Clover & Chicory plots Clover has always been known as the ultimate nutrition & attraction plot and just when we thought it could not get any better, chicory was introduced to the food plotters market. Chicory is about as drought tolerant, heat tolerant and cold winter tolerant as they come. Yet is still packs a major punch from a nutritional stand point. Though not as potent from a protein standpoint, it still shines close to clover. I get a ton of calls about chicory. In the early stages of using chicory I was almost hesitant to endorse it for a couple reasons. First off, chicory is part of the broadleaf family which made it impossible to use a broadleaf herbicide when mixed with clover to effectively control weeds. Grass herbicides were fine but simply not enough. If you get a flush of Pennsylvania Smartweed in your high dollar plot, you are in some serious trouble! Mowing alone does nothing to surpress the smartweed, ragweed or even redroot(all problem and common broadleaf weeds). However, along came a chemical called Raptor(I will talk more about Raptor in my Food Plot Herbicide page of my Food Plot Page). Raptor is a very powerful broad spectrum herbicide that, when sprayed on clover & chicory mixes, will virtually eliminate all weeds and grasses and not harm the clover or chicory. Very nice! There are some special precautions and directions to follow and you will find this in detail in my Food Plot Herbicide page. In the early stages of your chicory growth, you may notice little to no grazing activity on the chicory. This seems to be a common complaint from first time chicory planters. However, very hot and humid conditions tend to spark a massive attack on the chicory. Deer will almost target the chicory entirely and this typically happens in the month of July. By then you should see a significant difference on the attention towards chicory. Planting Chicory and clover mixes should be planted the same way as clover methods. Because of the chicory in the mix, a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer should be used at preplant and any other time the plot gets fertilized. Example would be 250lbs of 5-10-10, etc. Incorporate in the soil, cultipack, seed then cultipack again. When mixed with clover I recommend at least 8-10 lbs per acre. Tecomate Seed Company has done the legwork for us by offering "Monster Mix." Monster Mix is without a doubt the most dependable, reliable and aggressive clover & chicory mixes on the market. Not because of my relationship with Tecomate Seed. But because it genuinely sets the bar. Pay close attention to ground moisture and future moisture when mowing clover and chicory. Keep the mower blades sharp and clean. Also keep an eye on insect damage such as leaf hopper. Evidence of leaf hopper(most common-problem insect for this mix) is purple/violet clover and chicory leaves. Some misread this sympton as lack of soil fertility when in fact it is more likely leaf hoppers. When you turn over the clover or chicory leaf you can see these little white bugs that spend a considerable amount of time sucking the pigment out of the plant rather than eating the leaf. The end result is purplish to violet colored clover and chicory leaves. Several insecticides can be used to rectify this problem. However, keep in mind that clover & chicory plots provide a host of food(insects) to birds, including turkey. Therefore, if you are gonna control the insects, I would only recommend short term insecticides that wont stick around after 2 weeks or so. This will clean out the immediate problem, short term. Fertilize once again in spring at the onset of spring greenup. |
