ALFALFA OR CLOVER???? WHICH SHOULD YOU PLANT FOR DEER HUNTING FOOD PLOT???
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video I go over alfalfa VS. clover and which you should plant in your deer hunting food plots. Clover is well known as one of the easiest plots to raise and the most widely used food source to attract and feed deer, but alfalfa has many great qualities that food plotters would really enjoy. Alfalfa is known to be the most management intensive deer hunting food plot that anyone can plant, and there is no denying that alfalfa takes our management levels to a whole different level. So why would anyone plant alfalfa instead of clover???? Watch the video to learn what advantages alfalfa has over clover and why I believe it's the king of summer food plots.
Wes great information...we have both alfalfa and clover. Alfalfa is a GREAT DRAW, although RU ready is VERY expensive. How many times do you cut the alfalfa and how tall, and how many pounds do you plant to the acre?. Thanks, Bob
All depends on the amount of grazing on the plots, pretty common 3-5 times per summer. Mine will be less because the graze pressure is so high. I mow it about the same height as a yard….around 4-5 inches, I actually just mowed mine last week with my scag zero turn mower. I plant roundup ready alfalfa at 18-20LBS per acre. Thanks for watching
I'm up in dairy country in Wisconsin where it is exactly opposite. Every farmer has alfalfa for good dairy hay so I plant clover just to give the deer something different. Planted 3 acres of soybean food plots yesterday. Really enjoy your videos.
Great information! That makes a ton of sense, if alfalfa is everywhere stick with something that is preferred and not nearly as much of. Thanks for watching!
Good luck with the plots!
Planted a clover, alfalfa and chickory mix this spring because I can water it off a spring. Can I freshen it up this fall with clover and chickory or will the alfalfa keep it down?
That’s a great question! Yes the auto toxicity that alfalfa has is only to alfalfa plants. Thanks for watching
Clover gro we ING wild , good or bad, interesting u have that much of it growing wild , is it mostly the white Dutch like u showed??
Most is the white clover, but I’ve also seed red clover growing in the wild. I think it’s beneficial to whitetails to have that food source. Thanks for watching!
Was wondering when you mow the alfalfa do you have to rake the clippings off or will it continue to grow well through the clippings that are left in the field
I clip it as soon as I see the purple flowers. Yes I just leave it in the field and it grows well through the clippings. Thanks for watching
You and I are a couple hours apart, so I’m curious at what point in the fall is the alphalfa useless. Thanks
You and I are a couple hours apart, so I’m curious at what point in the fall is the alphalfa useless. Thanks
Did you figure out the weed problem of corn leftover? I put my cows on that 5 acres of corn. It helped but now I'm spraying everything and then a heavy or repeated discing it and then plant it.
My local crop center said they do make a corn seed that will be killed by a different weed killer for future plantings but it's currently unavailable..
I think I’m just going to disk mine….we are so wet that I’ve not been able to get any plots in except for my dove fields….and more rain in the forecast! Looks like my plots will be going in June. Thanks for watching
Great looking alfalfa field wes. Up in northern wis. We don't have corn or soybeans but like u said we have 1000 acres of hay fields with clover. Will alfalfa work this far north.?
Thank you sir, I’m honestly not sure on that, I know the state of Wisconsin produces a ton of alfalfa, I’m just not sure where that line stops. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help! Thanks for watching
Alot of clover blends have either alfalfa or chicory in the mix. So you should compare alfalfa to chicory.
Planning on putting a chicory plot in this fall! Thanks for watching
Wes, great video! Im wanting to broadcast alfalfa into buckwheat this fall in north central TN, yeah or nay?
I prefer full tillage when establishing an alfalfa plot….it 100% can be no tilled but tillage is my preferred method. Your area is 100% fine for alfalfa, but Ph must be around 7.0, and phosphorus and potassium must be in the high range b4 planting. Good luck with the plots!
