Food Plots Brassicas or not

[NChunt1]

I added some radishes and turnips to my mix last year and saw zero use in any of my plots even though the had huge tubers and lush green tops. I was considering not even putting them in the mix this year. Do any of you see much use out of your brassicas ?

 

[backyardtndeer]

Deer in this area did not seen to know it was food. Tried 3 times, 3 different years. They hit the greens right after first hard frost and never touched it again.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Yes once deer learn they're food. Might take a year or 3 if they're relatively new to a given area

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Yes once deer learn they're food. Might take a year or 3 if they're relatively new to a given area

This. Depending on the brassica, they'll hit it early, mid season or after deer season (which isn't a bad thing - it's fulfilling a nutritional need when they need it). Sometimes it just takes them a little while to figure it out

We're planting rape in one of our mixes this year for the sole purpose of providing 9 acres of food in late winter. Atleast that's when they've always eaten rape in the past (never much of it eaten before New Years).

 

[DoubleRidge]

They are easy to add....and it's nice to have a blended mix so your more likely to end up with something growing even if something goes wrong...and your building soil with the huge tubers drawing nutrients up from deeper in the soil to the surface....then they rot... helping with future plantings....we will add them to our fall blend.

 

[Monk74]

I used to but they never touched it until January. Winter wheat and clover are my fool proof seeds.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I used to but they never touched it until January.

Nothing wrong with that, as it provides food when it is hard to come by at that time.

Winter wheat and clover are my fool proof seeds.

Winter wheat is a staple in our blends

 

[megalomaniac]

Why not add them? Even if the deer don't touch them, they're great at aerating your soils and sequestwring nutrients...

Everything you plant doesn't have to be just for the deer.

And they are relatively cheap, just an extra $10 per acre will add a lot.

 

[RobDooley]

I have been planting them as well as other stuff in Hickman County for years....they hammer them. I have actually put out piles of corn nearby in an effort to keep them out of food plot for awhile.

 

[Popcorn]

Turnips and Radishes are a staple here for all of the reasons above. The deer eat the radish greens first and nibble on the turnip greens. They do eat the radishes but they get hot later and then its over. Thats when the rye and or wheat get hammered but they always come back for the turnips later

 

[tellico4x4]

Yep, sprayed 5-6 plots last week in prep for August planting if rain cooperates

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Yep, sprayed 5-6 plots last week in prep for August planting if rain cooperates

I need to do the same. August is typically the trickiest month, as brassicas in TN are best planted then. It is always a gamble for me, as I try to squeeze in a couple velvet hunts later in the month, as well as leaving the following weekend for 2 weeks in CO. Everything happens fast it seems this time of year and everything comes down to the wire. Not to mention the most important aspect of it all - if the rain cooperates, as tellico pointed out. Many things have to align.

 

[tellico4x4]

Its always a roll of the dice as September can be driest month of the year too. Good thing is that there's plenty of time to recover with grain if brassica fails

 

[deerfever]

I mix them into my plot which is mainly wheat. I did some Daikon radishes last year and they used them quite a bit. I had pictures of deer with the tops hanging out of their mouth. I don't think it hurts at all to mix them in. You never know what will hold deer as time moves along.

 

[BSK]

If you have not tried them, I would do so. When deer use them, they really use them! Personally, I've used them for years but stopped doing so due to many factors. But at least I tried them and determined what the usage patterns were before I made long-term decisions.

 

[TNTreeman]

Just checked on my corn and it seems the planter skipped some areas. I think I'll fill in those areas with different brassicas in the next couple weeks. Very thankful for the rain last night.

 

[BSK]

Very thankful for the rain last night.

Agreed. Things were getting a bit dry at my hunting property.

However, the flash flooding rains in Nashville not so thankful for. Flooded our basement worse than during the 2010 Great Flood.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Agreed. Things were getting a bit dry at my hunting property.

However, the flash flooding rains in Nashville not so thankful for. Flooded our basement worse than during the 2010 Great Flood.

Same here! The one spot I kept an eye on during the 2010 flood never had water leak in. However, we woke up Sunday morning to water all over our sunroom floor where water had come in that one area I watched so closely in 2010 . Had to fix that Sunday and still have fans running as I type.

 

[BSK]

You could have floated a canoe through our basement Saturday night.

 

[TN-Hunter]

I planted forage collards and kale last year right beside a mix of winter wheat and crimson clover. The deer actually preferred the collards and kale especially after the cold weather hit in November. I couldn't keep deer off of it.