dries up as mine did last year after a prolonged drought.

[rtsj]

    We have been doing foodplots for 5 years now, not experts by any means. We have tried lots of different varieties from Evolved, Pennington, Biologic and Whitetail Institute. Without question The Whitetail Institute products are in a class all on their own. We've done clover(6acres), pure attraction, wintergreens, and powerplant. All grow exceptional and the deer love everyone of them.  The clover is the BOMB.  It is now on its 5the year and still is going strong. Yes you can buy arrest and slay and it works but it is very expensive. We made a wick which runs a 10 ft wide band of cotton rope saturated with round up on wheels that the height can be adjusted. Adjust it 3 inches above clover and it only hits the weeds. Works Awesome. No overspray and the round up lasts about 3 times longer.   It is not uncommon to see between 50-60 deer in this field all times of the year and yes even during the hunting season. 
     I do recommend one more product. It's called Frigid Forage Big N Beasty Brassicas with Carrots. We planted it last year and with proper fertilizer it grew over 30 inches high and had literally thousands of 4-8 inch diameter turnips. The deer didn't touch it much during archery but when the snow hit, WOW!!!   In January we counted 67 deer in this 1.5 acre field and 9 bucks.  We have now made this field 3 acres and are planting it this Fri.  Can't wait till flintlock and late archery..   
    Hope this helped. Any questions just ask guys.   Thanks Roy

   

[Squirrel Hunter]

Put in some clover last fall the deer love it I hope the turkeys do.

[redarrow]

Check into a product called Slay.

[darron]

I only use WTI clover when I can find it on sale. Most of the time I buy from welters seed on-line and use their alice and jumbo ladino clover. It's half the price of WTI and the deer don't know the difference.

[BandedSpur]

I have had excellent success with both WINA clover and Extreme. Clover is really better suited for the moist bottom land soils you describe. Extreme is tolerant of low pH soil, but does better in better drained soils. It thrives for me on an old log landing on top of a mountain where clover struggles.

All of the products you mention (including Extreme) do better if you can get the pH up. You can spray Arrest or Sethoxydim to kill grasses in clover, chicory, and extreme. You can spray Slay or 2,4-DB (not 2,4-D)on clover only to kill broadleafs. You cannot spray it on Chicory or Extreme without harming the plot. The secret to using herbicides (besides reading the labels and following directions) is to spray when the pest you are targeting is young and actively growing. Once the grass or weeds get too tall, they are much more difficult to control. Then mowing is about the only alternative.