Planting Forage Chicory for deer
Cichorium intybus
Deer hit this hard. That is the point.
- Seeding rate
- 3 to 5 lb
- per acre, broadcast
- Minimum plot
- 0.25 acre
- smaller gets browsed out
- Plant
- Late summer, or spring
Rates are broadcast figures. Drilling runs roughly a third lower. These are starting points from extension guidance and have not yet been re-checked against a second source per record, so treat them as indicative and soil test before you buy seed.
About Forage Chicory
The drought insurance in a clover plot. Chicory sends a taproot down two feet or more and keeps producing green forage through August when clover has gone flat and brown, which is exactly the gap that decides whether deer stay on a property or move. Protein runs high, comparable to or above clover, and mineral content is better. Deer take it readily once they learn it. Broadcast at 3 to 5 lb per acre alone, or 2 to 3 in a mix. It is almost always better in a mix than alone. A common blend is chicory with ladino, where the clover carries spring and the chicory carries the dry end of summer. Let it bolt and it goes stemmy and bitter. Mow before it flowers to keep it in leaf.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Low
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Similar to Forage Chicory
Other food plot forages with the same deer rating.
- Cereal RyeSecale cerealeZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Crimson CloverTrifolium incarnatumZones 5–9Frequently damaged
- Forage OatsAvena sativaZones 5–9Frequently damaged
- Forage RadishRaphanus sativusZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Forage SoybeansGlycine maxZones 5–10Frequently damaged
- Iron Clay CowpeasVigna unguiculataZones 6–11Frequently damaged
Protecting Forage Chicory
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Forage Chicory grows
Hardy across most of these 51 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Forage Chicory belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Forage Chicory
- What is the seeding rate for Forage Chicory?
- Broadcast 3 to 5 lb per acre. Drilled rates run roughly a third lower. Soil test before buying seed, because pH matters more to the outcome than the rate does.
- When should I plant Forage Chicory?
- Late summer, or spring. It is a cool-season crop, so the window is set by your average first frost rather than by the month.
- How big does a Forage Chicory plot need to be?
- About 0.25 acres as a realistic floor. Below that, deer graze the crop faster than it establishes and you get bare ground instead of forage. Local deer density moves this number more than anything else.
- Do deer actually eat Forage Chicory?
- Frequently Severely Damaged on the Rutgers scale, which measures how heavily deer damage a plant. On an ornamental that is a warning. On a food plot crop it is the specification.
- What hardiness zones does Forage Chicory grow in?
- Forage Chicory is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- How big does Forage Chicory get?
- Mature height is roughly 36–48 in. Growth rate is fast.