Food Plots Brassicas in July?

[bjohnson]

Catching back up on the Land and Legacy podcast and they mentioned planting brassicas in July. Anybody here do it? Planning our food plot rotations this year and thinking about planting our brassica plots in July after hearing this.

 

[ADR]

I've done it in the first of Aug with terrific results. In years like the last two with extremely dry Oct and Nov months, it may be the only thing green around. The deer response is overwhelming

 

[Popcorn]

I have always planted them in august but as mentioned above if you miss the needed rains they don't do well.
My best have been before a good rainfall around august 15

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I have always planted them in august but as mentioned above if you miss the needed rains they don't do well.
My best have been before a good rainfall around august 15

And then hope you don't hit a drought from then until the start of November

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Catching back up on the Land and Legacy podcast and they mentioned planting brassicas in July. Anybody here do it? Planning our food plot rotations this year and thinking about planting our brassica plots in July after hearing this.

A lot of the guys up north and in the midwest do this, but they have different climates and weather patterns than we do

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I plant brassicas in late July on the plateau.

 

[BSK]

A lot of the guys up north and in the midwest do this, but they have different climates and weather patterns than we do

When I worked in Upstate NY, we used brassicas as a summer crop.

 

[deerhunter10]

Catching back up on the Land and Legacy podcast and they mentioned planting brassicas in July. Anybody here do it? Planning our food plot rotations this year and thinking about planting our brassica plots in July after hearing this.

Up north not uncommon, here when we have planted them it's August.

 

[bjohnson]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll shoot for 2nd week of August before a rain

 

[boonencrockett]

I planted my brassica plots this past July and with the rain we had in East Tennessee what didn't get hammered at first growth by turkeys timed out and turned yellow before the deer really hammered them good

 

[tellico4x4]

And then hope you don't hit a drought from then until the start of November

I wonder if they got good rain in August if they would survive late Sept & Oct drought? Pretty decent root system.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I wonder if they got good rain in August if they would survive late Sept & Oct drought? Pretty decent root system.

No idea. I would think they'd do good. I've always planted them end of August to mid September

 

[ADR]

I wonder if they got good rain in August if they would survive late Sept & Oct drought? Pretty decent root system.

Mine have done great. I think the most important thing is to not overpopulate the area. Follow recommended seed sowing guidelines. They are really small and most people spread too much and they crowd themselves out. There is generally enough dew in late sept and Oct to keep them alive and thriving. Browse pressure has been my issue until acorns start to fall. YMMV

 

[megalomaniac]

Wouldn't there be an issue with bugs eating up all the leaves if planted early?

In middle TN, I want mine in the ground mid Aug. I don't have a problem with bugs eating them up planting then.

But in MS, my garden is no tilled with brassicas in the fall to suppress weeds and aerate the soil over the winter. I found that if I plant in Aug after I mow down the summer crop, bugs destroy my plants. If I wait until Oct, I don't have that problem.

 

[BSK]

Wouldn't there be an issue with bugs eating up all the leaves if planted early?

In middle TN, I want mine in the ground mid Aug. I don't have a problem with bugs eating them up planting then.

But in MS, my garden is no tilled with brassicas in the fall to suppress weeds and aerate the soil over the winter. I found that if I plant in Aug after I mow down the summer crop, bugs destroy my plants. If I wait until Oct, I don't have that problem.

When we planted them up North as a summer crop, yes, bugs got after them. But up there, food plots are under a couple of feet of snow by November, so we had to make do with whatever we could over the summer and early fall. Basically, we did not plant "cool season" plots up there. They would be buried too deep in the snow for deer to use them after mid-October.