This is not only great soil builder but it is also great at weed suppression. Feed your heard and turkeys and get them ready for the hunting season.
Buckwheat is a popular all-around warm season annual that has many uses as a food plot crop with an abundance of seeds that appeal to a large number of the wildlife. Buckwheat grows well in almost any soil and is usually planted alone, produces clusters of small white flowers forming triangular shaped black seeds that shatter easily giving access for stalk feeding for smaller birds. Provides good ground cover and the stalks will remain after the seed shatters out thus providing additional cover for smaller wildlife. A great cover crop for enhancing soil, excellent summer food plot forage that is extremely early maturing with seed yields as fast as 7-10 weeks after emergence.
Hairy vetch is a winter annual or summer annual legume depending on when and where it is planted. It is widely adapted and hardy in the north with snow cover. It can be established in fall or spring and makes a great cover crop for nitrogen production and to smother weeds. Due to its vining and climbing morphology, it is frequently planted with rye or another small grain to provide a living trellis.
Balansa Clover, a cold-tolerant annual clover that establishes its robust root to support vigorous top growth. Flowers vary from white to pink and are attractive to bees. A nutritious and favored food source for deer and waterfowl, crude protein levels range from 22% - 28%. Tolerant to drought, heat, shade and low fertility soil types, will grow through short periods of standing water. Thrives in acid-soils with low pH values. Suppresses weeds, prevents erosion and keeps soil moist. Nitrogen collected is released into the soil for use by other crops. As a favorite of deer, Fixation can be fall sown or frost seeded. In the northern climate, the clover will remain dormant in the winter.
Berseem Clover features a high leaf-to-stem ratio, has excellent disease resistance and grows rapidly when temperatures exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit. An excellent choice for wildlife food plots, either by itself or in a mixture with clover or cool-season grasses.. As an annual clover, Frosty Berseem will eventually die and the nitrogen that it has created will be released to the benefit of remaining components. Maturity is later then when other annual clovers and bloom period is similar to that of red clover. Frosty produces an abundance of flowers and is favored by pollinators. Frosty Berseem is tolerant of moderate periods of waterlogged soils and can be dormant or frost seeded.
Crimson Clover is a cool season reseeding annual legume with an erect growth habit and a shallow taproot system. It is widely used for feeding and attracting deer, turkey, rabbits and other game species to food plot areas. Crimson is a widely adapted plant that tolerates different soil types and low pH soils. It is an excellent and dependable re-seeding clover that is early maturing. Crimson performs well in mixtures with small grains or later maturing clover. When planted in the fall, Crimson Clover produces more forage at low temperatures. It thrives when planted with other grasses and is an excellent late winter grazing crop.