If you’ve spent any time chasing whitetails or gobblers, you already know that white clover is one of the most reliable foot plot species available. But here’s what most hunters miss—planting is only half the battle. Keeping it healthy is where the real game is played. Joe Thomas knows this better than most. The veteran outdoorsman and longtime Exmark ambassador has spent decades studying nature and applying those lessons to land management. In his latest Backyard Life video, he shifts the focus away from planting advice and gets into something far more valuable: how to maintain your clover plots for five years or longer.
Why White Clover Deserves a Spot on Your Property
White clover checks a lot of boxes. It’s a high-quality food source that deer and turkeys actively seek out throughout the season. It’s a strong attractant, pulling animals into your plots and keeping them coming back. And because it’s a perennial, it reseeds itself and returns each year without you having to break out the drill every spring.
That last point is a massive advantage for hunters managing properties of any size. Once it’s established, a white clover plot becomes a low-input, high-output tool in your habitat arsenal—as long as you give it a little attention along the way. Here’s how Joe Thomas keeps his plot healthy.
Step 1: Keep It Cut
Consistent mowing is one of the most important things you can do for your clover plot, and it’s also one of the most overlooked.
Joe targets a deck height of around six inches when he runs his Exmark Lazer Z zero-turn mower through the plot. That height keeps the clover from getting too leggy or stemmy, which maintains palatability and encourages denser, healthier growth at the base of the plant.
Timing your cuts matters too. Joe tries to mow when the flower heads are at 50 to 75 percent of their bloom. At that stage, the plant has gone far enough in its reproductive cycle to drop seeds but hasn’t yet burned through all its energy. The result is natural reseeding that helps the plot fill in and sustain itself season after season.
In a good year, when the plot is really producing, you might need to run through it several times. That’s a good problem to have.
Step 2: Fertilize at the Right Time
The second pillar of clover plot maintenance is fertilization—but how and when you fertilize matters as much as whether you do it at all.
Joe’s go-to blend is a 0-20-20 fertilizer. The zero nitrogen makes sense here: clover is a legume that fixes its own nitrogen from the atmosphere, so adding more through fertilizer is unnecessary and can actually promote weed and grass competition over the clover itself. The phosphorus and potassium in the 0-20-20 blend support root development, disease resistance, and overall plant health.
Living in Ohio, June is Joe’s target window for application. The clover is actively growing, temperatures are manageable, and the timing sets the plot up well heading into summer and fall.
One important caution: never fertilize during an extreme drought. When the soil is bone dry and the plants are already stressed, applying fertilizer can burn or even kill your clover. Wait for some rain or hold off until conditions improve.
The Big Picture
A white clover plot doesn’t require a ton of work—but it isn’t a plant-it-and-forget-it proposition. A mower, the right fertilizer, and some attention to timing are all you need to keep a plot producing for five years or more.
As Joe puts it, give it a little love, a little maintenance, and it’ll give a lot back. That’s the kind of return on investment that makes clover one of the best food plot choices a hunter or land manager can make.
Frequently Asked Questions About White Clover Food Plot Maintenance
It depends on how well your plot is growing. At minimum, plan for one or two cuts per season. In a productive year, you may need to mow several times. Joe Thomas recommends targeting a deck height of around six inches and mowing when flower heads are at 50 to 75 percent of bloom to encourage natural reseeding.
With proper maintenance—consistent mowing and timely fertilization—a white clover plot can last five years or more. Because it’s a perennial that reseeds itself, it has the potential to sustain itself indefinitely with the right attention.
Yes. White clover is an excellent food source and attractant for whitetail deer and wild turkeys alike. It provides high-quality nutrition throughout the growing season and draws animals into your plots consistently.