Hey Wes, my neighbors have about 15 acres of alfalfa and the deer are always on it. I'm planning on soybeans in some of my big fields but I have a smaller field (1 acre) that is next to the neighbors that just isnt big enough for soybeans. It's a good spot so I'd like to do something with it. Would alfalfa be a waste since there's already so much next door?
Drew, I’m assuming they are planting the alfalfa for hay and not for deer? If they are only doing it for hay, I wouldn’t put it in that spot….your getting the benefits on the herd from his alfalfa and it’s out of his pocketbook rather than yours. Thanks for watching.
Hey nw ga here i have tried about everything for summer crop from soybeans to cowpeas only thing that kinda holds up is buckwheat so i was thinking of going to alfalfa but i only have 1 plot and its about .75 i normally swich forage oats with just a little brassica mixed in for winter i normally plant mid September i lf i switched over to alfalfa could i still throw out my oats in mid September and it be thick enough to matter or would you recomend mixing at all also im in a very deer dense area
Josh, ive never mixed alfalfa when I’ve planted it. I’m not saying that you couldn’t but I’m just not sure. I don’t see any reason why it would hurt anything but I’m not going to recommend it since alfalfa is a high needs plots and everything needs to be right from soil ph, soil fertility, and weed and insect control. Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots
Hey Wes, I planted alfalfa and clover together and both come up great I’m sort of waiting to mow it when the clover seeds out
That’s great to hear! When you start seeing purple flowers in the alfalfa, it is time to clip it. It has deep roots and will tolerate drought conditions very good! Thanks for watching
I’m really interested in trying alfalfa, but my place stays wet in the winter. It’s just too much cost/work for me to risk it on this wet of a site. ☹️
I personally would stay away from it if it’s a wetter natured spot. Alfalfa is so much work, and money that I wouldn’t risk it with a questionable site. Thanks for watching!
Happy Sunday. As always a great video. Spent all day Thursday working on food plots. Rain was in forecast for four days. Yea! So, here in Fl. We just can’t catch a break. Less than an inch of rain 90 degrees. Maybe ,today or tomorrow ! Be easier just cutting up money and dropping it as mulch, lol
Good luck with the plots Steve, weather can sure be aggravating when trying to time it right with rains. Good luck with the plots!
Ocala area checking in. Yup we need rain bad. Worst part is it will probably just downpour and wash us out when it hits. Good luck and happy hunting.
Im in louisiana what do you recommend planting spring and fall food plots? Some people say alfalfa doesnt grow good around here
Hey Tiler, alfalfa doesn’t naturally do well most any place in the country, it requires high levels of p and k, a soil ph of 7.0 and ground that is well drained. Most folks once they fix the fertility levels and soil ph, alfalfa does really well….as long as the plot is well drained. Alfalfa cannot stand to be in poorly drained soils. Thanks to watching
Could you show us some of the systems you use for herbicide spraying with your side-by-side?
Hey Grant, not sure exactly what you’re asking….are you asking what I’m spraying for different food plots? If so I can for sure try to do a better job of letting y’all know what I’m spraying. Thanks for watching
Clover is worthless when the farmer has alfalfa planted right next door
I agree, alfalfa is way better in my opinion. Thanks for watching
You and I are a couple hours apart, so I’m curious at what point in the fall is the alphalfa useless. Thanks
Usually they stop hitting it so hard after the first hard frost
Wes, can you overseed or drill oats or wheat in this plot during the fall to add some winter benefit?
I think you absolutely could! I never have before in my area. It’s one of those things I use as a food source until the frost and at that time I usually transition to my grain food plots.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge... Big help !!
☘️🦌👍😎
Thanks for watching, glad you are finding it helpful!
@@DIYfoodplotproAbsolutely 💯
Great video! Thanks for the info. I’m in a similar situation with corn and beans all around in west tn. Do you think the variety you planted should do well in southwest tn, about an hour east of Memphis?
Thank you sir! I would think our climates would be very similar, so I would say yes
@@DIYfoodplotproThanks so much!
