Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting imperial clover

anybody tried this stuff. is it worth the extra money? thinking about trying it in one of my smaller patches this year. maybe even plant half of a bigger patch in this and the other half in something else, just to see. usually just plant wheat and oats. i'll have to admit, their advertising is making me wonder

I never heard of it. Probably a company name for some variety of clover.

Go to www.farmseeds.com and read all you want to know about any type of clover there is. They will sell you anything you want at about half the price of a gimmick company.


BCR

I agree with Boggy. That being said, I planted some that I got for free and the results were amazing. The deer acted like it was manna from heaven. Deer were in the patch 24 hours a day.
But as the Ranger said, you could get the same results using a no-name bulk seed.
RS

Imperial is a brand name like Tecomate. It is supposed to be good stuff for deer foodplots, but I haven't used it personally.

I just planted a 1/3 acre plot with this stuff this morning. The rain yesterday (it's about time) should get this stuff growing.

I have five plots this year. Two with Biologic Premium Perennial, one with Frigid Forage Big and Brassy Brassicas, and one with a drought tollerant clover mixture from a local dealer--in addition to the Imperial. I planted four in spring two weeks apart and saved the Imperial as a fall planting.

Despite the dry weather all the spring planted plots are doing very well. The deer seem to be in love with the Biologic at this point.

I even sampled some of the turnips from the Frigid Forage plot the other evening for supper. Hey, I gotta get something in return on my investment. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

WN

I have 4 plots planted with the WT clover, totaling 5 acres. I have tried the feed mill clovers and they can't compare to the WT clover. some of my clover is in it's second tear and some was planted back in May of this year. All the clover was in pretty tough shape back in July because of the lack of rain. There has been more rain as of late and the clover is doing great. You can see were the deer have just feasted on the leaves of the clover. The clover stands about 7"-9" as of yesterday. I don't think you will be disappointed if you plant it. Good luck

I have grown it before and don't think it is anything more than a giant white or Ladino clover, not a special hybrid. but it does seem to have alot of vigor. I do know that if you follow the directions and soil test/lime/fertilize you will have a much better plot.

Why waste the shrimp from a fishing trip? How much did you spend on these plots?

Ric

i think i'm going to try it in at least one field. got 8 of them ranging from 1/2 acre to 4 acres. i just never had any luck at all with the feed mill stuff. it grows good, but the deer just don't seem to like it. last year they killed my biologic full draw. i sprayed my best place saturday with roundup, hope to plant labor day weekend. one of my patches has a good stand of corn and peas. i may just knock it down with the tractor and overseed some of the imperial no plow, and fertilize the heck out of it. i'll try to post some pics just for the heck of it.

Gator

With seed, fertilizer, lime, spray, and gas, I'm sure I have at least $500 invested. Pretty expensive for a couple of turnips... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

WN

Whelen:

Do you replant yearly? I was pondering doing a fall planting of Chicory with white clover and see if I couldn't get a couple of good years out of it.

With clover you really should mow it and then you are either cutting it every few weeks so it doesn't flower and if you wait you almost should bale it so the cutting don't smother the plants. I would like to find some combination with a bit less upkeep.

Re clover, FWIW, giant white clover is a lot cheaper at a co-op and comes in 50# bags. Consider the venison's alternative. Around here at this time of year any food plot starts to look pretty good to them as the tasty natural stuff has run its course.

tomk

With the clover plots I usually get 3-4 years. Yes I mow--rather often if we have wet weather. This year wasn't a problem, however.

The plots are too small and remote to get a tractor/bailer to them so I just leave the clippings as fertilizer. Sometimes I just use a weedeater to take the tops off. Takes a little longer to do but then I have plenty of time to do it...and the deer appreciate it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I've used some of the local clover varieties. Some were good and some not so good. That's why I tried a small (1/3 acre)plot of the Imperial this time.

WN

I've used it in the past with mixed results.

Last year (fall) I planted 3 patches with oats, wheat and cherokee clover. They did very well and the clover it still in good shape. I plan on tilling and replanting the same mix this fall.