Question about Turnips

[Rackaholic]

This may be a dumb question but will deer dig turnips up or do they just eat the leaves off a turnip--how does this work? Thanks!!

 

[BSK]

Yes, they will dig them up in the winter. At least they will if they are hungry enough.

 

[deerchaser007]

Apparently my deer ain't starving. They have never ate the actual turnip. I stopped planting it and use DER all the way around now. Discing up turnips all the time bites............:grin:

 

[trealtree]

Your better off to sell turnip greens on the side of the road and hope a beautiful woman stops to ask directions.

 

[BSK]

Turnips are a great food plot plant. All of the members of the brassica family that have become so popular are related to turnips and their early development as a food plot plant is derived from the great results of using turnips for food plot plants in the Deep South.

 

[Howa]

I did rape and turnips, they ate the rape till it was lip high and never touched the turnips. I'm not saying deer won't eat turnips, I'm saying on my farm, planted side by side with rape, they chose the rape EVERY time, they ate AROUND the turnips. Had I only planted turnips, I have no doubt they would have eaten them. This year I'm planting all rape and skipping the turnip. By the way the turnips were part of a "high dollar" bag of commercial deer plot seed and the rape was "el cheapo" from the local co-op. Just my experience.

 

[Anonymous]

will rape grow in a woodlot with little sunlight , basically in hardwoods

 

[BSK]

Turnips, rapes and kale all mature and are preferred at different times, and that is their usefulness. Just because a plant is hit first doesn't mean it is "better." Some plants are not palatable until a specific stage of growth and the best food plot plan is to have plants growing that all hit periods of palatability at different times.

For example, deer will often not touch Iron and Clay peas until they are near maturity, then they wipe them out in short order, but I don't think many will say Iron and Clay peas aren't a good food plot plant.

 

[num1medic]

Turnips, rapes and kale all mature and are preferred at different times, and that is their usefulness. Just because a plant is hit first doesn't mean it is "better." Some plants are not palatable until a specific stage of growth and the best food plot plan is to have plants growing that all hit periods of palatability at different times.

For example, deer will often not touch Iron and Clay peas until they are near maturity, then they wipe them out in short order, but I don't think many will say Iron and Clay peas aren't a good food plot plant.

makes great sense.

 

[TNlandowner]

I pretty much had the same results as all others here. Around labor day last year, I planted Shot plot (Evolved harvest), turnips, and rape in three diffenent 1 acre plots, but all in the same field. I had already limed and fertilized according to the soil tests. All grew like crazy. The Shot plot was tore up by the end of muzzle loader season, The rape lasted thru December. The turnip leaves were gone by mid-January and the bulbs were dug up and given a single bite in February. For the price of turnip and rape seeds, I'll keep adding them to the winter plot mix!

 

[Boone 58]

They seem to like the brassicas after the heavy frost hits them and when it does it turns them to sugar and you can actually smell the darn things a good distance away. Then they mow them down almost over night where we hunt.