Alfalfa is a lot of work but worth it if you’re willing to take the right steps! Still hoping you decide to give that chicory blend I told ya about a try!
Yes sir, that is 100% accurate! Not to worry my friend, I think I’ve got a spot found to put it….gonna be a true test as well as I had standing corn in this plot last year. Thanks for watching
@@DIYfoodplotpro looking forward to seeing that test!! Make sure to get the seclusion 360 blend from northwoods! That’s the one I had awesome success with
I’m watching a guy on TH-cam that has a dairy farm up in New York and he says you can go in and plant alfalfa on top of alfalfa long as the alfalfa is less than a year old he goes in and re-plants because sometimes they have a winter kill in their freshly planted alfalfa plots might be some good information if you plant alfalfa in the fall and it doesn’t come up very good in the spring you can go in and re-plant the places where it didn’t come up
That’s a fantastic question. You are correct, the auto toxicity doesn’t begin until the plants are mature. When I tell people they can’t add any plants to the stand, this is what I’m referring to, mature plants. What I try to get through on alfalfa, as well as all the other plots, is do it correctly the first time and put a good full faith effort in it. Alfalfa seed; fertilizer, lime, etc are extremely expensive, but if following how I do these plots, you can make a good bet that you will get good results. Sure Mother Nature can always throw a curveball, but for the most part with fall plots so long as the work has been put it, most often it’s a successful plot. Thanks for watching
I might try alfalfa some day. All the hay field farmers tell me I'm wasting my time. It won't grow in our area. I know one farmer that has an alfalfa field. Said he had to put a lot of lime and fertilizer down to have it grow successful.
What part of the country are you in? Yes he is 100% correct, PH must be right at 7.0, and phosphorus and potassium levels must also be in the high range before planting. Thanks for watching
@@DIYfoodplotpro I'm in Southeast Texas. About 20 miles from Louisiana and 30 miles from the Gulf. Every soil test I do shows a ph of 5.1-5.4. I guess that's why we mainly grow pine trees here. Timber business and oil/refinery is the life blood to our economy.
Looks great. Congrats on 3k subscribers!
Thanks Roy, I really appreciate the continued support!
Thanks Wes, good looking stand of alfalfa
Thank you sir, I am sure happy with it! Deer are absolutely pounding it!
Long distance food plotter is very hard. Can’t do it all. But I’m trying. Great job. Looking forward to trail cam pics.
Yes sir, I feel your pain. I’ve got some that are a good distance away and they are tougher for sure!
Wow.🎉Thank You
Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoyed it!
If anybody seeded with a perennial mix of clover, alfalfa and chicory; keep in mind the HUGE benefit of natural reproduction.
I don't have a lot of deer this time of year (due to mosquitos I think), so mowing with the thought of tender growth on top isn't really a factor in my situation.
Your established perennial plot should be fully canopied and able to outcompete large-scale weed invasions, as most of the weed seeds will blow right across the top of the canopy.
My point is, there is a lot of food everywhere. Take advantage of flowering clover, alfalfa, chicory, rye, buckwheat, etc.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, really appreciate that! Thanks for watching
Thanks as always.
Your welcome!!
Really like the way you present
Thank you Steve, I really appreciate you saying that! Have a great weekend and thanks for watching
I think this is also dependent on your area. Alfalfa in northern Illinois browns down very quickly after a frost in October while some good clovers are still useful into December. If your archery season begins in October and your first frost is soon behind it, Alfalfa is a lot of work for a week or two of useful hunting.
That’s a fair point for sure….alfalfa can’t take the cold weather, that is the Achilles heel of alfalfa. If it lasted longer into the winter it would be top 1-2 of food plots. Thanks for watching
Wow don’t know why message was sent three times and the video just answered my question. Thanks.
I’ve seen some funny things happen when trying to post below a video! They will hit it a little all winter, but the real draw stops after the first hard frost. Thanks for watching.