So make sure you keep this in mind while maintaining your clover after planting them. It makes a great early season bow hunting plot when mixed at 20 lbs/acre with any clover and small grain. So, what should you plant? You can use a chemical or synthetic weed killer to get rid of turf, weed, and other unwanted plants. The other giant to mention for winter food plots is corn. So, if you have clover seed open in your garden, dont worry; deer wont eat it. . Here are some benefits of feeding your fawn clover: Clover is rich in vitamins and minerals. You may see some bare spots in your clover plot during early spring or late winter. However, if deer eat clover, you should investigate the source because some types contain a toxic compound that can cause harm to deer. Make sure the clover is fresh and free from any pesticides or herbicides. Clover contains high levels of oxalates, which can bind with calcium and other minerals in the deer's body and prevent them from being properly absorbed. What do deer eat in the winter? In late winter and early spring, deer eat grass, clover, and other herbaceous plants. Researchers discovered that deer prefer to eat flowers over leaves. Chronic wasting disease prions are the Chuck Norris of infectious materials. So what can we do to take advantage of this? Just remember, winter food plots are all about tonnage! Deer love to eat clover, and they will often strip a whole field of this delicate little plant in just a few hours. How To Plant A Clover Food Plot In Illinois - TrioPlantBased Mowing clover is a good weed prevention. While many deer live through January and February, the third month of the year is by no way comfortable. This often involves a herbicide treatment or mowing. Give deer time to adjust over a period of two or more weeks before providing unlimited amounts of feed for deer to consume. This includes buds and twigs of woody plants. You can also change some of your preferences. Late Winter A Good Time to Add Clover to Food Plots - Pennington Once spring. Know yourfood plot pH, nutrients, and potential then apply the right amount of food plot fertilizers and lime. Winter Rye for Dummies - Bowhunting.Net The Do's and Don'ts of Feeding Deer This Winter - Bone Collector I know the answers to these questions, and I still wonder sometimes. Even the smartest and most careful mature bucks reveal a weak spot in their armorTheir stomach! Become a free Basic NDA Member and get the following benefits: The National Deer Association is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The pickup and settlement of soil as it . to reveal my expertise, I created an online reading store where plant lovers can shop and read A to Z about gardening for FREE. The deer usually suffer more as a result than if they had not been fed, on average. It is well known that deer enjoy eating clover, as it is a nutritious and tasty green forage. Thats why late-winter frost and spring are the best time to plant clovers. Brian Grossman joined the NDA staff in 2015 as its Communications Manager and now serves as the Director of Communications. Mild temps with no snow cover and they usually eat it to the ground on my place. Either way, planting clover is a great way to attract deer to your property. Most years, those deer would be standing a soybean food plot that would provide some nutrition for this lean time; but time constraints had prevented me from planting the plot last spring, and as I watched the bucks browsing on twigs and grooming themselves, I couldnt help but feel a pang of guilt. Simply talk the farmer into doing cover crops, or get his blessing to plant about 3-5 acres of his field, broadcasted just before beans are harvested or just after corn is. Since deer like all clovers, finding clover seeds also become easier. Considering there is weed control, the seeds will make it to the soil before the leaves, and once the first rain hits will germinate before the sunlight sparks weed growth. Wildlife Conservation What Do Deer Eat in the Winter? Deer eat clover by grazing on the leaves and flowers of the plant. When it comes to planting food plots for white-tailed deer, its hard to beat clover for several reasons. So does clover make the list of things that deer eat? https://www.deergro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/winter-food-plots-for-deer_feature.jpg, https://www.deergro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DeerGro-Logo-Transparent-300x162.png, Copyright - Whitetail Forage Technologies LLC |. Plus, bees and deer love clover, so youll have plenty of pollinators and wildlife to enjoy in your own backyard! Clover is an excellent source of nutrition for deer, and can help to improve their health in several ways. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Some of the most common summer foods for deer include alfalfa, clover, and soybeans. Deer eat clover throughout the year, but they consume more of it during the spring and summer months. Clover is a pretty common weed and can be found in most yards. It also contains lignans, which are phytoestrogens that can help to protect against certain cancers. If you cant use any chemical herbicide on clover how do you get rid of the weeds for a deer plot. In the winter, deer will also eat bark and twigs from trees. Now you can do something else. If the pH level is lower than the ideal ratio, add sawdust or peat moss to adjust the level. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Deer eat the clover leaves, and they seem to prefer them to the flowers. So does clover make the list of things that deer eat? Do Deer Eat Clover? (Read This First!) - OutdoorAlive Deer have a limited supply of fat reserves to carry them through winter. If January and February are brutal but relief comes on time with warming temperatures in March, most deer will sail through with no trouble. Updates are provided, P.O. Clover is high in protein and essential minerals, which helps deer to grow. Here are some tips on how to feed clover to your deer: Deers are browsers, which means they consume a wide range of plants. Fourth, clover is high in calcium and other minerals. The best option is to give them more of the winter foods they are already adapted to eating: winter browse. Providing feed that deer are not used to digesting, especially when they are stressed, can cause them great harm or result in death. Start slowly when introducing clover into the diet, mixing it with other foods at first until they become accustomed to eating it. Of course, sometimes none of the above factors are within our control, and sometimes Nature throws us the hard-breaking curve of a massive winter. Also, frost seeding occurs in mid-winter when clover insect . The nutritional value of clover for deer is high in protein and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc. Overall, then, a clover lawn can be a worth consideration for those looking for a low-maintenance, eco-friendly option. Choose fertilizers that have a low level of nitrogen and high levels of potassium and phosphorus, and the ideal NPK ratio of fertilizer for clover is 3-18-18. While it doesnt have the pull soybeans do for the rest of the year, its hard to argue with the fat and carb content that corn provides, and the deer know and exploit that. I absolutely love soybeans, they are hard to beat for a whitetail forage and late-season food source. When a deer is rutting (breeding) around the time of clover fruiting, it can consume 30 plants or more in a single day. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. Generally, deers like all the clover species, including crimson, red, and white clovers. Do Deer Eat Clover? What Is A Deer's Favorite Clover? If you have any of these items on hand, consider placing them in an area where you know the deer frequently. Cereal Rye Cereal rye is a cool-season annual cereal grain that germinates very quickly, is highly preferred by deer, and has excellent resistance to grazing pressure. This process will allow the weeds to regrow; therefore, you can clean the grow properly before planting, which will allow the clovers to establish in the best way possible. Phone: 1-800-209-DEER (3337) We may request cookies to be set on your device. Subterranean clover is a type of clover that deer avoid because it contains a lot of thistles. Compare that to clover, which typically yields less than half that amount. Brian is responsible for amplifying NDAs educational message for hunters through social media, e-mail, the NDA website, and Quality Whitetails magazine. But make sure the fertilizer has zero or low nitrogen levels than potassium and phosphorus. Right during the period when Soybeans turn yellow and drop their leaves, I broadcast, rye, or a combination of wheat, oats, and rye overtop the beans. Alsike and ladino clovers are not as popular with deer but can be found in areas where other forage plants are scarce. Here are a few simple steps to plant clover for deer successfully: You really need to have the patience to see the best results of clover after planting them. However, soil-active herbicides can have similar, damaging effects on your future plantings if the, There are two main types of food plots for deer, nutritional and hunting plots. backyardhubs.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9. Chicory Chicory isa tough cool-season perennial crop that is a preferred deer forage. So, if youve been providing supplemental feed, continue to do so. So I talked to our Education & Outreach Director, Kip Adams, who is from Pennsylvania. Introducing new foods in the middle of winter, especially in high quantities all of a sudden, can actually be more harmful to deer than not feeding them at all. Its not just us hunters who ponder their fates, either; just about anyone who sees deer slogging through the snow or bracing against a cold wind is apt to themselves, What do deer eat in the winter, and do they need our help to make it through till spring? Clovers prefer to grow best in the moistured soil so consider watering your plot every day. Can You Feed Deer Fruit? Red Clover Red cloveris a cool-season legume that is classified as a biennial with a two-year lifespan, but with proper management it can persist for three or more years in the mid-South and northern states. Before he worked for QDMA, Kip was the deer project leader for New Hampshire Fish & Game. Now, if youve come here, it means you want to know how to plant clover for deer and how to make your ground compatible for planting clovers.