“It’s a myth that you have to mow in order to have a nutritious clover plot,” said Craig. “That’s just wrong. If the clover is doing well in May and June and deer are eating it, let them eat it.
Don’t mow it!
When should you not mow clover?
Another general rule of thumb is to wait until plants are 8-12 inches tall, then mow them down to 4 or 5 inches. There are also some times and reasons not to mow.
If your plot is mixed with small grains (oats, wheat, or rye), wait until after the grains mature and go to seed
.
What happens when you mow clover?
What height should you mow clover?
Under ideal growing conditions (cool and wet), fast growing clovers can quickly reach a height of 12 inches or more and actually begin losing their food producing value. Regular mowing clover plots back to
6 inches
is suggested to keep a constant supply of fresh, young, tender greens.
When should clover food plots be mowed?
Mow Your Plots
How often and how frequent perennials should be mowed is more of an art than a science; usually
at least three times during the growing season
will suffice. White clovers will do well when mowed aggressively and often during the cooler periods of the growing season or when ample moisture is available.
Can I mow clover?
Routing maintenance of a clover lawn is minimal. The clover should be allowed to bloom (usually not until the second season) and go to seed before the first mowing. Then it can be cut as short as 2” to remove the spent blooms. Thereafter the lawn can be cut at about 3”.
Can you mow white clover?
Clover is low-growing and
seldom requires any mowing
. However, if you want to prevent bees from hanging around your lawn, then mowing once a month will help keep things look need and tidy.
How often do you mow clover lawn?
Clover requires little or no mowing
.
White clover grows just 2–8 inches tall and requires little or no mowing to keep it looking tidy. However, some homeowners may prefer to mow in midsummer in order to deadhead old blooms, neaten the appearance of the lawn, or to prevent it from blooming.
Can I mow red clover?
Mow or allow grazing of red clover four to six weeks before frost in its establishment year
to prepare it for overwintering. Remove clippings for green manure or forage to prevent plant disease. Red clover reaches its prime feeding value at five to 15 days after first bloom.
How do I keep weeds out of my clover food plot?
How do you take care of a clover food plot?
Ladino clover food plots require very little maintenance and care once established. Generally, all that is required to maintain a hearty forage base is a high mowing (if it’s a large plot >1 acre) to control annual broadleaves or at least one or two herbicide sprayings a year to keep the grass and other weeds at bay.
Does mowing clover spread it?
Clover has no problem being mowed nice and short, but your grasses don’t love it
. When you cut your lawn under 3 inches tall, the Clover will appreciate it and the grass will get a little stressed. So, mow high to give your grass an advantage over the Clover.
What do you mix with clover food plots?
Wheat
– Wheat is a cool-season cereal grain that is easy to establish, quick to germinate, and a great choice for fall hunting plots, especially when mixed with other species such as clovers. Chicory – Chicory is a tough cool-season perennial crop that is a preferred deer forage.
How do you cut clover?
Will clover take over my lawn?
Clover can take over areas of your lawn where grass is thinning or has turned brown
. The fix: Regularly aerating your lawn loosens your soil and gives grass roots room to breathe and nutrients to thrive. With grass growing strong, there won’t be bare spots for clover to infiltrate.
How do I overseed my lawn with clover?
When adding clover to an existing lawn,
first mow it close and remove any thatch to allow the seed to fall to the soil surface
. To sow clover alone, mix it with enough sand to facilitate spreading. About 2 ounces of clover is needed for every 1,000 square feet of lawn.
Does clover spread fast?
Perennial clover varieties create a fast-growing, dense web of roots and plant material over disturbed soil, keeping it in place. Planting clover in the garden will also help attract bees and other pollinators. Clover can, however, be highly invasive in some areas, as
it spreads rapidly by seed and from the roots
.
Will clover choke out dandelions?
As a dense ground cover plant,
clovers — though they are also broad-leaved — are exceptional at crowding out other broadleaf plants such as dandelions
, violets, and other plants that commonly populate lawns.
