Chicory in deer food plot??

[BLACKJACK]

Have you planted a deer food plot that has chicory in it? How do the deer like it? When do they eat it, in the summer or fall?

[Mark Christianson]

Blackjack

Did you get some Wildlife Blend from me??

That has chicory in it.

I havent used the Wildlife Blend for a couple years, so I dont recall when they hit it. This year I put in 3 plots at the farm with it, and 2 plots at home though.

[BLACKJACK]

I guess you're right:

"Wildlife Blend"

Perennial/Annual Forage Blend

Dwarf Essex Rapeseed

Rangi Forage Rapeseed

White Clover

Crimson Clover

Ladino Clover

Medium Red Clover

Alsike Clover

Puna Chicory

Green Globe Turnips

I did plant some of the Wildlife Blend this spring. I also planted some of the annual blend, we'll see which they like the best. Need some rain though or neither one will amount to much.

The reason I was asking the question was that I was going thru the Whitetail Institutes propaganda magazine this weekend and they were really pushing their Chicory mix, was wondering what kind of luck people were having with chicory.

[Mark Christianson]

Wheres that Perchjerk guy? He planted chicory in the past.

[Mark Christianson]

Here is a snippet from another forum:

Deer, especially bucks, are POUNDING my alfalfa/clover/chicory fields.....POUNDING!! Tis the season for them! The chicory just started taking a beating from the deer as well. For some reason "my" deer wont touch the chicory till right now.........july.

[PerchJerker]

You're posting at 11:33 am on a weekday and wondering where I am? What are you doing today, "working from home" , or "on a conference call"

I've used chicory as a companion crop with clover. There's only 1 thing I don't like about chicory, which is that the 2,4D-B I spray for broadleaf control in my clover will also take out the chicory. Other than that I think chicory is great. It grows better in hot / dry conditions than clover, and you can mow it just like you mow the clover. My deer eat my clover all summer long and don't seem to touch the chicory too much until early fall (about the time they start slowing down on the clover), but then they pound the chicory. The first year or two I had chicory planted the deer didn't seem to use it too much, but maybe it took them a while to acquire a taste for it since now it get's hit hard (but I don't have much left due to the spraying I do). I tried a small patch of chicory by itself but much prefer having it mixed in with the clover. One other thing I like about chicory is it's easy to plant and maintain with atv equipment (ie. don't need farm equipment).

[BLACKJACK]

percher, where do you get your chicory seed? The two seed houses that I normally get seeds from (when I'm not getting it from BLB) don't carry chicory seeds by themselves.

[firebug]

SAY FRIGID FORAGE MAKES A NEW ZEALAND CHICORY. IT WORKS GREAT IN SW.MN. it's avail. in 2#,4#,15# bags. their website is www.frigidforage.com.

[BLACKJACK]

Your link doesn't work but I found Frigid Forage by doing a search. I was hoping to find a seed company that sells chicory in bulk without putting a name on it like 'Imperial' or 'Pure Trophy', that only triples the price.

Reading up on the chicory, it does sound like good stuff, drought resistant, deer like it, etc.

[firebug]

say i don't think fridig forgage is that expensive. you could call them and buy it in bulk. the company is out of Bemidji

[PerchJerker]

I've bought chicory twice. The second time was from Sunrich Farms (the ones that market Frigid Forage), the first time was from some company with a booth at the Deer Classic (don't remember who it was but I think they were out of WI). I think there's only 2 or 3 varieties of chicory that typically get sold or used for deer plots.

[BLACKJACK]

30 lb bag of chicory from Sunrich farms = $306 -> $10.20 a pound! I did find some at the Albert Lea seed house for $6.98 a pound. They must pick the stuff by hand!!!

I'm planting a couple of clover spots next month, even though its spendy, I may have to buy a few pounds of chicory and mix it in, just to see what the deer like the most.

[Mark Christianson]

Hey,

I'll call RJ Hunt in Wadean for ya. Thats where we get the MDHA seed. Hold on before buying!!!