Planting No-Till Summer Food Plots Through Clover: A Smart Strategy for Productive Bottomland Fields

CHIPPER GIBBES | PRINCIPAL BROKER

VIDEO SUMMARY

Planting Summer Food Plots Through Clover with a No-Till Grain Drill

When it comes to maximizing the productivity of your land, smart planting strategies can make all the difference. In this video, Chipper Gibbes with SWAPA Land walks through an effective approach to planting summer food plots in bottomland areas using no-till grain drilling and Balansa clover as a natural weed suppressor and soil builder.

Leveraging Balansa Clover for Habitat & Soil Health

Two years ago, this entire bottomland area was planted in Balansa clover — a vigorous annual clover that thrives in wet soils, flourishes during winter and early spring, and reseeds heavily. The result? A lush stand of clover that returns season after season without additional planting. As Chipper explains,

“This clover came back from seed last year. We hunted over this field all season long, and the deer used it like crazy.”

This natural reseeding not only provides year-round forage but also builds organic matter and fixes nitrogen, setting the stage for strong summer growth.

No-Till Planting Into Clover Biomass

As the clover matures and begins to die back, Chipper uses a no-till grain drill to plant directly into the existing biomass.
This approach provides three major benefits:

🌿 Weed suppression – The dying clover creates a thick mat that helps prevent unwanted weeds from taking over.
🌱 Moisture retention & soil structure – Clover residue locks in soil moisture and improves soil tilth.
🌾 Natural nitrogen boost – The nitrogen fixed by the clover benefits the next crop without additional fertilizer.

Ideal Crops for Summer Plots

This method works well for a variety of warm-season food plot species, including:

Corn 🌽
Soybeans 🌱
Cowpeas 🫘
Grain sorghum or custom seed blends

Chipper notes,

“Any kind of summer plot that you can put in a drill and plant through this clover is going to come up and do well.”

A Low-Input, High-Impact System

Perhaps the best part of this strategy is what happens next fall. Because Balansa clover is a heavy reseeder, the clover will naturally re-establish once the summer crop finishes — meaning no additional seed costs and an established fall food plot without extra work.

This rotational system creates a cycle of productivity, improves habitat for deer and turkey, builds soil health, and keeps your land working for you all year long.

Key Takeaways for Landowners

Balansa clover thrives in wet bottomland and reseeds naturally.
No-till drilling into clover suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and boosts nitrogen.
Ideal for planting corn, beans, peas, or mixed summer plots.
Sets the stage for an automatic fall food plot without replanting.
Supports wildlife habitat and long-term land stewardship.

Partner with SWAPA Land

At SWAPA Land, we help landowners manage and improve their properties by focusing on what matters most: Soil. Water. Air. Plant. and Animals. Whether you’re interested in improving wildlife habitat, restoring native vegetation, or buying and selling land, our team can help guide you every step of the way.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:18] Chipper Gibbes
So earlier I showed you where I was using a no-till grain drill to drill a summer food plot through a standing wheat field that was on a well-drained site. This is a situation where I want to show you a bottomland area that's really wet. It’s well-drained, but it stays wet later into the year.

[00:00:21:20 - 00:00:42:11] Chipper Gibbes
In this case, I did not plant wheat here. But two years ago, I planted this entire bottom with Balansa clover. Balansa clover is an annual clover that grows really vigorously in the winter and early spring, and it is a heavy reseeder. And as you can see in this field, it is just solid.

[00:00:42:13 - 00:01:05:07] Chipper Gibbes
With clover blooms, it's going to make hundreds of pounds of seed in this bottom. This clover came back from seed last year. We hunted over this field all season long. We had great hunts in here—the deer used it like crazy. But now the clover is maturing, it's about to make all its seed, and it's about to die.

[00:01:05:14 - 00:01:29:07] Chipper Gibbes
So I'm going to take the grain drill and drill a summer food plot into this clover. I'm going to use all the biomass of this clover to suppress weeds and let my summer plot come up through the dead clover material. And I'm going to let the clover reseed, starting the process all over again this fall. You’ll have a fall food plot without planting anything.

[00:01:29:10 - 00:01:49:11] Chipper Gibbes
This is a great way to plant a summer food plot if you have a grain drill—right through the dying annual clovers. It's a great spot to plant corn if you want to plant a corn field. You can also drill corn into this clover, and all the nitrogen it made during the year is going to benefit the corn.

[00:01:49:16 - 00:02:02:19] Chipper Gibbes
You can plant beans, peas, corn—any kind of mix you want. Any kind of summer plot that you can put in a drill and plant through this clover is going to come up and do well. Just thought I'd share that with you.